Unquestionably one of the most exciting cars PH tested this year was the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm. Fun fact: on the morning in question, Alfa's support team went to the wrong car park in the tiny Welsh town we'd arranged to meet them in, which meant we had to go to them - and there are few finer sights to take in before breakfast than a gleaming GTA parked up on gravel under 4K-grade sunshine, awaiting your sticky fingerprints.
That the Alfa has now found a home for the 500 examples it promised to build is hardly a surprise. It was lucky to see the one we borrowed again. We had it for 24hrs, and nearly ran out of fuel twice thanks to its all-round moreishness. We'd expected it to be good of course because the Giulia Quadrifoglio underneath is already magnificent - but Alfa and Sauber Engineering rose to the challenge of emulating the 1965 GTA splendidly. His excitement may have prevented him from adequately tightening his harnesses, but Sam's obvious enthusiasm on the day was shared by all.
Alfa says the GTA has now been sold all over the world, including significant numbers to China, Japan and Australia, which qualifies it as a useful halo for the manufacturer in those regions. We're still not quite sure how many cars have made it to the UK, although it doesn't seem like the circa £150k asking price has proved a significant barrier to sales. Partly because the GTA lived up to its lofty price tag in the driving, but also because its owners are unlikely to be living in mortal fear of depreciation.
Of course there's always the possibility that said buyer might cancel their order before ever seeing the car, which means the reserve list is your one glimmer of hope if you're still keen to find out what all the fuss is about. Alfa says you can register your interest here - just don't expect to be the only one.
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