In 1992, after clinching the Italian Superturismo Championship, Alfa Romeo commits to a new challenge: creating a ground-breaking car to battle in the German DTM races.

Leveraging on the DTM’s very lenient tuning rules – permitting teams to enter radically modified versions of production models in the championship –  Alfa conceived a truly radical machine. Under the stewardship of Giorgio Pianta, the engine displacement and the material used for its block were kept, while the rest of the production 155 model was disrupted to become a racing beast.

The 2.5 litre V6 engine was turned to a longitudinal position to give the vehicle four-wheel drive. A new magnesium crankcase housed the six-speed gearbox, front differential and central epicyclic differential (drive torque distribution was 33% to the front and 67% to the rear). The car had titanium inlet valves, dry-sump lubrication and an electronic system that communicated with the two three-way catalytic converters to control emissions. The engine weighed only 110 kg and produced 420 hp at 11,800 rpm. Thanks partly to its carbon fibre body, the car weighed just 1040 kg.

The 155 V6 TI won 12 out of 20 races in the 1993 Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft, and went on collecting a total 38 race wins in its official DTM career, with legendary drivers like Larini and Nannini. Giancarlo Fisichella had the pleasure of racing this remarkable car too in the Intercontinental Touring Car Series.