The A is for Analog
The Alfaholics GTA-R
STORY | Ryan Bahrke
Photography | Justin Chan
What makes a car truly special? Must it be vintage? Hand built? Is a manual transmission essential? Does an Italian pedigree help? Or, perhaps, a British one?
Should every touchpoint feel remarkable? Should it be purely analog in character? Should its body stop you in your tracks and the sound of its engine touch your soul? Perhaps most importantly, should the car even scare you a little when you’re behind the wheel?
The Alfaholics GTA-R somehow manages all these things.
If you don’t know Alfaholics, they’re the Somerset, UK-based enthusiast company known for obsessive, ground-up re-engineering of classic Alfa Romeos. Primarily the Giulia and its derivatives that blend enhanced, period-correct design with contemporary materials and vastly improved performance. The GTA-R is the flagship of owners Andrew and Maxim Banks’ philosophy: a reinterpreted, vintage Alfa Romeo built for modern-day road and track use, without losing its analog, retro soul.
It all comes at a price, though. If you want one right away, figure $750,000 for a pre-owned example, if you can find one. A new car, built to your exact specification, can be had, too. But expect a nine-year wait and a price north of $650,000; a number that’s prone to fluctuation, depending on tariffs, shifting exchange rates, and global demand.
This Alfaholics GTA-R, incidentally, belongs to my good friend and fellow Coloradan Tom Horan. Tom is the long-time chairman of the Colorado Grand, the prestigious five-day, 1,000-mile, annual charity driving tour through the Colorado Rockies that features the world’s best pre-1960 and earlier sports and racing cars. Picture a group of 100-plus classics like Ferrari 250s, Jaguar D-Types, Mercedes-Benz 300SLs, Blower Bentleys and the like at speed on some of the best driving roads in the country. As such, Tom has experienced just about every car extant that most of us would consider special. And yet, he bought this car: an Alfaholics GTA-R.
Comparisons to the exquisite cars “reimagined” by Singer are natural. And Rod Emory’s wonderful 356-based creations are also close-analog. But those are based on Porsches. And Porsches are — and I say this as a long-time Porsche owner myself — the safe bet. The Porsche is one you marry, if you’re playing “that” game. An Alfaholics GTA-R is something different, a beautiful creature with a little crazy in its eyes.
I got up way too early on a late spring day to drive Tom’s GTA-R, as our esteemed photographer Justin Chan insisted on the good light it would bring, and the stunning photos that would follow. He was not wrong; set hard against the patinated urban landscape of Englewood, Colorado’s scruffy industrial corridor, the Alfa absolutely popped in the early morning light. This particular GTA-R is painted in Blu Sera Metallizzato — a rare Ferrari shade from the early ‘60s — and it couldn’t be more perfect, here. The shape of an Alfa Romeo GTA, penned by a young Giorgetto Giugiaro while he was at Bertone, is timeless. As of this writing, Mr. Giugiaro is alive and well and, at 88 years old, is generally considered to be our greatest living car designer. The GTA-R’s stance is just right; in the same way that Singers and Emory Outlaws sit just right. Alfaholics nailed it here; using their own 15-inch Superleggera wheels in place of the standard 14-inchers, the car looks ready to pounce. But it’s also cohesive, and entirely deliberate. As you get closer, you start to notice the details: the drilled hinges on the doors, bonnet, and boot are easy to spot. But it’s not just the obvious stuff that keeps the weight down; less conspicuous is the lightweight windshield, the thin side glass, and the polycarbonate rear window that together save around 25 pounds.
Dropping down into the driver’s seat is like sitting on top of a Bottega Veneta handbag; the soft, basket-weave Italian leather smells as good as it looks. The details — like the way the polished instrument bezels sit perfectly in the dash — are all exacting. The fact that the watch-like dials within retain the Italian equivalents for oil, gasoline, and water certainly add to the vibe. Your left hand falls quickly to the Momo Prototipo steering wheel; what else would’ve worked here, really? Your right hand, to a tall shifter that moves with more grace than it should. The car’s got a full (and fully tailored) roll cage, too. This isn’t just a special car; it’s a serious one.
Notably, Tom’s GTA-R is chassis number 25 and arrived in the United States in January of 2022. Commissioned by its original owner, it was ordered with a predominantly aluminum body rather than the full carbon-fiber construction typically found on these cars now. Carbon fiber is still used selectively throughout the car, but several panels and components that are carbon fiber on other builds remain aluminum on this example, giving it a distinct spec within the GTA-R lineage.
Settled in and buckled up, I turn the ignition key and bring the engine up to temperature; I don’t know of another car that sounds quite like this on startup. Importantly, it does sound like an old Alfa, but there’s a metallic rasp, a motorsports clatter, and a resulting sense of purpose that’s completely unique to the GTA-R. Again, it’s special. Credit the bespoke Twin Spark engine featuring an aluminum block, steel connecting rods, forged pistons, and a single-mass flywheel.
And, with a potent 240 horsepower in this tiny, 1,850-pound car, it is indeed a little crazy. That’s a power-to-weight ratio close to a modern Porsche 911 Carrera or dual-motor Tesla Model 3; though the driving character couldn’t be more different from either. Pulling away from a stoplight, you quickly build a gap from the cars behind you; as you near the 7,800-rpm redline, the car damn-near roars. The GTA-R simply dances through turns, thanks to its featherweight chassis and its unassisted steering delivering a level of intimacy that makes you anticipate each small input.
There are quirks, of course. I never quite figured out how to get my size-14s comfortable in the pedal box, and the lack of side mirrors makes merging a little more involved than it should be, but none of it matters. This is proper driving in a proper driver’s car.
There are no electronic nannies here, and no real safety net if you get into trouble with it; something I dearly cannot afford to do. Thankfully, the non-assisted brakes are excellent, with billet, aerospace-grade aluminum calipers; six-piston fronts and two-piston rears. Beyond the power, there is a purity in the driving experience, a viscerality that you just can’t find in modern sports cars. No, they don’t make cars like this these days; they can’t. Regulation, cost, and liability won’t allow it.
While many Alfas wear Alfaholics components, wheels, suspension, driveline upgrades and cosmetic bits, the number of full GTA-R builds remains quite miniscule at 32 examples. Beyond the GTA-R, the company has also created fully built cars from other classic Alfa Romeo platforms, including the Giulia sedan and the Spider. They are just as beautiful, and likely even rarer.
This is not a second, or third, car for someone, in the way a modern Porsche or even a Lamborghini can be. This is a fourth or a fifth car in the garage of someone who’s owned the obvious greats; something you buy after you’ve owned, as Tom has, a Ferrari 288 GTO, a Porsche Carrera GT, and an Allard J2X. But it’s more than that. The Alfaholics GTA-R is a car for dreamers — drivers who have already worked their way through the best the automotive world has to offer and still find themselves wanting something purer, and even more analog. Something a little unhinged, perhaps, in the best possible sense. The Alfaholics GTA-R is just that. And, damn, is it special.
