Test Drive Alfa Romeo GTV 2003 - 2005 coupe

Inexceptibility triumph

If the title contest among the brands, Alfa-Romeo, no doubt, would take one of the prizes. In this name, more like the title, and the breed, and power, and a hint of a long pedigree. Meanwhile, the origin is prosaic: In 1910, Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili was formed (Joint-stock automotive factory in Lombardy, abbreviated Alfa), and five years later, Nikola Romeo was appointed by its director, with whom the takeoff in the development of the company and the second part of the title were connected. The story of Alpha Romeo is rich in revolutionary technical solutions, loud sports victories, glorious names - here, for example, was born as a designer Enzo Ferrari.
About hairpins and cars
It is difficult to imagine something less practical than a sports coupe or roadster: dear, voracious, close, with a kut's trunk and meager road lumen. How high-heeled shoes are irrational, but beautiful. That is why, coming to the silver spider, I decided to forget about the briefing of the test protocol in the portfolio and surrender to emotions.
First of all, the proportion of the roof is air-conditioned by air, let them breathe in limousines, and I can afford the luxury to enjoy the wind in the face. The buzz of a servo, raised the sickle of the lid, and the tissue top, so far, slid into the compartment behind the cab. The lid lay down in place, reminding the hood sweep on the shoulders.
There is no door handle, only the lock button and the notch to cling to the fingers behind the door edge. And the inscription Alpha Romeo on the threshold: Say, do not forget what you will go. Sunpening the leg somewhere under the steering wheel, dangling my face from the glass frame and fails - it seems a little bit of asphalt. Sripped red leather, and the body entered the chair without a gap, like a bayonet into the sheath. No, this I, perhaps, bent: it will be sweating in the sheath. Here - the landing is dense, with a guarding fixation by developed side rollers, but at the same time quite comfortable: it does not cause desire immediately after the stop to dig up, like from a tough sports boat, and straighten your shoulders. Adjustments are a bit, all manually: Sports and excesses are incompatible.
Do not right your ears!
The tachometer arrow swung, the spring air trembled from the characteristic pulsating roar. Be my will, for sports cars, I would bring the muffler to the list of options. Stop: on the panel, under a peep-like visor-bluing, only two tubes with scales at the bottom. And the rest of the devices where? Yes, here they are! - Comrade indicates three round windows in the central console. Having mastered with fairly tougy pedals, I rolling out for the gate of the pininfarin and, without noticing, for some time going on the first second gears, enjoying the juicy sound of the new 3.2-liter six.
Sports cars will have, perhaps, the greatest variety of layouts: both classical and central, and rear-engine, and all-wheel drive. Alpha profess the most common front-wheel drive with the transverse location of the power unit. Among the advantages are comparative simplicity, loaded driving wheels and the ability to control the thrust vector, like modern fighters. The disadvantage is perhaps one - unloading the leading axis with intensive acceleration. Cambiano's town under the Turin ended through several traffic lights - and I step from the soul to the accelerator ...
Adrenaline injection
Two hundred forty horses picked up like a hurricane, the world narrowed to the gray tape of the highway, the roaring wind smeared the curb in obscure stripes ... Open car greatly enhances the subjective perception of speed, and then there is still a coffee machine with the camera with the camera with the shelves behind the back - no, accelerate Maximum 242 km / h, perhaps, is not worth it. Here and the turn on the lured path: absolutely empty, it bizarrely goes between the fields and looks at three turning forward. Yes, the Italian police forgive me, exceeded me here a couple of times a permissible speed. However, there are no long straight lines here, but from one turn to another Alpha Romeo, he fits like from the gun, literally imprinting passengers into the back of the seat! It is good that the rules do not limit the intensity of overclocking, because a hundred spider is gaining only 6.5 s.
Braking! Four ventilated discs (the diameter of the front 305 mm!) And the wide seventeen-seamy tires are forced to hang on the belts. Several clicks of the drives down - exploding, the machine is flown to the turn ... In a six-speed mechanic with pinned gear ratios, the transmission can be selected extremely accurate by holding the tachometer arrow near the vertical. ... the third - the car aims inside the turn, the steering wheel is poured by weight - this is a suitable load! Everything that can move through the cabin sticks to the right side (poor camera!) - Under the roar of the motor and screeching of the rubber alpha Romeo comes into turn. The cows on the field were distracted from the chewing, and the colleague on the right petrolled face and muttered: they say, and so everything is clear, you can slightly reset the move. So I also believed him - now it is valued before the steering wheel and this will begin to pull out, remembering the rally past!
Family ... Kupe
After an extreme spider, a scarlet four-seater coupe with a two-liter power unit in 165 liters. with. And the five-speed gearbox was perceived almost like a family car. Well, not quite a quadruple, and, strictly speaking, with 2 + 2 - the back of children freely will be free or, more than adults. Jumble a little on this car: Well, how do you, Youth? The sound is good ... And even goes well, - the colleague responded diplomaticly, sorry about changing the means of movement. All wines Contrast: overclocking up to hundreds for 8.5 s and the maximum speed of 220 km / h - the indicators are more than worthy.
In the late afternoon, having tried the most different combinations of bodies and motors, remembered the morning words Andrea Pininfarina: In addition to increasing the return of the motor and improving dynamic characteristics, we paid great attention to improving the reliability of management and sustainability at high-speed modes, as well as reduced noise and vibrations, improving comfort when ordinary city ride. And it turned out, pure truth: new coupe and spider can not only injected into the blood portion of adrenaline, but also calmly, with a maximum amenities, carry the owner to work. There are women on the heels every day ...

Brief data
Alfa Romeo GTV.
The debut of the sports coupe Alpha Romeo GTV and Spider from Atelier Pinin Farina took place at the 1994 Paris Motor Show, this year they were updated.
The coupe and spider are equipped with a 2-liter four-cylinder engine (150 or 165 liters.) Or a new V-shaped six (3.2 liters, 240 liters p.). Gearboxes are only mechanical, five-speed with a smaller engine (in some countries and with a V6 engine), a six-speed - with a large one.
In Russia, the updated coupe and spider should appear in the fall-winter. Prices, as promised in the Fiat representative office, will be competitive.

Soft top hiding into the covered covered compartment behind the cab.

Updated Alfa Romeo GTV and Spider are easiest to identify on the increased size of the lining shield in the center. It is a pity that the license plate does not fit into this composition.

In this 100 liter bread, there is enough space only for a date.

It is difficult to believe that the coupe from behind there is a second row of seats.

New aluminum V-shaped six: 3.2 l, four camshafts, 24 valves and 240 horses. Such beauty sin hide under the lid.

EQUIPMENT
Abs
Antiscolic system
Climate control
Adjustable steering column
Fog lights
Audio system
Anatoly Karpenkov, Yuri Nileyov. Photo: Yuri Ned

Source: Journal "Behind the wheel"