Alfa Romeo 147 GTA: PH Carpool
A decade into ownership and this PHer still finds plenty to love about his V6 Alfa
Car: 2003 Alfa Romeo 147 GTA
Owned since: 2007
Previously owned: Citroen Saxo 1.1, Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 Twin Spark, Alfa Romeo GT JTD, Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio (current)
"I really loved the 2.0 Twinny but wanted a faster version and there was no other engine above that car other than the 3.2 V6 in a GTA. I went to see this one which was owned by an elder gentleman who lived in a large house and worked in Law; I fell in love with it pretty much the second I started the engine. He was a proper petrolhead which probably sold me on it; that and he offered me wine."
What I wish I'd known:
"I wish I had known that aforementioned elder gentleman had done some repair work on the paint, as the first time I gave it a power wash all the lacquer peeled off the offside rear quarter. It stayed that way for about three years until I was brave enough to get somebody to repaint it. Also, I wish I'd known that the second key would never resurface again from the large house. I now know a lot about these cars due to various incidents along the way that would no doubt have saved me a lot of money had I known them, but every day is a school day."
"I love driving it, I love the way it looks, I love the colour and I love the noise! It has decatted manifolds, an unsilenced centre section and a bespoke back box and she really sings at high revs. It's also very easy to drive on track and can hold its own pretty well, especially in the wet. Lots of people are surprised how well she goes on track especially with all the obvious perceptions about Italian engineering and longevity."
Things I hate:
"Not a whole lot, perhaps the turning circle which is about the same as an oil tanker. The aftermarket parking sensors the previous owner put on."
Costs:
"Way, way too much to put here but she's had Eibach ARBs, Q2 differential, Eibach springs, Bilstein B8 sprint dampers, 330mm brakes, the exhaust as mentioned, a couple of clutches, a couple of cambelts, a top end engine rebuild after the exhaust valves got too hot on track, half a respray and about 10 sets of front wishbones. Not cheap but not too bad for the 70,000+ miles I've done in her, mostly flat out."
"France, Belgium, Germany, the 'ring, Anglesey circuit, Silverstone, Bedford Autodrome, Abingdon Airfield and many, many miles just bombing about on sunny days with no particular destination."
What next?
I am thinking a full respray, then some lightweight wheels, semi-slicks and two-piece brakes for track days. Perhaps a remap and coilovers but I don't really need any more power as I have the QV now as my daily so the GTA is for track days. Whilst I would be heartbroken if I crashed it at the track I would at least not be penniless!
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One of those cars where the heart has to rule the head in order to buy it, as a number of rival cars are quicker, better handling, more comfortable and more economical on paper.
I got it down to a 20 minutes per side job (including jacking and taking the wheel off). The secret first-time was to loosen the retaining bolt and then cut the nut off and put the replacement bolt in the other way around, thus never having to undo the shock-absorber top mount and making subsequent changes even quicker.
Once you get going though, it's very responsive and sharp. ....Oh, and 'that' V6 engine. You can't help but stick it into second gear and taking it to 7000rpm
Had to be Alfa red for me personally
This GTA has certainly been driven hard, hence the expense, but actually, you can have a GTA as values are only going in one direction, so even if they do cost a few £ more to keep, they are worth it for how special and exclusive they are....as I say, ignore me I'm biased !
One of those cars where the heart has to rule the head in order to buy it, as a number of rival cars are quicker, better handling, more comfortable and more economical on paper.
Alas, I hadn't yet made 25 - I must of been days/weeks away! - so wasn't allowed out in anything hot.
Looks like a lot of fun. Keep on enjoying it.
This GTA has certainly been driven hard, hence the expense, but actually, you can have a GTA as values are only going in one direction, so even if they do cost a few £ more to keep, they are worth it for how special and exclusive they are....as I say, ignore me I'm biased !
I've had a few Alfas over the years. I had a GT that was Nuvola Blue and I reversed it into a fence post. (I know) I was horrified as I had heard stories about bodyshops not wanting to touch Nuvola cars. I ended up having it repainted by a chap called Jim Leese in Withington in Cheshire. He used to specialise in Alfas. He doesn't have a flash website as it seems most of his business is via word of mouth. I was initially a bit sceptical of how nonechalant he was when I visited for a quote, as he was dismissive about the difficulty of colour matching such specialised paint, but took the plunge and he did a fantastic job. The car was like new and reasonable on price too. Worth a look if you need someone good who knows how to work with the Nuvola colours and you aren't too far away.
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