Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V - Turning point

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V - Turning point

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Created on August 28, 2025

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

48

Stellantis/Werk

2

Alfa Romeo - Fiat Group

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Alfa Romeo / Werk

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Archiv

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - large amount of glass in the doors

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - a little help was needed for this encounter

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - influences for the shape go back to the early eighties

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the coupé looks as if it has been cast from a single mold

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - with 2540 mm wheelbase

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the 150 hp GTV was measured at a top speed of 210 km/h at the time

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - attractive appearance

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the alloy wheels were an extra charge for the basic model

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the GTV accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 9 seconds

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the coupé is only 1315 mm high

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - easy to drive

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - an elaborate multi-link rear axle keeps the coupé on the road

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - Exterior mirrors are of course available left and right

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - independent design

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - has the road to itself

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the coupé is 1.78 meters wide without mirrors

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the hood is made of plastic

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - drag coefficient 0.33 cw

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - a single exhaust must suffice

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - all in black and lots of plastic, was criticized at the time

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - Cockpit with two airbags

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - classic round instruments in front of the driver

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - additional instruments in the center console, air conditioning initially cost DM 3000 extra in Germany

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the hood was manufactured using an injection molding process called "Kneaded Moulding Compound" (KMC) from polyester resin reinforced with aramid and carbon fibers and consists of one piece

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - Twin Spark is written out for the engine

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the four-cylinder engine is installed transversely and drives the front wheels

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - View of the engine through the headlight openings

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - easily accessible oil dipstick

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the "heart"

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - A look under the hood

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - Note on the exterior color

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - Chassis badge

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - Open flap

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the early versions had no chrome around the Scudetto

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - flap closed

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the Alfa only appears to have individual round headlights

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the twin headlights are in one housing

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - only from the outside do the headlights look like individual projection lamps

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the beading emphasizes the wedge shape

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - flush-mounted windows

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - there's really nothing to laugh about

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - no door handles in the conventional sense, but recessed grips instead

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the rear windows cannot be folded out

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - pronounced wedge shape

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - the lettering refers to the dual ignition system

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - T.Spark is written on the rear, you might as well have written Twin Spark

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Alfa Romeo GTV 2.0 TS 16V (1998) - high stubby rear end with tear-off edge reminiscent of "coda tronca"

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Audi Quartz - styling study/prototype by Pininfarina - dedicated to AR on its 75th birthday

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Audi Quartz (1981) - wheelbase identical to the series, rear overhang significantly shorter

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Alfa Romeo Vivace (1986) - Pininfarina's study anticipated the future front of the 164

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Alfa Romeo 164 Protéo (1991) - steadily rising waistline

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Alfa Romeo 164 Protéo (1991) - silhouette, demonstration of the folding roof mechanism

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - elegant coupé with V6 engine

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Fiat Tipo (1993) - transverse engine and front-wheel drive

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Alfa Romeo 155 (1992) - with transverse front engine and front-wheel drive

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Alfa Romeo 155 (1995) - developed on the basis of the Fiat Tipo

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Alfa Romeo GTV (1994) - the production coupé

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Summary

With the Alfa Romeo GTV of the Tipo 916 generation, the Milan-based manufacturer not only switched from rear-wheel drive to front-wheel drive, but also surprised the Alfisti with a completely different design language. However, the new GTV was well received and still proves today that it is a genuine Alfa Romeo despite its corporate components. This driving report tells the story of the model and shows it in many photos.

This article contains the following chapters

From the Audi Quartz to the Alfa Romeo Protéo
From the Fiat Tipo to the Alfa 155 to the GTV/Spider
Radical and progressive
Driver's car
More than a decade of further development

Estimated reading time: 9min

Preview (beginning of the article)

If Alfisti all over the world had not had to wait seven years for the new coupé, the shock and resistance would probably have been greater. But as it was, the Alfa Romeo GTV (Tipo 916) fitted in quite well with the times. Its roots stretched almost 15 years into the past when it was finally presented to the world public. The Tipo 916 was presented in coupé and spider form at the Paris Motor Show in October 1994. The closed predecessor, the Alfa Romeo GTV 6, had already been retired in 1988, while the previous Spider had been produced in four generations from 1966 until 1993. However, the Milan-based company had been thinking about successors to both models for a long time.

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