Alfa Romeo is eking
out sales of the Bertone-styled GT Coupé by creating a
new special series to celebrate the brand's 100th
anniversary this year, available in limited numbers it
will also come fitted with the outgoing "Arese" V6
engine.The Alfa
Romeo GT Limited Edition features 18-inch alloy wheels
(taken from the model's options list) with red brake
calipers squeezed in behind, and the revised cosmetic
exterior detailing continue with satin effect door
mirrors and front grille while it also comes with rear
parking sensors as standard. The style makeover
continues in the cabin, with the aluminium sports
pedals, sports leather seats, leather steering wheel and
black instrumentation - all are stylish and timeless.
Four exterior body colours are available on this special
version: Black (solid), Alfa Red (pastel), Ice White
(pastel) and Atlantico Blue (metallic), while inside it
comes with a slightly revised black leather interior.
Introduced at the Geneva
Motor Show in 2003 before arriving in the Italian
showrooms at the beginning of the next year, the GT
Coupé was styled by Bertone, one of the final jobs for
the design house before a court restructuring process
loomed. A much-loved design, the GT Coupé was based on
the platform and mechanicals of the 156 Sportwagon (with
the dashboard and a string of other components being
taken from the 147). It was, however, overshadowed by
the arrival soon afterwards of another Alfa Romeo sports
car, the Brera – although, with its athletic looks and
more dynamic chassis, the GT Coupé had its own legion of
fans who rated it above the Giugiaro-designed coupé.
At the heart of this
new "GT Limited Edition" model is Alfa Romeo’s iconic
240 CV 3.2-litre quad-cam V6 (the Brera, by contrast,
suffered from being equipped with the less-regarded
GM-sourced 3.2 V6). The ‘Arese’ V6 catapults the GT
Coupé from standstill to 100 km/h in just 6.7 seconds
and on to a top speed of 243 km/h, while maintaining a
more-than-respectable combined fuel consumption figure
of 12.4 l/100km. Built at Alfa Romeo’s long-time factory
at Pomigliano d'Arco near Naples (alongside the Alfa 159
and 159 Sportwagon), the GT Coupé’s production has
trickled to almost a standstill, and with the plant set
to switch to building the next-generation Fiat Panda
from late next year, its demise is imminent.
The GT Coupé Limited
Edition is being sold worldwide by Alfa Romeo's dealer
network with even distant new car markets such as
Australia getting 100 examples of the sports car while
South Africa is selling 30 units; each one is
individually numbered for the respective market with a
somewhat clumsy plaque mounted on the either side of the
front wing.
The GT 3.2 Coupé Limited Edition comes with all the
well-specified standard equipment list of the GT 3.2
Coupé, including six airbags, ABS with EBD, Traction
control (ASR) and Stability Control (ESP), remote
central locking, fully adjustable steering wheel with
remote audio controls, trip computer, ski tunnel, front
armrest with recess, dual-zone climate control, cruise
control, rear PDC, front passenger seat height
adjustment and Bose Hi-Fi system.
On top of this
standard equipment and features the GT 3.2 Coupé Limited
Edition includes a number of components that have been
drawn from the model's usual options list, fitted as
standard in this case: 18-inch, 5-spoke wheels (with
225/40ZR14 tyres), sports leather seats with red
stitching (leather seats are standard on the regular 3.2
but the design is new for the Limited Edition), Blue&Me
(handsfree Bluetooth, media player with USB port and
voice commands), red brake calipers, satin metallic
finish mirrors, grille and door handles, "Visibility
Pack" (auto headlights and wipers) and "Internal Pack" (aluminium
sports pedals and sports instrument cluster).