About
Initial Design & Build
ALFA ROMEO GTA
Introduction
We are an authorised dealer of all Scorpion Exhaust products and we work closely with them on numerous projects. This system is the first of many Alfa Romeo fitments that we have asked Scorpion to develop over the course of the coming months. All exhausts will come with Scorpion's class-leading lifetime warranty and ease of fitment.
We commissioned Scorpion Exhausts to design and manufacture a custom specification exhaust system to fit the Alfa Romeo 147 GTA and 156 GTA models with the standard 3.2 V6 250bhp engine. The corrosion problems with the standard Alfa exhaust are world renowned, where it basically falls apart after only a few years! In the UK, the GTA models were released from 2003 onwards, therefore by this time many of them were in desperate need of a new exhaust system. The price of a standard replacement exhaust is huge, and there is not lot of choice in the aftermarket for a well made exhaust system at a good price, that fits well and produces the right kind of sound and performance expected from an Alfa Romeo driver.
The specification of our exhaust was to be a lightweight, very high quality stainless steel system, that produces more power and torque than the standard exhaust. It has to be silenced to a suitable level for road use. It has to give proven performance gains and the design of it has to suit the car's image. It needs to be easy to fit and not require any modification to the standard car.
Design of the system began with us supplying Scorpion with a standard specification Alfa Romeo 147 GTA test car to build the exhaust on site at their factory in Derbyshire, UK.
Once the prototype was finished, the car was subjected to a 6 week road test to check the performance, fitment and to check for any potential issue's.
We found that the first prototype exhaust was incredibly loud and intrusive to the driver. We felt that the typical GTA driver does not want a significant amount of exhaust noise that over whelms the sound of the glorious V6 engine. Therefore, we went back to Scorpion and decided on an alternative design that incorporated a larger silencer in the centre pipe, a redesigned backbox with new internals and a new tail pipe design.
Why Choose a Scorpion Exhaust?
When choosing to fit a Scorpion Exhaust System you are comforted by knowledge of the level of engineering excellence and experience gained over the last 20 years.
From the initial development stage through to the final production programme Scorpion have enhanced their reputation resulting in on ongoing involvement across many products for the motor sport industry.Scorpion have a proven Race winning formula with several teams competing in World Rally Car, Touring Car and club events throughout the United Kingdom.
This winning formula through the Scorpion brand by offering race experience, which meets road requirements and provides an excellent touring sound as opposed to a loud 'boy racer' sound often associated with sports exhausts.
We think you'll be more than impressed with a Scorpion Exhaust fitted to your Alfa Romeo GTA!
The Results
After further testing and development of the second prototype system, we were happy to go ahead and put the exhaust into production for the 147 GTA. The exhaust is hand fabricated from aerospace grade T304 stainless steel making it lightweight, strong and durable. Precision mandrel bent to ensure no loss of pipe diameter whilst retaining optimum gas flow.
The Scorpion system leaves the front factory manifold catalysts in place for full legality, conformity and ease of fitment, but thereafter significantly de-restricts the system thanks to a free flowing design. The final design consists of a twin pipe trick decat section that removes the two standard 'middle cats' and replaces them with two straight through smooth pipes to improve gas flow and alleviate the restrictive caused by the two catalysts. Fitment of the decat section is optional and it can be replaced easily with the standard pipes if needed.
ALFA ROMEO 147 GTA DECAT SYSTEM FITTED
The Final Production
The centre pipe is 2.5" diameter with one silencer built into it. It connects to the rear section with a metal clamp.
The back box (or rear silencer) is designed to fit to the standard exhaust mounts and to sit snugly in the standard bumper cut out. It features a twin STW tail pipe design to closely reassemble the standard shape, but with a more pronounced sporting look. The tail pipes are 76mm in diameter, with rolled in ends and a small Scorpion logo stamped on each one. They are 'slash' cut and staggered length to match the angle of the bumper. Italian cars are all about aesthetics so much care and deliberation was taken over the final tail pipe design. We did try many different options!
You have two simple choices when deciding on what system to fit. You can either go for the full decat system or the cat back system. Please be aware that if you fit the decat section, the exhaust will be louder than the cat back system, you may get an engine management light coming on your dash and your car may not pass an MOT without the standard middle cats fitted. However, when we tested the prototype car on a emissions machine, it easily passed the MOT emission limits WITH the decat section fitted. This is because the catalysts in the exhaust manifold do most of the work with regards to reducing emissions.
Driving Impressions
The renowned sound of the famous 3.2 V6 engine becomes even more pronounced with the Scorpion exhaust fitted. It still retains the gorgeous Alfa rasp and howl that made owners fall in love with the car in the first place, but without being intrusive or overly loud on motorway journeys. On tick over it gives a subtle burble and as you accelerate you can hear a fantastic exhaust note! The engine feels more responsive and revs freely. Even more so with the decat pipes fitted.
We believe it's the preferred sound for the GTA driver who wants a more significant performance
exhaust note but without an intrusive sound into the cabin. We are very confident that you will
enjoy the sound of this exhaust! We have been asked for sound clips of the exhaust, but it is
very difficult to capture the accurate sound of the exhaust when you are driving the car.
