Alfa Romeo wowed the performance car world when it debuted the radical Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA earlier this year. The hard-core version of the Giula was recently taken to the company’s own Balocco Proving Ground where we get to see the Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA testing in anger (video at the bottom of this post) by two very capable helmsmen.

Follow Double Apex on Instagram and Facebook where we share more car content.

Order online and take advantage of free delivery in South Africa on orders over R349.

Refresher

If you haven’t already read about it, the Giulia GTA is a more powerful, more focussed version of the already lauded Giulia QV. Engineers have bumped up power from the 2,9-litre twin-turbocharged V6 engine from 375 kW to 403 kW. The engine now breathes through a titanium Akrapovic exhaust system that has twin central outlets in the diffuser. Power is still sent to the rear wheels via an automatic transmission. The car’s mass has been dropped by 100 kg. Alfa Romeo says the GTA will accelerate from 0-100 km/h in just 3,6 seconds thanks to the launch control system.

You can read up more on the GTA and GTAm here.

Hired guns

Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA Testing

Who better to carry out some of the development work of the new track-focussed model than Kimi Raikkonen and Antonio Giovinazzi. The two hired guns are full-time Formula One pilots for the Alfa Romeo Racing squad. They participated in a day of real-world Giulia GTA testing. Balocco Proving Ground is where all Alfa Romeo sports cars have undergone development and testing since the 1960s. The F1 drivers got to run the GTA and two-seater GTAm to the limit and provide feedback in real time. World champion Raikkonen and Giovinazzi worked closely with engineers, focusing on the cars’ aerodynamics and handling.

Check out highlights from Alfa Romeo’s 110th year anniversary at this link. 

More F1 expertise

Alfa Romeo used Sauber (of F1 fame) Engineering to produce the carbon components in the GTA and GTAm. Aero parts such as the front bumper, side skirts, diffuser, the GTA spoiler and the GTAm wing have all been tuned in the Sauber wind tunnel in Switzerland. The Giulia GTAm has a manually adjustable front splitter and rear wing, which can be set based on the track and driver’s preference

In their own words

“It is great to see the improvements we made to the cars today ” Antonio Giovinazzi said at the end of the Giulia GTA testing. Räikkönen worked with the aerodynamics department on the adjustable splitter and the manually adjustable wing has been introduced. He also examined the overall balance provided by the interaction of these new components with the extractor and the underbody fairing. A good job, according to the Finn: “I find them a perfect mix of everyday use and track use”, said Kimi.