GTA-R 290

290 bhp/tonne · Alfa Romeo 105-series coupe (GT 1300 Junior / Sprint GT / GTV)

The car that made Alfaholics a household name among restomod devotees. The donor is an ordinary 105-series coupe, typically a step-front GT 1300 Junior, not a genuine Giulia GTA, stripped to bare metal and rebuilt over some 3,000 hours. In place of the original twin-cam goes an aluminium-block Alfa Twin Spark 2.0, bored and given a 94 mm long-stroke crank to reach 2.3 litres: 240 bhp at 7,000 rpm and 200 lb ft at 5,400, through a GTA close-ratio five-speed to the rear wheels. Carbon doors, bonnet and bootlid plus titanium wishbones, hubs and axle bring the kerb weight to 830 kg, and 240 bhp in 830 kg is the 290 bhp per tonne the name refers to. Alfaholics quotes 0-62 mph in 4.9 seconds and 148 mph. The GTA-R 270 was the original project, named for a target the finished car overshot; the full-carbon GTA-R 300 drops under 800 kg on the same engine. From around £240,000.

Engine

2.3 Twin Spark

Output

240 bhp

Torque

271 Nm

Kerb weight

830 kg

0-62 mph

4.9 sec

Transmission

5-speed manual