Road Test
Alfa Romeo GT 1.9 JTD
Test date 11 May 2004
Price as tested £21,200
For Superb engine, style, space, grip
AgainstHarsh town ride, not Euro4
Alfa’s modern coupé heritage is about as rich and varied as they come, stretching all the way back to the two-door 2+2 1900 Sprint-based coupes produced immediately after the second world war.
In the mode of Boneschi’s Gazzella, they were Alfa’s 1900 saloon made-over, and proved how versatile the company’s first mass produced platform could be.
It wasn’t until the 1954 Giulietta Sprint arrived that Alfa could lay claim to its own two-door 2+2. Like the current GT it was Bertone-styled, was powered by a 1290cc 65bhp four-cylinder engine, and was followed by more powerful versions like the 90bhp Sprint Veloce, 100bhp Sprint Zagato and 145bhp Sprint 2600 six pot.
Since then, Alfa’s been through 2+2s like the 1963 Giulia, the 1750 and 2000 GTVs, and the memorable 200bhp V8-powered Montreal of the 1970s.
Its first diesel went in the Giulia saloon in 1976; an 82bhp VM-made oil-burner also went into the 1978 Alfetta Turbo D, but again, that was a saloon. It’s not until now that the company has seen fit to drop one of its black-pump-specific power plants into a car that it sells on the strength of its sporting drive.
Your Say