A while back I entered the [interesting] world of Alfa Romeo ownership by buying an Alfa GTV 3.0 V6 off eBay - https://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/616.../page__hl__gtv

The GTV has been a reasonable car without any large surprises. I think that one needs to find a car without electrical faults. It did seem to have an appetite for suspension bits though. Still, 20k miles over 2.5 years I managed to recover all but £150 of the original purchase price. Not bad for a 12 year old car.

Well, a couple of weeks back I made an impulse purchase and have replaced the GTV with a GT Coupe. I first saw one in the flesh at Goodwood FOS when the Brera was launched. The seed of desire must have been planted then.

The replacement is a 2005 3.2 litre V6 with tan interior. It's been lowered and fitted with sports dampers and springs. It's also had a Q2 (LSD) differential fitted. The paintwork isn't too bad for its age / mileage. It's fitted with 18" wheels, and has the very poor Bose sound system.

It's much more gizmo rich than the GTV - traction control, cruise control, economy meter, reverse sensors, etc.

It's also much more practical. The back seats are full depth and accommodate (allegedly) 3 people. The rear seats fold down, and as it's a hatchback, with seats down one has 900 litres of usable space ! Front seats are exceedingly comfortable.

The standard drive is very smooth and relaxing. MPG on the motorway isn't bad - with cruise control set to a "sensible" speed I'm seeing mpg figures in the low 30s. It has a 6th gear which the GTV did not have.

It responds very well to a heavy right foot. It's nice to feel the feeling of being pushed back into the seats again The Q2 diff really improves roundabout navigation and reduces under-steer. Brakes are not too shabby - Red Stuff paired with some very large Brembos (330mm IIRC).

The exhaust note is in a word glorious. It's hard to believe that it's a stock exhaust. It can get a little tiresome when sat in traffic. Fortunately this is not a daily commuter.

Overall very happy.

 

alfas do it for me, but it is Italian and I just know I'll buy a bad 'un.
very nice looking car; 3.2 v6 should sound lurvely!

 

It's fair to say that I'm not getting much use out of the stereo

 

That's really weird; I was only thinking yesterday how forgotten those things are!

I've not driven one, but I understand they're a lot more 'together' than the absolutely shi t Brera, which kind of cured any desire to own a modern Alfa.

Having said that, the Giulietta looks beguiling...

 

looks nice!
Didn't realise they were hatchbacks!

 

Apparently based on the 156 Sportwagon platform. The reversing sensors are useful.

It's been some time since I've had something as practical as this for hauling stuff around

 

always liked the Gt...I looked for a while and you no doubt have the engine to have if you are getting one.

top choice, hope it's reliable for you as really is a special looking car imo.

 

From what I was able to establish there were only 450ish 3.2s sold in the UK.

 

Fantastic car.

Designed as an interim model but was much more succesful than planned.
Having tried a Brera at launch I would have much preferred the GT - if only because of the usable back seat, but I went for the S instead.

3.2 V6 Alfa engines are wonderful sounding things. They don't look too bad either.

See you at Auto Italia show in a few weeks then?

 

Beautiful car.

The paintwork looks super. These had a lot of orange peel due to the really watered down paint that Alfa used.

Well done. You should keep this as quite rare.

What is the power / torque /sprint time?