Since the end of the Christmas holiday period ended it’s been all actions stations at London-based Autodelta’s workshops as final preparations have been put into place for the Autosport International at the Birmingham Exhibition Centre where their new road monster, the 328bhp Autodelta Alfa Romeo 147 GTA will be making its second major public appearance tomorrow.

Surprisingly, it is less than four weeks since the stunning 3.7-litre Autodelta 147 GTA made its way into our consciousness when it was unveiled at the MPH03 Motor Show in Earl’s Court, London.

The Glitzy MPH03 showcased some of the most famous sports and racing cars around, with Italian interest focusing on the mighty 600bhp V12 Ferrari Enzo, Michael Schumacher’s F1-winning F2003-GA and Pagani’s impressive 7.3-litre carbon-fibre Zonda C12S. However, among this company, Autodelta’s bright-red character-oozing ‘road rocket’ easily held its own.

The Autodelta 147 GTA has seen the famous tuning company take Alfa Romeo’s standard 3.2-litre V6 and boost capacity to 3.7-litres. Along with other modifications, including new camshafts, a Ferrari-derived throttle and significant re-mapping of the electronics, power output is raised from 250bhp to a whopping 328bhp, with a red line just shy of 8,000rpm. Coupled to a re-designed suspension set-up, new limited slip differential, a quad-tailpipe exhaust system and braking improvements, the Autodelta engineers have raised the concept of the ‘hot hatch’ to a new level.

The squat and purposeful lines of the road-going 147 GTA have been emphasised visually by Autodelta’s design and styling team, Creativestudio, giving this hot hatch an immediate and aggressive presence. The restyled bumpers, huge bonnet scoops and 18-inch wheels instantly made you realise this car is something special.

We looked over the car at MPH03’s press preview and the attention it drew from seasoned journalists was obvious. Autodelta’s enthusiastic boss Jano Djelalian recalls, “MPH03 was a great success, we only just finished the car in time, but the effort was well worth it, interest far exceeded our expectations”.

The first car had been ordered by an Autodelta client in the summer and he was itching to get his hands on it, so the car seen at Earl’s Court was handed over at the close of the show, with the promise it would be ‘loaned-back’ for in January for an appearance in Birmingham. “We literally had to prise it back”, Jano comments. And the customer’s impressions? “He’s delighted, it’s far exceeded his expectations, he’s given us great positive feedback on its driveability, road holding and performance in the wet, not to mention the looks and attention the car has drawn as well as to recount a couple of Porsche driver’s who foolishly decided to race him!”

Final touches were put to the car at Autodelta’s modern purpose-built London workshop’s over the last week. Jano, “We have been able to garner feedback and study data this week now that the 147 has undertaken a significant mileage on the road. We have now packed it up and sent it to the NEC.”

We mentioned before that it’s less than a month since we first saw photos of the car and in Jano’s words the reception in this short period has been ‘fantastic’. “We have been overwhelmed by the interest generated by the 147, not just in specialist publications and on the internet, but in mainstream daily papers and media outlets worldwide that we would never have imagined reaching. As a result we now have orders from customers in countries we have never targeted before, but as is always the case, they will receive complete Autodelta support.”

It would seem everyone loves a stunning and sporty Italian car, and from the massive interest, it seems everyone has been waiting for Autodelta to re-interpret this hatch. Alfa Romeo delighted everyone by going back to their historic roots with the highly acclaimed 147 GTA and Autodelta have now taken this concept to the extreme.

It’s been a hectic Christmas at their state-of-the-art facility. As well as gearing up for the 147 GTA program, which comes on-stream next month, they have just introduced new packages to further improve the power and handling of the SZ, an Alfa Romeo sportscar synonymous with Autodelta, while a new GTA-based project has been given the go ahead.

The breathtaking performance and sheer driveability of the Autodelta 147 GTA has now seen the green light given to their next project, working the same magic on the 156 GTA and Sportwagon GTA. Under the bonnet will go the new 328bhp 3.7-litre V6, while the suspension, handling and braking packages will all be re-designed. At the same time Creativestudio will manage a styling makeover that will incorporate the facelifted 156’s cosmetic front end changes, including the ‘family-look’ new larger-grille, a feature that is not available on the factory-produced GTA versions.

“The 156 has been around for a few years now, it’s become an icon and the Giorgette Guigaro shape really still looks as fresh as ever. We have had a lot of customer pressure to raise the overall standard 156 GTA package,” concludes Jano Djelalian, who has been immersed in this new project for some time judging by the number of times he’s mentioned it to me over the last few weeks. “The first car to undergo conversion is currently being shipped to us from Greece and we expect it next to arrive next week.”

Autodelta have pushed the bar much higher in the last year and raised their brand profile further as they continually seek to create the ultimate sporting Alfa Romeo’s. By the look of things 2004 is going to be a very busy year for them.

by Rob Morgan