Club Spotlight: James’s Manual Alfa Romeo 147 GTA, “Alfie”

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The keen eyed among us seem to have a sixth sense. In the calmest of moments, in the company of people who can’t tell a Civic from a Corsica and don’t care, a distant glint catches our attention. It’s a shape we haven’t seen before — not on these shores, anyway — and our excited flailing disturbs the fleeting peace of our passengers. We’ve spotted a special car again. We ask to turn around.

This particular find, though, is worth our passengers’ exasperation. It’s an Alfa Romeo 147 GTA, never sold in the USA, and rare even in Europe. James Lawson bought one of 5000 copies made — and when the British Royal Marines stationed him in the US, he brought his treasure with.

“Back in the UK, the car was registered as E11 GTA, and might well have been seen at numerous shows and events like Brooklands Auto Italia,” explained Lawson, who is no stranger to the racetrack. “It’s been out at Bedford Autodrome, Castle Coombe, Goodwood, Spa-Francorchamps and the Nürburgring. Alfie has probably done about 100 laps on the ‘Ring with only one minor suspension related mishap.”

Alfa Romeo fit some 147 GTA models with an automatic gearbox borrowed from the Ferrari 360 Modena. Most, Lawson said, came with the six-speed manual that he considers the superior experience. His particular example might be clean, but it’s not factory: its rebored “Busso” 3.8-liter V6 pumps out 330 horsepower, and a short-throw shifter reduced the gear throws by about a third.

The only known Alfa Romeo 147 GTA in the United States has a busy schedule over its two-year visit: Lawson plans to tackle the Tail of the Dragon between track days at Summit Point and Watkins Glen. Track prep includes KW V3 coilovers, Eibach anti-roll bars, a Q2 differential and “lots of extra Alcantara.”

A Ferrari 360 throttle body, ported CF2 manifolds and Raggazzon exhaust transform the 2900-pound hot hatch into an anthemic expression, instantly recognizable as foreign and exotic to American ears. As Lawson said, “Everything sounds better in Italian.”

If you’re an outspoken ally of the manual transmission active in your online owner community, DM @highmileage on Instagram for your chance to be featured in a TMGPS Member Spotlight.

1 in 6 Ford Bronco Buyers Pick the Manual Transmission

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The Ford Bronco is quickly becoming a symbol of hope for stick shift enthusiasts. Out of 125,000 pre-orders, 22,500 will be delivered with a row-your-own box — an 18 percent take-rate for the seven-speed manual transmission.

Only the base 270-horsepower 2.3-liter turbocharged four cylinder engine can be paired with the manual transmission. While some may be disappointed the more powerful 310-horsepower 2.7L twin-turbo V6 isn’t available with a manual, it’s important to note that the turbo four is still more powerful than any available engine in any previous-generation Bronco.

The new Getrag 7MTI550 manual transmission operates like a normal six-speed during daily driving. The additional seventh speed is a dedicated off-road crawl gear, marked with a “C”, placed just below reverse on the left side. Crawl is an extremely low 6.588:1 ratio — for comparison, the Jeep Wrangler low gear is 5.13:1. The crawl gear is especially useful on steep rocky terrain and in vehicle recovery operations. To put it another way, the crawl gear will help you be the hero of the day as you pull a buddy’s Jeep out of a deep mud hole.

On the manual transmission Black Diamond trim, buyers are offered two different transfer case options. The standard part-time two-speed transfer case has three selectable drive modes: Two-Wheel High, Four-Wheel High and Four-Wheel Low.  The optional Advanced 4×4 Automatic On-Demand Engagement transfer case adds a fourth drive mode called 4A, which continuously adjusts power to the front wheels based on current driving conditions. As in other Ford systems, 4A keeps the Bronco in rear-drive until slip is detected. Once slip occurs, a proportional amount of torque is sent to the front wheels to keep control. In my personal experience, I have found this mode quite useful on wet pavement in other Ford vehicles.

Also exclusive to manual Broncos are Hill Descent Control and Crank in Gear. Hill Descent Control utilizes anti-lock braking and traction control to manage wheel spin and maintain a constant speed while traveling downhill. Crank in Gear enables the driver to start the engine while in gear in order to execute more advanced off-road maneuvers such as a hill recovery technique.

There are so many different Bronco combinations that the only easy choice is picking the transmission. I would option my four-door Bronco Black Diamond in Velocity Blue with the seven-speed, steel wheels and the standard transfer case for the sake of tradition.

If the global microchip shortage does not hinder production, delivery of reserved Broncos is expected to start in June 2021.  

Miles Wenzel is a manual enthusiast with a love for the great outdoors. Follow #DriveYourCars, a video guide for DIYers who wrench to drive and drive to live.