Alfa Romeo launched these two cars to celebrate its soon to be one hundred and ten years of the company. GTA stands for ‘Gran Turismo Alleggerita’ and Alleggerita means lightweight. This was inspired by the original 1965-1971 GTA cars. There was also an original GTA M in 1969-1971, and the ‘M’ stands for ‘Maggiorata’ and Maggiorata means enlarged. The GTA is a more road going version and the GTA M is more the hardcore track version. The whole idea of the GTA & GTA M models was to reduce weight for racing and other car events. More horsepower was added, panels were made from aluminium. The new GTA & GTA M use the same principle, but with better suspension, handling plus added aerodynamics and weight savings of course. The GTA and GTA M are models above the Giulia Quadrifoglio that was launched in 2016, power for both these new models come from the Ferrari-derived 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 at 540hp (up from the Quadrifoglio’s 505hp) with 442lbs of torque, this is achieved by tuning and a new Akrapovic titanium exhaust.

The Quadrifoglio’s 0-100km/h is 3.8 seconds, whilst the GTA and GTA M is 3.6 seconds. Only 500 models of both the GTA and GTA M combined will be produced, they will be numbered and certified by Alfa Romeo. The GTA gets more carbon, like some interior trim, the roof, the bonnet, front bumper, rear diffuser, wheel arches & the driveshaft. The GTA also gets more aerodynamic parts over the Quadrifoglio which include rear spoiler, side skirts and an active front splitter on the new front carbon bumper. The interior has been almost completely covered in alcantara fabric; all these save about 100kilos from the previous Quadrifoglio model.

Now, the GTA M takes it more seriously with extra reduced weight by using lightweight aluminium parts used in the suspension, doors and in the engine. This includes Brembo brakes, new twenty-inch lightweight wheels with centre locks, new shocks with stiffer spring rates, new bushings & the front and rear track has been widened by 50mm.

More weight is reduced by replacing the rear side and back window with Lexan polycarbonate plastic over the standard glass. The GTA M is road legal, but more track focused with a larger rear carbon wing and a bigger carbon front splitter. The GTA M also gets two front carbon fibre backed racing seats with six-point safety seatbelts from Sabelt, a fire extinguisher and a roll cage that replaces the rear seat. But they included an alcantara lined spot to place your GTA wrapped Bell racing helmet as part of the welcome package. The welcome package also includes an Alpinestars race suit, Alpinestars boots, personal Goodwool car cover & a day at the Alfa driving academy.

We are unlikely to see either of these special edition cars in Australia with most of them will be sold to the European market.