Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm – The Legend Reborn
THE BIGGEST SURPRISE OF FORZA ITALIA
When the Forza Italia team announced before their annual meeting, that they are preparing a huge surprise for their fans and visitors, few had in mind they will be part of something that special. Together with Stellantis (a merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and the PSA Group) they prepared a Polish premiere of Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA and GTAm – a recreation of its historic racer originating from 1965.
Not only is the car very rare, as there will only be 500 pieces produced, but only six of those will find their way onto the Polish roads. The star of the day was number 476 – a GTAm finished in Montreal Green with yellow Brembo brake callipers and simply stole the show – it was constantly surrounded by a circle of excited fans!
A BIT OF ITS HISTORY… AND DECODING
Before we jump into the technical details of the legend reborn, let us go back in time 56 and 51 years respectively to understand what the original GTA and GTAm were all about. For Alfa Romeo was very present in motorsport at that time, its racing department – Autodelta – produced the original GTA in 1965 based on Alfa Romeo Giulia GT. They made it lightweight, of course, hence the ‘A’ added to the name standing for ‘Alleggerita’. Among other alterations, it had aluminium outer body panels, famous magnesium-alloy rims and was powered by double 45 DCOE Webers rather than the typical 40s.
The GTAm did not only look more powerful with its widened body panels - it actually was really fast!
Original Autodelta creations meet the new generation - Alfa Romeo GTAm (1970), Giulia GTA (2021) and GTA (1965). Source: Media Stellantis Polska
Later in the 1970 in the Settimo Milanese workshop Autodelta brought to life another racing creation. They further modified the GTA concept, basing their racing beast this time on the 1750 GT and consequently adding the ‘m’ for ‘modificata’ to distinguish its further adjustments. GTAm was powered by the Spica injection and ignited by the twin-spark technology – it did not only look more powerful with its widened body panels but actually was really fast. The powerhouse under the front hood generated up to 220 horsepower at 7200rpm, pulling the 940kg light vehicle to 230kmph. In 1970.
LEGEND REBORN
The 2021 reeditions follow the same patterns of their half-a-century older predecessors. The GTA version features five seats and is a fully functional, racing sedan, whilst the GTAm version is an uncompromised racing beast for the driver and co-pilot only. They could make themselves comfortable (or at least safe) in two carbon seats by Sabelt, tied down with 6-point racing harness connected to the rollbar.
All of those measures are not without reasons! Giulia GTA and GTAm are powered by a 2.9 bore Bi-Turbo V6, generating a total of 540 horsepower. It is thirty more than a regular Quadrifoglio but more importantly, it results in a class-leading 187 horsepower from one litre displacement. The Alfa Romeo engineers did not forget about the ‘A’ in the GTA. The car is much lighter thanks to many carbon-fibre, aluminium and composite parts, achieving a total reduction of approximately 100 kilograms when compared to the regular Giulia QV. All that combined catapults the car from standstill to 100kmph in around 3.6 seconds. Not too bad, is it?
“Non salire - solo per uso pista” adds to the racing character of Sauber’s amazing job!
Especially in the GTAm version one can admire all the aerodynamic efforts added to the car, all designed by Sauber. Starting from the very front we can praise its adjustable, retractable splitter. Annotated with an Italian warning not to step on it and reminding it is only for racetrack use only makes all the difference. As everything, it also sounds much better in Italian! Following through, there are carbon side-wings ended with small winglets that lead to simply spectacular rear – gigantic-but-stylish adjustable wing and a carbon splitter with two embedded Akrapovic exhaust pipes are simply second to none.
IF YOU GOT EXCITED – YOU’D BETTER BE FAST
So… you reached this point, have Alfa Romeo racing heritage in your heart and gotten extremely excited about what the GTA or GTAm package can get you? Well, you should pick up your phone and speed-dial to Alfa Romeo rather quickly...
Since there are likely less than thirty left at a hefty-but-understandable price tag of just above 200’000 Euros for the GTAm, you will not only get yourself a collectible, but also a phenomenal racer. What can I say? I just wish I had the chance to drive it!
If you would like to read about Forza Italia 2021, where the GTAm premiered, click here.
Text & Photos: Adam Pekala ©
