In 2020, Alfa Romeo released a new special version of the Giulia sedan called the GTA. It was very limited in production as only 500 units were made worldwide. One of these cars was bought by Valtteri Bottas who is a driver for the Alfa Romeo Formula 1 team. He bought the most extreme version, known as the Giulia GTAm and on Monday he was handed the keys at a Turin showroom in Italy.
Bottas said in a statement that he loves cars very much, especially cars from the Alfa Romeo brand. He is honored and thrilled to be an ambassador of the brand and to own one of the 500 Giulia GTAs made by Alfa Romeo.
Valtteri Bottas did not join Alfa Romeo’s F1 team until 2022, and he missed out on being part of the team when they were creating the Giulia GTA and Giulia GTAm. His colleagues Kimi Räikkönen and Antonio Giovinazzi had already been given the chance to assist with development on these cars.
The cars are based on the Giulia Quadrifoglio, which was inspired by Alfa Romeo GTA that was sold in the 1960s. The “GTA” stands for “Grand Touring Lightened,” which is a type of car made to be lightweight and great for travelling long distances.
Both cars are powered by a supercharged 2.9-liter V-6 engine, and they have improved power of 532 hp compared to the 505 hp in the Giulia Quadrifoglio. The weight has also been reduced by 220 pounds which allows them to sprint from 0 to 62 mph in just 3.6 seconds if you use launch control. You can easily distinguish the GTAm version because it has a big rear wing and the inside of it is empty except for safety harnesses and a roll bar.
Alfa Romeo might not stay in Formula One racing for much longer since it has teamed up with Sauber. The deal between them will finish at the end of 2023, and after that, Audi will take over to race in F1. Alfa Romeo hasn’t said what they’ll do once its partnership with Sauber is over.