Alfa Romeo GTV-6
The 1980s were a truly fantastic time for European sports coupes. From my personal favorite, the Saab 900 SPG, to the technologically advanced Audi Coupe Quattro, the incredibly stylish BMW 635CSi, the more plebeian but still exciting 16-valve Mk. II Volkswagen Scirocco, Europe was pumping out fun, accessible, and generally useful sports coupes by the bushel load in the 1980s. The Audi had all-wheel-drive; some were turbocharged, several had four-valve-per-cylinder heads. Even the class nerd, the Renault Fuego Turbo, was distinctive and attractive its way.
Well, if the Fuego was the nerd, the Alfa Romeo GTV-6 was the popular kid. The Alfa brought to the table a more sculpted profile than the Saab, a more soul-stirring exhaust note than the Audi, more passion than the reserved BMW, a more exotic feel than the Volkswagen, and dramatically less suck than the Renault.
Giugiaro penned the shape for Alfa Romeo in the early 1970s, and it debuted as the Alfetta GT in 1974 with a four-cylinder under the hood. With the addition of an SOHC fuel-injected 2.5-liter V-6 in 1981, and the distinctive hood bulge necessary to clear the engine, the GTV-6 was born. The GTV-6 isn't one of the more exotic or slinky Alfa coupes or sports cars in the family tree, but I think it's a total knockout. I love the hatchback profile, I love the hood scoop, the muscular fenders, the headlight scallops, the front grille ... I just love its shape. Every time I see the GTV-6, I see fresh little quirky details that endear me to it even more.
The GTV-6 was quick but not a stormer, even by the more relaxed standards of the early-to-mid-1980s. The 2.5-liter V-6 generated close to 160 horsepower car and could push the hatchback body from 0-60 in the 8-second range; quick by the standards of the time but certainly not a stormer. While the GTV-6 wasn't that much faster in a straight line than its contemporaries, it brought some of the typical Italian assets to the table. Namely, a majestic engine note, a frantic eagerness to rev, and sweet rear-wheel-drive handling.
This isn't well-known, but a very limited edition twin-turbo GTV-6 project--only 30 were made--launched turbocharging guru Reeves Callaway into the turbocharged Corvette projects that would bring him fame. The twin-turbo Callaway treatment brought thunder to the GTV-6's sweetness; the revised engine was cranked out a a cool 230 horsepower, chopping the 0-60 time to less than 6 seconds.
For the last two decades, my passion for the GTV-6 has lagged only slightly behind my deep-seated lust for the Saab 900 SPG. I'd like to think of them as two different riffs on the same theme, with the passionate Italian interpretation nicely balancing the subdued cool of the Swedish. I think they'd complement each other nicely in my garage.
The first video is in Swedish, so I have absolutely no idea what is being said. But it does feature a truly strange combination of music, from 1980s anthems to reggae, and who among us hears enough Swedish on a daily basis? There are a lot of strangely random moments here that trigger my unintentional comedy reflex--namely, the driver of the yellow car at the beginning, and the little pop-up of the Volkswagen New Beetle at the end. While I would have hoped for a snarling full-throttle charge to redline, at least you get lots of good shots of the GTV-6.
The second video is a clip from the movie The Inside Man, with a strangely low-speed chase that could otherwise have been ripped out of my fertile imagination. Get this--a Saab 900 chases an Alfa GTV-6! Ooh, and check out the skullduggery about 50 seconds in. The third video is a clip of a slightly faster chase the James Bond movie Octopussy, in which our hero borrows a sweet little gray GTV-6 in his quest to save the world from nuclear annihilation and promote massive oversteer. Note the lust-worthy BMW Polizei car as well.
Thanks to Flickr user ulfbot for the first photo here, the second is from Flickr user tomscars15, and the ad is from GTVAlfa.com.
--Chris H.
Jerseys on July 18, 2010 at 05:30 PM
I love love love the GTV6. It may be my favorite Alfa ever. If I hadn't just bought a Euro grey market BMW 635CSi, it would've been a tempting alternative. One of my dad's friends owned one in that James Bond grey circa 1990. It was my favorite car that he ever bought and was crucial to developing my vintage eurocar love. It was a shame he couldn't keep up with its needs and sold it at a loss.
Harry Penttala on April 30, 2011 at 07:52 PM
Great comments in the above. I have a 1986 gtv-6 2.5 Alfa....I just got it outof storeage , sence last 16 years. Entirely went through the engine, new hoses,injectors, exhaust system, all electrical, an many other things to asure it was raod ready... This is an exceptional nice car..Not an ounce of rust...itis a blast to drive...wow, what a car!!!!Iam 74 years young an have 7 other collector cars....time to thin the herd...this one is ready for a new owner.