The 2000s was a boom time for the hot hatch, with the VW Golf GTI returning to form in its fifth generation, Honda’s frantic but attainable K20-powered Civic Type-R (EP3) and Renault Sport truly hitting it stride across several models and generations to wrestle the honour of building France’s greatest hot hatch away from Peugeot Sport. 

With such a formidable array to choose from already, how could a less mainstream entrant into the fray make a statement? Alfa Romeo decided that its ace card would be the ultimate iteration of its most iconic engine. Giuseppe Busso’s V6 had been produced and evolved for over 20 years by the turn of the millennium, providing serious performance with a soundtrack glorious enough for it to be nicknamed “the violin of Arese,” plus an engine bay presentation to steal the show with those six proudly polished intake pipes.

Squeezing the V6 into the compact body shell of the 147 hatchback, however, was a particularly wild move to make. Whilst all but the Ford Focus ST mk.2 and VW Golf R32 were sticking with the conventional inline-four layout, here came a hot hatch with true Italian sports-car exoticism and a full 250PS and 221lb/ft of torque. Yes, this was pushing the limits of what a front-wheel-drive chassis of the time could handle, but if you learned to hang onto it (or upgraded the limited-slip differential) then you were rewarded with performance, style and sound like no other.

The ‘Selespeed’ paddleshift example you see here has been confirmed to be the very last 147 GTA. Successive sellers have claimed that it was originally built for use by 2007 Formula 1 World Champion, Kimi Räikkönen, the story going that it was on a boat to Japan (the GTA’s biggest market) when something happened to make the shipment an insurance write-off and it was sent back to Europe. Sadly this has not been confirmed, but it would perhaps explain why this car is apparently painted in a Ferrari red instead of the usual ‘Rosso Alfa’.

When you step over the flared side skirts and drop into the soft but supportive ribbed leather seat, you are presented with a remarkably tidy all-black interior. Condition-wise, there is only the usual door-side front seat bolster wrinkling in the leather to say against it. The rear seats look like they’ve hardly been used, if at all. Even the leather steering wheel rim has retained much of its texture instead of wearing down smooth. 

The slender GTA-branded lever for the semi-automatic transmission also remains in great condition, as do the little grey shifter buttons behind the steering wheel. In the boot, you will find on driver’s right the CD autochanger and on driver’s left a Bose-embossed cover over the premium subwoofer mounted in the side – a reminder that this hot hatch hails from an era when a serious audio system was a must if you wanted to impress. 

Overall, the cabin feels half its age in terms of condition and how well the materials have survived.

One point of note about the exterior, given the claim that this car was intended for Ferrari’s eventual 2007 world champion, is the paint colour. 

The official ‘Centro Documentazione’ registry at Alfa Romeo lists the paint code 130, which is the rich, lipstick red of ‘Rosso Alfa’, but in person this car’s brighter, almost orangey hue more closely resembles Ferrari’s ‘Rosso Scuderia’ that was introduced in the mid-‘00s – a difference perhaps most noticeable by comparing the bodywork with the front brake callipers, which do appear to be Alfa Romeo’s own red and are slightly darker. 

Just in front of those brake callipers, you will find the 18” wheels from the 147-derived Alfa Romeo GT coupé Blackline edition (in a menacing dark grey finish), which are a size up from the GTA standard 17” ‘Teledial’ wheels and yet look like they were made for this model. They are shod with Michelin PS4 tyres in the GTA-original 225-section width.

In any case, the exterior is in excellent condition all around, with the exception of an array of tiny surface-level marks on the paint of the front bumper from life on the road. The GTA’s widened side skirts, styled to cohesively integrate the flared wheel arches, don’t show any damage from kerb or foot and there is no sign of corrosion.

The paperwork shows that in previous years the car’s front suspension and brakes were flagged as a concern, and a service invoice shows that the front brakes, lower suspension arms and driveshaft gaiters have all been replaced accordingly. Elsewhere, an oil leak was traced to an oil filter seal, leading to the relevant parts replacements and a new engine undertray. Beyond these jobs and a new handbrake cable, it has only required basic and routine maintenance. A service sticker on the engine declares that the cam belt and water pump were replaced in June 2022 at 90,941 miles.

With all those sorted, a previous owner has also treated this car to some modifications, in the form of adjustable KW coilover suspension and larger brake discs – all the better to control the performance that was class-leading when this car launched. Oh, and just for good measure, a Supersprint exhaust system serves to amplify the already wonderful soundtrack to new levels!

The car started up without issue during our photoshoot and the seller had no faults to report with this GTA.

Any 147 GTA is a heady blend of exotic engineering and everyday practicality, but only one of them gets to be the last one ever made… and here it is. Its condition sets an excellent first impression, while the mechanicals and maintenance history back it up with true substance and a couple of choice mods add an edge over your average example beyond the intriguing backstory.

It’s also fairly safe to say that, in the current climate, a V6 hatchback is unlikely to ever happen again, making this an unrepeatable slice of hot hatch history. There’ll never be a dull moment in a life with this car, and we mean that in the best way.

Notice to bidders

This item is sold on an ‘As is Where is’ basis. The condition of this item is the opinion of the seller and may differ from your own opinion. Photos and listing descriptions are for guidance purposes only*.** Car & Classic do not warrant listing accuracy. Full inspection is recommended. Viewings are at the seller’s discretion. Buyer is responsible for delivery and collection of any item purchased.*

UK-registered cars and motorbikes on Car & Classic are run through an online HPI check. On the HPI report, this vehicle shows no insurance database markers for damage or theft. It is currently not covered by a finance agreement.