Miguel Sánchez
IMAGES ALFA ROMEO 2000 GTV 106: PETROLICIOUS
If you allow us the simile, be "bullish”Is like being from Atlético de Madrid; There are no reasons to explain it, it is simply an emotion, a feeling or… If you want to say it like that, an intuition. For decades the Alfistas had to endure the comment about the alleged lack of reliability in the brand's engines and the quasi-paternalistic argumentation of those who, after turning the transalpine brand back and a half, released a condescending "but the truth is that they are very pretty".
Unavailable in the face of discouragement, the Alfistas clung to the sports history of the brand of the biscion, to the particular dynamic behavior of all Alfa Romeo or to the sculptural of some bodies that can cause more than a street stumble due to their beauty. In short, the same character as a fan of Atlético de Madrid; endowed with a passion for something to believe in more with feelings than with reason.
At Atlético, this loyalty of the fans meant that he was not left abandoned during the last descent, rising from his ashes, fighting until he returned to the positions in which, in his own right, he deserves to be. The same thing happened with Alfa Romeo; not in her lowest hours did she lose the faith of all those who continue to be moved by her. And this has had a prize - a visit to Neptune if we want to say so - with the resurge from Alpha in style, gradually completing a wide range in which the mythical acronym GTV will soon be rescued.
To understand why Alfa Romeo wants to rescue this name so closely linked to its history, we are going to listen to one of the classics, specifically a 2000 GTV from 1971 Accelerating, decelerating, cornering and skidding in a way you understand, as the song sings Atlético's centenary anthem, the reasons for a feeling.
DIAMIC AND SOUND OF THE ALFA ROMEO 2000 GTV: NO TIME TO BREATHE
After watching the video we can only say “Ugh, what a rhythm”. And this time the boys of Petrolicious they have been thoroughly used in a montage that, thanks to a style full of fast shots and a drums played in the same way as in González Iñárritu's delicious tape “Birdman", manages to capture how vibrant it is to drive a classic Alfa by linking gears in a dizzying way in the midst of the spectacular symphony of his 4 cylinders of 2 liters and 150 hp at 5.500 rpm. Not very powerful, but enough to gracefully handle a car famous for its behavior.
And it is that, consulting evidence of the time, we realize how balanced the 2000 GTV is. Undoubtedly the first thing that stands out is its engine, equipped with a quick response to the acceleration pedal and capable of reaching 160 km / h without forcing too much. Thanks to this aluminum block with two overhead camshafts, driving a GTV is sporty and fun. Of course, to do the skidding and cornering entries that we see in the video ... Good stability and manageability are also needed.
REFERENCE IN THE RANGE OF HISTORICAL ALFA ROMEO
Used for the first time when in 1965 Alfa replaced - or rather evolved - the Giulia Sprint GT in order to establish the model as a benchmark for a two-door sports saloon, the acronym GTV has been appearing and disappearing for decades starting with the 106 series but always coupled with models willing to make sportiness accessible to many. In fact, we dare to say that the 2000 GTV is the most iconic Alfa of its time because, although models like the Giulia GTAm they are more spectacular - with their determined approach to competition - these are separate material. Of the series cars, the one with the largest displacement engine is the one that takes, for us, the jack to the water.
Although in 1995 Alfa rescued the acronym to name one of the models that are currently most postulated as firm pre-classic or "youngtimers"To those who take the glove in time, the hesitation that for some years there was in the FIAT group regarding relaunching the Arese brand stopped the GTV saga that, shortly, promises to return to the platform of the current Giulia with a fairly powerful engine and a sale price that will move it away from the category in which its XNUMXs predecessor competed.
Hoping to see the next Alfa Romeo launches, we prefer to increase the volume of this new installment of Petrolicious and fantasize about one day putting a GTV to roar through Madrid's M-30 to pass under the Vicente Calderón bleachers. To taste the colors, but it is that we - to which these lines subscribe;) - we like them "The stripes of the mattresses".
