Jeremy Clarkson once said that “You can’t be a true petrolhead unless you’ve owned an Alfa Romeo”. Admittedly Alfa has produced some pretty cool-looking rides, but the problem with many past Alfas has always been their reliability. Sadly, poor mechanics have blighted this carmaker's vehicles in the past, which meant that it has had to lose out to the likes of BMW and Audi in sales numbers. So perhaps Clarkson’s comment should really have been something along the lines of ‘You have to be a real petrolhead, and know what you're getting yourself into, to own an Alfa Romeo”.

But, Alfa are now producing some bulletproof cars, which are just as good, and dare we say, even better than their German counterparts. One model stands outs out is the Giulia Quadrifoglio. This car has been voted the “Best Super Saloon” for four years running now by the UK's AutoCar Magazine and has rightfully been on the receiving end of huge praise from the world's motoring press.

So when the Italian carmaker took the extremely impressive Quadrifoglio and developed a GTA version, we were over the moon. To celebrate 110 years of car production, the Italian carmaker recently re-released the Giulia GTA in honor of a legendary car (with the same name) which they first produced in 1965.

‘Giulia’ is pronounced “Joo-Lee-Uh”, and in English, that converts to Julia, a popular girls name.

We’re particularly interested in the Giulia GTAm model. GTA stands for 'Gran Turismo Alleggerita', which is Italian for ‘Grand Tourer, Lightened’. And the ‘m’ is for ‘Maggiorata’, which translates to ‘Enlarged’, a reference to the bigger size engines that the carmaker loaded into these limited production models (a bit like BMW does with its M-series models).

So, we’ve got a comeback car that was first produced back in the 1960s, which is an upgraded, youthful-looking, light-weight grand tourer called ‘Julia’, that carries the famous clover leaf badge. And the question that we’re asking is; If you had to choose between one of these Giulia GTAms, would you choose the 1960s model or the latest 2021 version? It’s a tough one, and you’ll see why. Let’s take a closer look.

The Original: 1969 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm

Alfa Romeo GTAm
Via: Wikipedia Commons

In the '60s, Alfa took one of their Bertone-designed cars, the Giulia Sprint GT, and produced the GTA. They released two versions of the car, the GTA and the GTAm. The ‘m’ was the race-prepared version, which had more power, roll bars - instead of back seats, big spoilers, and flared wheel arches. And as you can see from the picture above, it was really cool to look at.

With its big front headlights, flared body panels, and low slung rear, it looks like a pit bull terrier dog ready to pounce. Strangely, from the side, if it wasn’t for the car’s muscular curves, it could well be mistaken for any other plain saloon car. A really cool touch is the way that the hood has been designed with a slight peak over the front grille above those distinctive front lamps.

Alfa’s racing partner, Autodelta, built just 40 of these awesome rear-wheel drive, racing coupe ‘m’ models in 1969. To reduce the car’s weight, they gave it glass-fiber body panels and plexiglass windows. So on the scales it weighs in at a mere 2,028 lbs, which in its day was awesome. Under the hood, the GTAm is packed with a 2.0-liter Twin Cam, 237 hp engine, which enabled it to do battle with the likes of the BMW’s 3.0 CSL on the race circuits. And according to Wikipedia, this legendary racer has a top speed of 143 mph.

Nineteen of them were ‘works' cars, leaving just twenty-one for private buyers who fancied their chances on the race circuits. And it proved to be very successful on the track, winning hundreds of races, including the European Touring Car Championships in 1970 and 1971.

Because only 40 were produced, they are extremely rare. If one comes up for sale, it can fetch a ton of money. In Concours, condition one of these cars can easily fetch $500,000. And according to Haggerty auctions, the average sale price for one of these legendary racing coupes is currently around $350,000. But, if you happen to have what they refer to as ‘Significant competition history’ with the car, you can add a further whopping forty per cent on top of that, very nice too.

So if you do happen to have a sixty-year-old Alfa gathering dust in your barn, its worth rummaging around for some history and checking the chassis number. Autodelta gave each of these GTAm’s a unique number starting 105.51.XXXXXX, fingers crossed.

RELATED: 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio: Costs, Facts, And Figures

Rebirth: 2021 Alfa Romeo Giulia GTAm

2021 Alfa Romeo GTAm
Via: Wikipedia Commons

After looking at the 1960s model, it seems like it could be very hard to beat. But the new GTAm is absolutely spectacular. Alfa transformed their awesome, class-leading, Quadrifoglio super-saloon and packed it with a 2.9-liter, twin-turbo V6 engine that churns out 528 hp.

This thoroughbred racer, sporting the revived GTAm badge, has lots of carbon fiber; the hood, roof, front bumper, and wings, bringing its weight down 221 lbs from the Quadrifoglio. And along with its F1-inspired aerodynamic design and Sauber parts, it’s blisteringly fast. According to Topspeed, the GTAm can crack 0-62 mph in 3.6 seconds and reach a top speed of 197 mph.

The GTAm is a track-focused car (but still road-legal). It comes with full racing seats, racing harnesses, a roll cage, and rear passenger seats are absent, just like its 1960s predecessor.

Another cool feature are the wheel nuts, it has single nuts for ultra-quick wheel changes. And if you happen to have bought one of these awesome cars, you will have received your ‘Personalised Experience Package’. This includes a full racing suit, a personalized car cover, some driving tuition, and a Bell racing helmet in GTA livery, how cool is that!

This car is absolutely insane to drive, thanks to a bespoke suspension system and 50mm wider tracks. The adjustable active aerodynamics on this car is off the chart. Alfa has managed to both reduce drag on the straight and improve downforce in the corners, giving us a race-car that handles like a Porsche GT3. Its steering is light and precise, gear changes are lightning quick, and the engine is silky smooth. With carbon-ceramic brakes, this car pretty much has it all. It's like a Superhero member of the X-Men, standing ready to defend the cloverleaf badge against its German aggressors.

So, this car, which bears the historic GTAm nameplate from its '60s predecessor, marks a momentous comeback for Alfa Romeo. The carmaker has limited the production of these awesome rides to just 500, and since they went on the market in May at around $181,500, all of them are now sold. We have to applaud Alfa Romeo. Not just for producing a fantastic super-saloon halo-car, but for successfully resurrecting the iconic GTAm badge, which sat proudly on its 1960s ancestor.

Alfa Giulia GTA
Via: Wikimedia Commons

So, if you could magic one of these two cars onto your driveway, which would it be? Would you choose the 1969 GTAm, with its badass looks and legendary status. Or would you shoot for the new 2021 GTAm, with its carbon fiber components, world-class super-saloon handling, and blistering performance.

It’s a really tough one. I think I would slightly cheat. I'd go for the old one, which has an average value of $328,000 (according to Haggerty Auctions). I would drive it for six months to drink in the experience, and then I would sell it. With the proceeds, I would buy the new model, and with the change, I would buy that RV that I’ve always promised myself or I'd put a down payment on that coastal apartment that I’ve always dreamt of.

Either way, both cars are a testament to Alfa’s ability to create high-performance, class-leading, race-ready, sports saloon cars that can obliterate the competition. Cars which serve to show new buyers that their brand is worth taking a look at when they come to make their next purchase. So, we probably need a new mantra, something along the lines of “Alfas aren't just for Petrolheads, you have to be barmy not to consider one”.