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We live in a golden age of sport sedans. BMW, Porsche, Mercedes-AMG, Audi, even Cadillac all make four-doors that deliver the sort of power and performance that was reserved for supercars barely a decade ago, while stilling offer the comfort and versatility of the regular luxury sedans they’re based on. Yet as fast and capable as these cars are, they lack a certain…flair.
That’s not a charge anyone will ever levy against the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA and GTAm.
Alfa Romeo’s new super-duper version of its Giulia Quadrifoglio sport sedan offers the sort of wild, attention-grabbing style you’d expect from the flagship product of this most Italian of Italian carmakers. Up front, aggressive front splitters grow out of the sides of the grille like unruly facial hair; new side skirts extend along the flanks, while a two-inch wider track spurs an increase in the size of the fender flares. The most notable changes, though, lie out back, where dual exhaust pipes spit anger from the center of the rear diffuser; the GTAm also scores a massive carbon fiber wing.
Those visual tweaks aren’t simply there to draw in the eyes, though they’ll certainly do plenty of that. Aerodynamic improvement is the name of the game here, with Alfa leveraging the Formula 1-inspired expertise of Sauber Engineering to help this four-door stick to the ground better than ever.
The A in GTA stands for “alleggerita,” the Italian word for “lightened,” so it’s not surprising that the new model is 220 pounds lighter than a regular Giulia Quadrifoglio. That new exhaust out back is a lightweight titanium unit from Akrapovic; the windows use Lexan, just like in race cars; and the drive shaft, hood, roof, front bumper and front and rear wheel arches are all made from carbon fiber.
Inside, Alcantara trim is featured heavily, coating the seat centers, dashboard, door panels, roof pillars and glove compartment. The wilder GTAm version’s interior nets far bigger changes, though; in that car, the rear seat is left out, replaced with a roll bar and a zone with moulded spots for helmets and a fire extinguisher. The seats up front trade in their three-point seat belts for six-point Sabelt racing harnesses; when the time comes to exit those snug chairs, driver and passenger yank belts instead of handles to open the doors.
