Alfa Romeo GTV

TobiasG

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Right, bored of my weee polo and i want a new car.
An Alfa Romeo gtv have got my attencion, however since i don't know much about them (or cars in general for that matter) i was wondering if one of you lot could help me out.

What to look out for, what engine to get and any other information that might be important to know.

Talking about the 916 series from 95 and up btw

Gah, wrong part of the forum? if so, sorry:(
 
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I looked at one of these for a little bit, but, that was a while ago, and I was looking more around the 00' mark.

I think the engines to look out for would still be the same 2.0l twin spark and the 3.0l V6 (The Italian version not GM 3.2l) They both sound fantastic and the 3.0l gives you about 220bhp if I remember correctly. There were never too many issues but I remember someone telling me look out for the timing/cam belts. Make sure they're not the original ones and if they are, get them changed. It's a FWD car unfortunately so prepare for torque steer, but I assure you, it still handles very nicely. As with most Alfas, look out for rust under guards and in engine bay. The GTV here is the hardtop version but we also had the Spyder which was the convertible. For the hardtop, watch out for the sunroof if it has one, its a known issue and expensive to fix.

Thats about all I remember, I was looking out for one here mainly cause they're so damn cheap cause of good ol' depreciation. Brand new they still cost an arm and a leg.
 
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I love Alfa V6s, but in the case of the GTV i think the TS might make sense if your not going for more then 2 liters of displacement. I don't like the idea of the shrunken 2.0 Turbo sinceturbos generally dull the sound of a engine, and Alfa V6s strong point is their sound, but then i know nothing concrete about it. I however can say that i have driven a older Alfa V6s (3.0 swapped GTV6, and 164) and those are great!

It was a 92 spider with a TS swap that made me completely rethink what i knew about exhaust sounds, that car kept me up at night dreaming about how it seemed to come from another, farly superior, planet. I would assume the GTV has similar potential to sound great, although it is worth noting that i4s are seemingly the easiest engines to make sound like crap if you don't know what your doing (not that you were going to modify.) I also believe that for awile the TS had the highest "power to economy" ratio, whatever that means.


Usually Alfas are great so long as you follow ALL maintenance (do not belate anything!) and take good care of the bodywork.
 
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A friend of mine had a GTV 2.0 TB (2 litre V6 with turbo) and it was great. Good snorty sound, good gas mileage when you're not using the turbo and when you are using it, it's a pretty fast car. So I'd go for that one or the big 3.2 litre V6.

Also felt pretty solid and well built for an italian car (at least compared to mine).
 
Thanks, the one i was originaly thinking about was a v6 tb, but it might be a bit too expensive... Still in the thinking box. But it's good to know there arent any major faults with them other than the car has to be taken good care of, which applys to every car anyway.
 
Here we go...

I've got one... (Duh)

What do I think of it...

1. If you want a car with a boot (trunk), look somewhere else. The boot on the GTV is pathetic, it's full of suspension.

2. I can't lie, I've had some electrical problems, a dry joint in the ECU causing the engine to go into "safe" mode. cost me 1200 Euros to fix. Alfa dealer didn't have a clue so they had to send it to the local bosch analyst, who don't do "friendly prices".

3. Interior space for rear seat passengers in not good, but then again, not many coupes are.

4. The 3.0 goes very well and sounds great.

5. One of the best cars for posing in EVER (when it's clean), it's so swoopy looking. especially in red, I've driven down the high street where I live and heard little kids say " Daddy a Ferrari".

6. It's a bit "old school", no traction control, computer, etc.

7. I hate the Telephone dial alloys (just personal preference) that seem to come on every model. That's one of the reasons I got mine, it didn't have them...


Alfa008.jpg

Alfa003.jpg



8. I think the car looks a little tame without the bodykit (front and back spoiler and skirts) but again it's all down to personal preference.

9. Whatever you pay for it, it WILL be worth only 50% of that in a couple of years time, even if it is 2nd hand, they really don't hold their value.


To be honest I know what you are thinking about... a small coupe.

Corrados are too old now, a damned shame, the design is better than the GTV in so many ways, I still regret selling mine even though it smoked like it was on 2 packets a day.

MX5, tried one, it felt like it was towing a trailer, the engine has no torque.

Ford Cougar, I thought about this, doesn't look too bad, nice V6 engines, BUT, there's something strange about them, people don't think they are "nice" cars.

Another nice option would be the 406 coupe, also available with a V6 (albeit not with the "breeding" of the Alfa V6), Also designed by Pinninfarina, and dirt cheap at the moment.

On a final note... if you want mine, it's for sale, 8500 euros. I'm thinking of getting an old M5, I've never had a V8 ... :)
 
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That thing is fucking gorgeous. Wow. IMO they're better looking than even a Brera, mostly due to the stance. Oh how I wish they were importable into the States.
 
GTV V6:
Couldn't care less about boot space or rear seats. It's only me in the car 99.9% of the time:) But was the ecu problem the only electrical problem you had?
 
They are fwd, but also one of the best fwd cars ever made (so ive heard)
 
Was it FWD or wrong wheel drive?

FWD is wrong wheel drive!

If your calling RWD wrong wheel drive then please be ready for some angry banter.

That thing is fucking gorgeous. Wow. IMO they're better looking than even a Brera, mostly due to the stance. Oh how I wish they were importable into the States.

Yeah,. no.... Its neat, but the Brera is both completely different and socially acceptable, something that i think could only ever happen to such a car that has been designed by Giugiaro and then touched up and manufactured by Pininfarina.
 
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GTV V6:
Couldn't care less about boot space or rear seats. It's only me in the car 99.9% of the time:) But was the ecu problem the only electrical problem you had?

I had a problem with the mass flow sensor, but it wasn't the cars fault. In a previous service, the air filter had been put in wrong and there was a huge gap at the bottom, the mass flow sensor was full of crud so I had it changed.

The ECU problem was very complicated, it manifest it's self as a problem with the throttle position sensor when connected to the Alfa computer so we swapped it out twice. In the end it was probably the only German made part in the whole car that caused the problem.

Other than that the car has been great.

Now the Brera...

I really feel conned by the Brera, I agree that the concept was beautiful, but it lost so much in the translation to a production car.

Comparison between concept and production Brera

The production car looks dumpy and fat compared with the muscular and lithe concept.
 
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Comparison between concept and production Brera

The production car looks dumpy and fat compared with the muscular and lithe concept.

I have to disagree, i think the original concept was to hard edged to sell well, of course I'm American and not at all adjusted to being around pointy eye Peugeot's and razor edged Renualt all day, about the most angular thing I commonly saw when i was growing up was a Pontiac Grand Prix. Personally I'm happy they changed it, but then i can see how someone who would be a huge fan of the super-crazy looking 90s GTV would be disappointed.
 
The thing with the Brera is the massive snouty overhang in the front. The GTV's front overhang doesn't look as bad thanks to the sloping nose. Personally, I'd rather have the GTV just for looks, but key word is personally, just like you, so styling is subjective and all that.
 
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