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Busso's Alfa Romeo V6 - the Stradivarius of six-cylinder engines

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Created on May 22, 2021

Reading time 6min

Written by:

Thomas Suter

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

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Bruno von Rotz

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Centro Documentatzione Alfa Romeo Arese

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AR

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Balz Schreier

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Archiv Zwischengas

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Alfa Romeo / Werk

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Paolo Carlini - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Tim Scott - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Archiv

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Daniel Reinhard

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Bruno von Rotz

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Centro Documentatzione Alfa Romeo Arese

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AR

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Balz Schreier

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Archiv Zwischengas

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Alfa Romeo / Werk

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Paolo Carlini - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Tim Scott - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

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Archiv

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Alfa Romeo 164 3.0 V6 (1990) - die Seele des 164, der V6

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Alfa Romeo 6 (1980) - der Sechszylinder in einer Durchsichtszeichnung

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Alfa Romeo 6 2.5 (1980) - der längs eingebaute V6-Motor

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Alfa Romeo 6 2.5 (1980) - die Vergaserfabrik wird fast vollständig vom Luftfilter verdeckt

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Alfa Romeo 6 2.5 (1980) - ein Luftfilter über sechs Dell'Orto-Vergasern

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Alfa Romeo 6 2.5 (1980) - Zylinder 4 bis 6 und der klassische Schriftzug

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Alfa Romeo Alfa 6 (1979) - Der Alfa Sei lieferte das Herz - den Motor - für das GTV-6-Coupé

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Alfa Romeo 6 2.5 (1980) - zwischen A- und C-Säule erinnert der Sei an die Alfetta

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1981) - der V6-Motor mit Einspritzung

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - der Sechszylinder-Motor des GTV 6 mit Einspritzung

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1981) - der V6-Motor von der Seite gesehen

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1981) - der V6-Motor von vorne gesehen

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - Leistungs- und Drehmomentkurve

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - Blick in den Motorraum und auf den Sechszylinder des Testwagens der AR

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - elegantes Coupé mit V6-Motor

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - elegante gestreckte Silhouette

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - das GTV-Coupé im hochalpinen Umfeld

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - die elegante Coupé-Form

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - auch von schräg hinten attraktiv anzuschauen

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (1981) - das Alfa-Coupé auf dem Testparcour

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 - erstmals auf dem Autosalon 1981 in Genf zu sehen

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Alfa Romeo GTV 6 (Coupé-Eleganz für vier Personen)

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 Autodelta (1984) - Blick unter die Motorhaube

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Alfa Romeo RZ (1993) - es blieb auch beim Roadster bei 12 Ventilen und rund 210 PS

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Alfa Romeo 164 3.0 V6 (1990) - der grosse Dreiliter-V6 findet gerade so Platz im Bug

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Alfa Romeo 164 3.0 V6 (1990) - schöner Motorenbau

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Alfa Romeo 164 3.0 V6 (1990) - schöner kann ein Motor fast nicht sein

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Alfa Romeo 164 3.0 V6 (1990) - als Motoren noch nach Motoren aussahen

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Alfa Romeo GTV6 3.0 (1990) - Dreiliter-Variante mit 24 Ventilen (und "Gedärm")

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Mario Illien erklärt Zusammenhänge

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Mario Illien hört aufmerksam zu

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Mario Illien im Gespräch

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Mario Illien, gut gelaunt

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Summary

From 1979 to 2005, Alfa Romeo built an engine with six cylinders in a V-shape, which is still one of the legendary engine designs today. Elaborately built, it impressed with its sporty performance, but above all with an impressive soundscape. However, it was not optimally built, says racing engine expert Mario Illien and is not at a loss for explanations. This report tells the story of the Alfa V6 engine, explains its strengths and weaknesses and shows it in historical and contemporary images.

This article contains the following chapters

Long six-cylinder history
Nine years of development
Ingredients from the fine star
Enthusiastically received
From the perspective of the racing engine engineer
Technical data compared to the competition

Estimated reading time: 6min

Preview (beginning of the article)

It has long been a legend - the Busso V6 engine in the Alfetta GTV6: when the hood is opened, the six chrome-plated intake pipes are not yet the eye-catcher in the early version; these are reserved for later models such as the Alfa Romeo 155, the Alfa Romeo 156 or the Alfa Romeo GT. However, the engine of the GTV6 already shone with special qualities: once started, an incomparable sound escaped from the exhaust pipes. Alfa Romeo's 6-cylinder engines have a long tradition. In 1920, ten years after the company was founded, the first in-line six-cylinder engine was installed in the G1 model (35-50 HP); from the 6C 1500 onwards, two camshafts were fitted. These in-line six-cylinder engines were used in different model series in the 6C 1750, 6C 1900, 6C 2300 and 6C 2500 - all glorious cars from the period before the Second World War (the post-war 6C 2500 was based on the pre-war models).

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