Words: Nathan Chadwick
Photography: Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo’s new Junior has had a rough start to life. In many ways it returned the brand to its traditional heartland – small, nippy cars for the European market.
Unfortunately, that European heartland isn’t really interested in EV Alfas yet and considering it’s not actually built in Italy, its name change poked an already testy relationship between Stellantis and the Italian government.
Wind back to 2000 and Alfa Romeo was in a very different place. Still basking in critical and sales success of the 156, it was preparing its new challenger in the hatchback market: the 147.
Unveiled at the Turin Motor Show in June 2000, left-hand-drive markets received their first 147s by the end of the year, with the UK following suit in early 2001. It was a sensation – penned by Wolfgang Egger and Walter de Silva, the 147 was distinctively Italian – it was a masterpiece of elegant curves intersected with sharp horizontal ‘crease’ lines down the flanks that gave it a taut tension. Then, of course, there was the gloriously unrepentant Scudetto at the front – it may have been the baby of the range, but it was proudly Alfa Romeo.
It also drove like a proper Alfa Romeo. Now, some marque enthusiasts believe that the only good Alfas are rear-wheel-drive ones, but that neglects the fine history of the AlfaSud and its fine front-wheel-drive handling. The 147 follows in that same grand lineage; indeed, 147s were built in the same Pomigliano d’Arco plant in Naples.
The first properly Fiat-developed Alfa hadn’t gone down well – the early versions of the 155 were deemed as little more than a spot of Fiat Group badge engineering. However, such was the chorus of disapproval, Fiat and Alfa redeveloped the 155, and set about creating a true golden era of Italian cars, such as the revised 145, the GTV and the 156. Despite what internet edgelord revisionists might call ‘wrong wheel drive’, these cars were deemed to have class-leading handling, benchmarked on cars such as the Peugeot 405 Mi-16, Nissan Primera GT and Lotus Elan M100. It’s a recipe that worked for the 156, which was actually deemed better than an E36 3 Series in four-pot form by CAR magazine.
With the 147 a further development of the 156, the result was a car that even in base-model 1.6-litre form, had a proper zest about it in the manner of the AlfaSud. With MacPherson struts at the rear and double wishbones up front – admittedly not the most robust for potholed British roads – it was a genuinely fun-to-drive little car.
The engines were also special – a 1.6-litre petrol offered between 104bhp and 118bhp, and a 2.0-litre offered 148bhp. These engines are the famed Twin Spark units, part of the Pratola Serra modular engine family that is still used to this day. Despite its naturally aspirated status, there’s a surprisingly amount of mid-range thrum, and there’s a heart-soaring serrated buzz as you reach for the high revs. The 9.3-second 0-60mph time for the 2.0-litre doesn’t sound particularly swift, but then it wasn’t really a hot hatchback – though throw it some corners and, despite a too-light-for-some steering feel, it certainly rewarded. However, if the 2.0-litre engine was slightly under-nourished, Alfa had something truly spectacular planned…
The concept of putting a whopping big engine into a small car is a trick that’s as old as the car itself, but even seasoned car hacks were amazed when Alfa unveiled the 147 GTA. It took the 3.2-litre Busso V6 from the 156 GTA and dolloped into a 147 to deliver 247bhp and a top speed of 153mph, and 0-60mph took just 6.3 seconds. It looked the part too, with a 30mm wider body and styling from Alfa’s near neighbours and long-term collaborators, Zagato.
Even the diesel engines are interesting, particularly in Ducati Corse form – this special edition may have had only 168bhp from its 1.9-litre four-pot, but it had 243lb ft of torque from as little as 2000rpm. That’s around 20lb ft more than the GTA. This all led to very quick, smoky performance in a relatively light hatchback.
The range was further developed over the years, with a revised nose fitted from 2004 onwards that better-reflected the new 159/Brera era of cars. However, the 147 would live for a scarcely believable 10 years, finally going off sale in 2010. In truth, by that point the 147 was far behind its rivals, but as Alfa Romeo imploded internally in the mid-2000s onwards, it bravely soldiered on until it was replaced by the Giulietta.
The 147 isn’t perfect. Cambelt replacements for the Twin Spark engines need to happen every 32,000 miles or every three years, and can cost a fair proportion of the cost of an entire 147. Then there is the Selespeed system. It was novel for its time – it was the first electro-hydraulic clutch system of its type used on a production car. Sadly, it proved to be painfully unreliable – they became known as ‘Sellafields’ in the trade, and are best avoided.
The GTA, meanwhile, had its problems in its early days due to a lack of a front limited-slip differential, but the aftermarket has rectified that with chassis improvements that are now, pretty much, used on every single GTA you’ll come across. My GTA, for example, has Eibach coilovers and anti-roll bars, plus chassis bracing – and a Quaife diff. It now goes around corners with an aplomb that’s a far cry from the understeering monsters the standard cars were. It’s not nuanced like a RenaultSport Clio, but it’s got thumping mid-range and a screaming top, and a swagger that can’t help but leave you grinning.
However, the 147 in all forms is an engaging, fairly inexpensive taste of Italian zest that we’re simply not going to get anymore. Numbers are already dwindling – a huge shame for a car that’s sparking with all the personality you could ask for. In other words, a proper Alfa Romeo.
What are your thoughts on the Alfa Romeo 147? Let us know in the comments.
