Alfa Romeo 156 GTA

You just can't help liking the Alfa Romeo 156. It looks good, goes hard and, save for the rust buckets of the 80s that preceded it, has a honed pedigree derived from Alfa's long and illustrious history. It is easy, therefore, to be skeptical of the 156 GTA: more power is naturally a good thing, but route it all to the front wheels, add more weight on the nose and mess with the standard car's beautiful exterior is just asking for trouble, isn't it? Let's find out.The exterior touchups are, granted, a bit vulgar, but the 156 has always been a stunning looker so a few blemishes here and there don't detract too much from its positive overall effect. The low side sills and front spoilers look particularly dumb, but the rotary-phone alloys and lack of a rear spoiler are definitely smart. This Alfa is a very powerful car, so naturally the thought of directing all of its considerable thrust via a six-speed gearbox to the front wheels only is a tad worrying. Fortunately, any notions of big understeer, torque steer and tire smoke are quickly dispelled. It takes a strong will and plenty of determination to make the GTA misbehave. And the faster you go, the better it gets. The extremely precise steering, offering just 1.75 turns lock-to-lock (a real pain around town but nowhere else), teamed up with instantaneous turn-in, minimal understeer and a lack of any body roll create a truly honed driving machine. Certainly a lack of straight line go power is no problem - only a BMW 330i would be wise to pick a fight with the GTA - and the Alfa's scalpel-sharp throttle response and astounding sound effects enhance the experience further. Forward progress is helped by the light and accurate gearbox and responsive clutch. The ride is firm, although not as bone-shaking as you'd expect from a car that uses, as Alfa puts it, a "race-derived suspension set-up," and the car is very stable and well damped at speed.Of course, there is also the whole business of generous standard equipment, decent price and fuel economy and a pretty interior, but who wants to hear about all that! What matters about the GTA is the way it performs. If you want one of the finest sports sedans on the planet, regardless of the drive wheels or the fact that it doesn't come from Munich, this is you ride. - by Traian Popescu

See more: Alfa Romeo 156 GTA Photos, Alfa Romeo 156 GTA Technical Data