The first one I heard was in a multi-storey in the early hours, someone taking the long way to the exit ramp purely to hear the engine bounce off the concrete. I never saw the driver's face, only the tail-lights and that noise, and I have been chasing it ever since. The car for sale here in Treviso, a white 2008 Alfa Romeo 147 GTA with the 3.2 V6 under its widened nose, summons all of it back. There has never been a hot hatch quite this daft, or this glorious.
Modena in a family shell
The GTA was Alfa's answer to a question nobody had asked. Between 2002 and October 2005 the factory built just 5,029 of them, of which only around 4,025 came with the six-speed manual, the rest saddled with the Selespeed automated box. The all-alloy 60° V6 was assembled by hand at the Maserati Research Centre in Modena, then trucked down to Pomigliano d'Arco for installation. Named after Giuseppe Busso and drawn up by Walter de Silva's studio, it produced 184 kW (250 PS). Volkswagen used four-wheel drive to tame the R32's VR6, so when Alfa arrived with a 250 PS V6 and none of the torque-steer mitigation, eyebrows were raised.
That, of course, is precisely the point. All that weight over the driven front axle makes the GTA tug and squirm under power, and it will run wide if you ask too much mid-corner. A limited-slip differential was only ever an option. But the Busso above 4,000 rpm forgives everything, a hard metallic wail that no turbocharged rival has ever come close to replicating.
What the badges hide
This particular car wears its modifications loudly: NOVITEC lowered springs and axle components, a Brembo brake setup, black alloys and bucket leather seats. The standard brakes were always the weak link, so uprated stoppers are welcome. Aftermarket suspension divides opinion, though, and the purist market pays for originality. Before anything else, I would want the Busso's timing belt history in writing, since it needs replacing roughly every four years regardless of distance, and I would check the front oil cooler for stone damage and the cooling system for the leaks these cars develop. Ask, too, whether the original suspension parts came with the sale. At 38,000 EUR the asking sits well above the usual band for a GTA, and modifications rarely help that case.
Worth the walk to the ramp
Values for good manual GTAs have firmed steadily across Europe, and Italy remains the natural hunting ground for the well-kept ones. A car like this could reward the right enthusiast, provided the sums add up after a proper inspection, a full look through the service book, and a hard conversation about that price and those non-standard parts. Get all that right and you inherit the noise I have been chasing since that multi-storey. Get it wrong and you have bought a very loud lesson.
