Alfa Romeo GTV6 and Porsche 944 - better hot-blooded or balanced?

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 and Porsche 944 - better hot-blooded or balanced?

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Created on July 27, 2025

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Bruno von Rotz

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Daniel Reinhard

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Martin Wyler

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Bruno von Rotz

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - the Porsche is somewhat sportier than the Alfa

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - similar target groups and similar driving performance

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - in reality, one can hardly outperform the other

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - is the Alfa about to overtake?

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - both have relatively high survival rates

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - probably met back in the 1980s

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - the 944 was clearly ahead in Germany

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - only the Porsche had folding headlights, but the Alfa had four front lights

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - both were easy to show off at the marina

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - this was the choice faced by car buyers in the mid-1980s

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Porsche 944 (1982) - appears somewhat beefier than the GTV6 with similar dimensions

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - completely different design philosophies

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1984) and Porsche 944 (1982) - both are almost the same size and weight

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - pleasant driving comfort

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - over 210 km/h fast

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - elegant and balanced

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - wheelbase 2.4 meters, exactly the same as the Porsche 944

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - compact and 1.33 m high coupé

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - with matt black accents

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - the lines were designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - various plastic elements were added during the transformation from the Alfetta GT to the GTV6

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Porsche 944 (1982) - the rear-view mirrors are not original

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Porsche 944 (1982) - looks significantly beefier than the 924 before it

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Porsche 944 (1982) - sits firmly on the road

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Porsche 944 (1982) - the dream of many young drivers in the 1980s

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Porsche 944 (1982) - retrofitted BBS rims

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Porsche 944 (1982) - the fender flares are reminiscent of the 924 Carrera GT, which was only built for a short time

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Porsche 944 (1982) - 4.2 meters long, 1.735 meters wide and 1.275 meters high

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - mainly gray and black tones in the interior

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - Rev counter directly in front of the driver in the center

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - Speedometer up to 240 km/h

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - Alfa sign in the horn button

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - Additional instruments in the center console, electric windows as standard

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - who needs a radio with this engine sound?

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - yielding seats with a striped look

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Porsche 944 (1982) - sporty cockpit with some Volkswagen remnants

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Porsche 944 (1982) - very short gearshift

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Porsche 944 (1982) - not everyone liked the instruments back then

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Porsche 944 (1982) - huge numbers in yellow

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Porsche 944 (1982) - the rev counter is rotated for optimum readability

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Porsche 944 (1982) - mirror-proof cover glass for the instruments

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Porsche 944 (1982) - Speedometer up to 260 km/h

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Porsche 944 (1982) - VDO additional instruments in the center console

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Porsche 944 (1982) - the famous psychadelic-looking fabric pattern

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Porsche 944 (1982) - high center console

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Porsche 944 (1982) - legendary Pasha seat covers

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - the fuel-injected Busso V6

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - six cylinders in V-shape, fuel injection

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Porsche 944 (1982) - clearly visible Porsche lettering on the cylinder head cover

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Porsche 944 (1982) - longitudinally mounted in-line four-cylinder engine with balancer shafts

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Porsche 944 (1982) - visible engine construction

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - the famous hump on the hood to make room for the V6

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - with the original aluminum wheels

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - Twin headlights

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - the rear windows can also be lowered with a rotary knob

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - Door handles with tradition

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - beautifully designed air vent

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - Alfa sign on the rear

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - even the bird is interested in it

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - clearly labeled

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Porsche 944 (1982) - Porsche sign on the nose

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Porsche 944 (1982) - Folding headlights in the style of the time

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Porsche 944 (1982) - the folding headlights are raised by motors

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Porsche 944 (1982) - Door handles don't look very classy

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Porsche 944 (1982) - fuel filler cap under a flap, unlike the GTV6

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Porsche 944 (1982) - large rubber rear spoiler

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Porsche 944 (1982) - the type designation at the rear

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - only one exterior mirror as standard

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Porsche 944 (1982) - still feels modern today

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Porsche 944 (1982) - beefy torque allows for low-shift driving

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Porsche 944 (1982) - sits firmly on the road

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Porsche 944 (1982) - almost everything painted in body color

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1984) - looks longer than it is at 4.26 meters

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Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTS (1979) - English special model with velour upholstery, electric windows, sunroof, fog lights, side trim, wheel trim rings and washer system for the rear window

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - the elegant coupé shape

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - also attractive to look at from the rear at an angle

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - the dashboard has been refreshed compared to its predecessor, the speedometer is now in front of the driver

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - cozy and spacious interior

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - the six-cylinder engine of the GTV 6 with fuel injection

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Porsche 924 (1976) - the new people's Porsche as it was presented in 1976

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Porsche 924 (1976) - characteristic rear design

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Porsche 924 (1976) - the see-through drawing shows the transaxle design

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Porsche 944 (1982) - attractive exterior with many elements of the 924 and 924 Carrera GT

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Porsche 944 (1982) - looking through the 944

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Porsche 944 (1981) - Steering wheel and dashboard

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Porsche 944 (1983) - the four-cylinder was created as a halved 928 engine

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Porsche 944 (1981) - the halved eight-cylinder from the 928 became a four-cylinder

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Porsche 944 (1985) - open transaxle - Techno Classica 2016

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Summary

Anyone who celebrated their professional success by buying a sports car at the beginning of the 1980s was almost certainly also shortlisting the Alfa Romeo GTV6 and the Porsche 944. The two coupés are more similar than you might think at first glance. And they are still a lot of fun today. This article compares the two eighties sports coupés.

This article contains the following chapters

Groundwork
Evolution
The engine at the center
Coherent package
Almost incomparable
A good 40 years later
Successor?

Estimated reading time: 9min

Preview (beginning of the article)

They were among the most sought-after sports cars of the early 1980s, the Porsche 944 and the Alfa Romeo GTV6. And they were more similar than you would think at first glance. Each of the two cars was powered by an engine with a displacement of 2.5 liters, whose power of around 160 hp was transmitted to the rear wheels via a gearbox in the rear (transaxle). Both cars offered space for four (2+2) people and had a wheelbase of 2.4 meters. They were also almost the same size and weight. Many parallels and yet the development histories of the two coupés are quite different. In May 1974, Alfa Romeo presented the Alfetta GT as the successor to the coupé designed by Bertone and based on the Giulia. Like its predecessor, the Alfetta GT designed by Giugiaro adopted all the technology from the GT saloon produced in parallel.

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