156 GTA vs E46 ///M3

After being taken for a blast in OperationAlfas GTA it got me wondering how the 3.2 V6 would compare to the 3.2 straight six in the E46 ///M3.

Now I've been in a ///M3 and its very rapid, there has been a few months gap between being in the BM and the Alfa.

How do you think the GTA would hold up against the ///M3 on both:

Straight line point to point
and
Around a track

I think the M3 would eat me for breakfast. However.. I do think I would fare a bit better against one with the Q2.

It would still kick my ass.


Just bare in mind that it was wet and I couldn't put all the power down.

It has an extra 70 brake over the GTA too.

Originally Posted by OperationAlfa

I think the M3 would eat me for breakfast. However.. I do think I would fare a bit better against one with the Q2.

It would still kick my ass.


Just bare in mind that it was wet and I couldn't put all the power down.

It has an extra 70 brake over the GTA too.

70brake I wouldnt have thought it was that much.

Still like to see some kind of comparison between the two cars

On the twisty bits tho? M3 is a very heavy car

M3 obviously but you don't buy an Alfa cos it's the best you buy it for different reasons.

I think it's 333hp vs 250hp.

Hard not to see the Beemer being faster.

yup...

there was even a post recently about the 3.7 or 3.8 against an M3 and the BM was still quicker

theres also about £20k difference in price between the 2 of them

The M3 would whup the GTA in pure performance terms, I'd have guessed, especially with it being the newer model.

The GTA might have a straight line chance against an older M3?

Hmmm I really didnt know there was such a price and performance difference between the two cars.

Thanks for the info

The M3 is lightened and cranked to the max to go fast. The GTA has a big engine in a lovely Italian road car with mods, great pleasure to drive and far more personable but unfortunately nowhere near the pin sharp construction of the M3.

The coyote could never catch the road runner but we all liked him more!!

No contest really. The beemer unfortunately would kill it. The Alfa though would have the bigger audience.

E46 is way faster than a standard GTA.
Even the previous M3 coupe is faster, but the previous model M3 convertible doesn't appear to be, being much heavier.

A 328bhp Autodelta GTA is easily faster than a standard M3 in a straight line, and closely matched on cornering speeds, if not finesse.

A 3.7 super is fairly closley matched with the really excellent lightweight E46 M3 CSL if both cars are on PS Cups or eqiuvalent.
The GTAs torque can really catch out the CSL in certain situations , but fast direction changes are the CSLs forte.
Sort of a conflict of brute power versus beautiful balance

The faster the circuit the more it suits the 3.7 GTA I think, over 100mph its clearly a lot faster, but the average speed of any circuit is way below that and briute accelerataion really doesn't count for that much on track.

Originally Posted by BigFoot

I think it's 333hp vs 250hp.

Hard not to see the Beemer being faster.

I believe the E46 M3 has 343bhp, and the E46 M£ CSL has around 20 bhp more (and lighter, which on 5th gear made it a full 2 seconds quicker on a lap, but at a very high cost) on the previous model the M3 Evo has 321 BHP and the standard M3 has 302(?) bhp, (might very well be incorrect one that last figure)

The M3 would win, unless your talking about beauty, or the best singing voice.
I went in an M3 in the late nineties, and it was even back then an awesome motor, but peaky and not tractable around town.
Costs aside I would always choose the GTA, because it looks so damn good, and the performance and handling difference is so far beyond what is legal or snsible in this country as to be unimportant IMHO

E46 Euro Spec M3 is 343HP and 365Nm, 1570kg and perfectly balanced, superb suspension, awesome handling, great rear diff.
The GTA is 1410kg, perfectly unballanced, 250HP and 300Nm, not so great stock suspension, no LSD.
You cannot compare the two in a straight line or on track, unfortunately. I own one 156 GTA, my brother owns a 2004 E46 M3. Even I preffer his car
In all fairness, I cannot say the M3 is an ugly car, it's just not beautiful but it looks very agressive.

PS. Despite what you might think, the M3 engine a huge and very heavy, while the GTA V6 is smaller and lighter
And the CSL is 1385kg, 360HP and 370Nm, need I say more ? It's a freaking beast, inside and out.

Originally Posted by OperationAlfa

It has an extra 70 brake over the GTA too.

And the rest, I think the E46 has 343bhp, so 93 more than a GTA..

I've had a go in one, and it certainly didn't feel that much faster at low speeds. I think it has got quite long gears. My Alfa feels livelier, but I have no doubt the M3 would handle far batter, brake far better, ride better, corner better etc etc.

But they didn't build a M3 on a FWD Fiat Tipo chassis with a V6 engine designed for RWD did they? I think for what the GTA is, and how Alfa (and Fiat) made it when they were absolutely skint, it really shows how resourceful some Italian engineers can be.

Originally Posted by Pud237

And the rest, I think the E46 has 343bhp, so 93 more than a GTA..

I've had a go in one, and it certainly didn't feel that much faster at low speeds. I think it has got quite long gears. My Alfa feels livelier, but I have no doubt the M3 would handle far batter, brake far better, ride better, corner better etc etc.

But they didn't build a M3 on a FWD Fiat Tipo chassis with a V6 engine designed for RWD did they? I think for what the GTA is, and how Alfa (and Fiat) made it when they were absolutely skint, it really shows how resourceful some Italian engineers can be.

I will tell you another fact. The Be em just looks like a Be em, any 156 and especially the GTA is a piece of rolling art, they truely are one of the true classic designs...
In fact for sheer style IMHO only the Mazda RX8 offers any challenge as the best looking saloon ever made.
The Beemer is always going to be a quicker better handling car, but made for people with R soul, not A soul

If you like the RX8...that is weird to say the least. Not to mention that RX8 is not even a saloon, it's a coupe.
I would say the M3 looks just like it should, like a mean machine.

Originally Posted by Alexandrus

If you like the RX8...that is weird to say the least. Not to mention that RX8 is not even a saloon, it's a coupe.
I would say the M3 looks just like it should, like a mean machine.

No coupe has 4 doors RX8 is stunning, but definetly a saloon

Two weeks ago I test drove a BMW M Coupe and 156GTA SW on the sameday. I test drove the Beemer first and then the GTA. The BMW was certainly the quicker of the two cars (very similar performance to the E46 M3), and if i'm honest, the car I thought I would end up buying.

Even though the GTA is the slower of the two cars, in the real world its the Alfa that oozes character in a way BMW's could never do.

I was smitten by the GTA within the first minute of the test drive, and I picked it up today...and love it!

Top gear lap times tell you how it is.

147 GTA = 135.6
M3 = 131.8

147 autodelta 3.7 = 130.0
M3 CSL = 128.0

Alfa done!!