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.”

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