The “Bertone” badge says it all. Designed by the Bertone Style Centre, the Alfa GT makes a big statement, no matter where it goes. Look closely, and you’ll see that its pedigree stems from its attractive 156 sibling.
With a length of 4,48m, width of 1,76m and a height of just 1,37m, the Alfa GT Coupé is aggressive and compact, with a shape that is immediately recognisable as Alfa.
Part of its style comes from the two side air intakes and light clusters, while the tail end of the Alfa GT is compact with large built-in bumpers. The rear window is drop-shaped, while the light clusters are embedded in the body and are of the wraparound design.
The GT is available with a choice of two engines — a powerful 3,2 litre V6, or a more economical 1,9 multi-jet turbo diesel.
I test drove the latter version and felt good just climbing into the car.
The car is a typical “coupé”, and has those extra-large front doors that are rather troublesome if someone parks too close to you in a parking lot.
Once inside, the leather-covered bucket seats envelope you like a top-class couch. You can then set about adjusting almost everything electronically. There’s dual climate control and a superb Bose sound system that matches the GT’s good looks.
The rear seats are so small they are hardly worth mentioning, but the boot is a rather useful 320dm3, and there’s a safety net to stop objects rolling around if the boot is loosely packed.
A quick flick of the key and the inter-cooled, force-fed motor springs into life. This particular version had the usual diesel clatter, but unlike similar models that I have tested recently, the clatter didn’t subside once I was on the move. Similarly, there’s the usual turbo lag, with little excitement below the 2 000rpm mark, but all hell breaks loose once the tachometer hits the 2 200rpm mark. The 305Nm of torque developed by the four-port, 16-valve motor frequently saw the traction control light flick briefly in first and second gears, and that’s without dumping the clutch. In comparison, Golf’s 2,0 Tdi gives 320Nm of torque, while BMW’s 2,0 makes 330Nm, so the Alfa is up there with the best. There’s a great whine as the turbo spools up, and gives 110kW at 4 000rpm.
Alfa’s engineers have done their homework when it comes to the ratios they’ve selected for the six-speed gearbox. Driving in the city you rarely get out of fourth gear, while on the highway, adhering to 120kph sees the rev counter hovering around 1 950rpm.
The newly released Alfa 147 and GT enjoy identical gearboxes and engines. The GT will happily break the speed limit if you’re in a hurry, but standard cruise control should prevent that. The top speed is listed at 209kph, a figure that seems largely attainable, while the nought to 100kph dash should take about 10 seconds.
Alfa has yet to release a car that handles badly, and the GT is no exception. The suspension might be perceived by some as harsh, but if you want the go to match the show, deal with it. The rack and pinion steering is precise and the GT finds the exact point that the driver desires in a corner with ease. There’s no body roll, and the brakes are progressive and effective, especially with 284mm discs doing duty upfront, and slightly smaller 276mm discs in the rear. Suspension comes in the form of independent, dual wishbones with double trailing arm and anti-roll bar mounted on ball joints up front, while the rear uses independent McPherson struts with transverse levers of different lengths anchored to an aluminium cross beam, reaction arms, offset coil springs, and anti-roll bar mounted on ball joints and linked to the shock absorber.
The GT has hydraulic brake assistance, which applies maximum pressure to the discs in an emergency. If that doesn’t work, there are front airbags, front side airbags and window airbags to protect you.
The GT’s table manners proved much in line with the manufacturer’s claims, and it used 7,2 litres in the combined cycle, just slightly higher than Alfa’s claimed 6,7 litres of diesel.
While I loved the GT for its good performance, neutral handling and superb looks, two things really irked me. One was the lack of vision afforded to the driver, thanks to a shallow rear windscreen, and the other was the super low front spoiler, which was attracted to speed humps like magnets, even at walking speed.
The GT JTD retails for R259 000 including VAT and there is a 36 month/60 000km maintenance plan in place to curb costs. Service intervals are 20 000km.