Alfa Romeo’s product development plans may have been scaled back drastically, but according to a report, the Milanese marque isreportedly planning to resurrect its famed GTA badge when it unveils a beefed-up and lightened version of the Giulia Quadrifoglio super sedan around mid-year.

Under the leadership of the late Sergio Marchionne, there were big, bold plans for Alfa Romeo. Apart from the production version of the Tonale compact family car and another upcoming SUV, the Italian firm had plans to flank the Giulia business class sedan and Stelvio executive SUV with a new Giulia-based GTV sports coupe and a successor to the 8C supercar. Indeed, there were even rumours of an all-new Giulietta, a Premium SUV to rival the likes of the Audi Q7, BMW X5, Mercedes-Benz GLE and Volvo XC90, plus an executive sedan ­– Alfa Romeo’s first since the underappreciated 166.

But no, as you may have read, Marchionne died and then, in November 2019, FCA chief executive Mike Manley told investors that Alfa Romeo’s portfolio plan had been scaled back significantly. The revised 5-year product outline he presented detailed only updates to the Giulia and Stelvio and the launches of the aforementioned pair of SUVs. The rest of the scheduled models wereunceremoniously scrapped.

What’s more, the Fiat Chrysler has since officially merged with the PSA Group, so we assume that any Alfa Romeo products that weren’t at least at an advanced stage of development (when the deal was struck) have beenput on ice… indefinitely.

The Giulia Quadrifoglio Racing Edition (offered in Europe) gives a clue to how the GTA version might look.

It’s not like local Alfisti have had much to crow about recently anyway, apart from the fact Alfa Romeo quietly slipped the Stelvio’s Quadrifoglio flagship into South Africa last year, the Giulia range still doesn’t feature Veloce derivatives or the 2019 model-year upgrades(as far as we know), Stelvio sales have beendisappointing given the market’s demonstrated appetite for SUVs and the Giulietta’s in the twilight of its product cycle.

But then, Alfa Romeo’s bloom periods never seem to last long anyway. That trend has, however, never precluded the brand from doing what it does best: grabbing the attention of its loyal fans by drawing on the firm’s heritage to builda go-faster version of something that's already in its line-up. And seeing that there’s an event in Milan to mark Alfa Romeo’s 110th birthday in late June 2020, a new halo product is sorely needed.

Well, according to US site Mopar Insiders, Alfa Romeo may well revive its historic GTA nameplate (last seen on the top-flight 147 and 156 derivatives almost 20 years ago) for a limited-edition version of the Giulia Quadrifoglio.

The last Alfa Romeo to wear a GTA badge was the flagship 156 in the early Noughties.

Remember that car? The carbon-fibre-laced and rear-wheel-driven (in South Africa) super sedan powered by a Ferrari-flavoured 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6? Well, of course, you do, becauseit’s one of very few Alfa Romeosto be regarded as having the measure of its BMW M Division, Mercedes-AMG and Audi RS rivals. It would not be boastful to say that the Giulia flagship gained criticalacclaim;not something that can be said of most of its stablemates.

It’s understood the eagerly-anticipated M3 derivative of the G20-generation BMW 3 Series (and its M4 coupe sibling) won’t see the light before 2021… after all, the production version of the 4 Series isn’t even out yet and BMW tends to release those performance twins simultaneously. Therefore, the lull before successors to M3, C63 and RS4 come out leaves Alfa Romeo with an ideal opportunity to shine.

A 460-kW Giulia Quadrifoglio GTA would certainly need beefed-up stopping power…

GTA is an abbreviation for Gran Turismo Allegerita (the last word of which is Italian for lightened) and the newcomer is believed to tip the scales at around 20 kg less than the standard Giulia Quadrifoglio. That meagre weight saving doesn’t sound conducive to a massive boost in performance, but then, why save a lot of weight if the Quadrifoglio GTA’s rumoured to produce at least 460 kW from its highly tuned 2.9-litre V6 powerplant?

To realise an 85 kWboost in peak output (and do so without dramatically shortening the lifespan of the motor) would require more boost pressure from those 2 turbos, obviously, but probably necessitate upgraded engine internals too. The brakes would need to carbon-ceramic as standardand the Quadrifoglio GTA will most likely be sold exclusively with an 8-speed auto transmission, which is probably wise.

Carbon fibre-backed sports seats are signature adornments of top-spec Guilia Quadrifoglios.

So, ifAlfa Romeo does unveil a Giulia Quadrifoglio GTA by the middle of the year and ifit decides to produce the derivative, the Italian firm may only build around 500 units of the highly-desirable super sedan. Those are a lot of big ifs and even if they’re all answered in the affirmative, here’s the biggest question of them all: Will FCA in South Africa be able to secure a few units for release in the local market? It all remains to be seen.

Suffice to say it’s a tantalising prospect for a car that would cost a small fortune to buy. But you want one anyway, don’t you? Yes, we thought so.

Related content:

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio (2017) Video Review

Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio (2019) International Launch Review

Alfa Romeo Tonale Production Model Leaked

108 Years of Alfa Romeo: Ten of its greatest (Gallery)