As Italian car enthusiasts, we are blessed with no shortage of incredible engines to wax lyrical about. Aurelio Lampredi’s Fiat twin-cam engine remains the most successful power unit in rallying history with 10 WRC world titles under its belt. Lancia’s ingenious ingegneri actually conjured up the world’s first V6 engine way back in 1950 for the Aurelia, and their peerless back catalogue is stuffed full of similar innovations. But, the engine that awakens most Italophile car passions has to be, undoubtedly, the iconic Alfa Romeo V6.
Part of the Alfamiglia
Its unique story in motoring history begins with its creator, one Giuseppe Busso. Born in 1913 and trained in industrial design, his career began within Fiat’s aviation department before joining Alfa Romeo. His route to the marque’s hall-of-fame included a brief diversion over to Ferrari as Technical Director in 1946 (where he was instrumental in the creation of the 1.5-litre V12 “Colombo” engine for the first Ferrari F1 car).
By 1948 he was back in Arese working under Orazio Satta Puglia, helping develop the legendary twin cam engine which would come to be known as the “bialbero” or “Nord” (we could, and probably will, dedicate another blog post to this masterpiece of internal combustion).
12 Angry Valves
The V6 engine, which is today widely known by its talented designer’s name, was long mooted in the sainted halls of Arese with a prototype emerging in 1968. It wasn’t until eleven years later, however, that it found its way into a production car. For an engine that went on to grace so many important models and rightfully be regarded as a classic achievement in engineering, the maligned Alfa 6 might not have been the most illustrious of hosts. Originally intended to launch in 1973, the awkwardly elongated Alfetta’s birth was delayed amid the unsettled atmosphere of the fuel crisis and, by the time you could actually buy one in 1979, its stretched angular design was already looking outdated.
Of all the 6’s failings however, the engine certainly couldn’t be considered one of them. Boasting 2.5-litres of displacement (2,492cc for you stat nerds), six Dell’Orto carbs, 156bhp and a top speed hovering around 120mph, Busso’s engine actually helped the boxy 6 claim the title of Italy’s fastest four-door saloon. It was also definitely one of the nicest sounding too, with Evo magazine calling this first iteration “the most glorious-sounding six-cylinder road engine ever”. If it had remained only in the unloved 6, however, I highly doubt that quite so many YouTube videos would have been devoted to its recognisable growl.
Fast forward to 1980 and the V6 (now with the temperamental carburettors replaced by a Bosh L-Jetronic injection system) arguably found a more suited home draped in the sleeker Alfetta GTV body. Although a rather ostentatious bulge had to be added to Giugiaro’s lithe bonnet to make room, it was a much more harmonic pairing of body and engine. Reduced weight and an improved drag coefficient over the 6; the Busso was all of a sudden allowed to really prove itself.
Although Alfa stated in the brochure that the GTV6 was capable of 127mph, period road tests actually record that 142mph was achievable and 60mph was dispatched from a standing start in just 8 seconds. In 1980 this was approaching supercar levels of performance.
A 2.0 (and, later in 1991, a 2.0 Turbo) was also produced, largely to circumvent Italian tax laws which penalised larger engined cars but let’s be honest; it’s the big, full-fat Bussos we’re all here for. To boost appeal in the struggling US market, a new 3.0 (2,959cc) version was developed. Autodelta (Alfa’s in-house racing department) had been reboring original 2.5 Alfa 6 units for racing in South African championships for some time, and actually sold bespoke hand-built road-going 3.0 GTV6s between 1983 and 1985. Two years later, in 1987, Alfa themselves followed suit and officially unleashed the new 189bhp, 3.0 75 (or Milano, for our Stateside cousins) and a whole new era of sideways Busso action was born.
24V Party People
Now, for many dyed-in-the-wool Alfisti, that’s where the Busso story ends. The onset of Fiat ownership in the 1990s and the death of RWD has often been dismissively cropped out of the Alfa canon. Unfairly, in our opinion, as the modern quad-cam, 24v Busso is no watered-down compromise.
First seen in the completely mad Proteo concept car, the motoring public actually first experienced it in the 164 which, like the original 6, was a large executive cruiser. In fact, for most of its life the 24v V6’s were more commonly found wafting about in elegant saloons like the 156 2.5 and 166, rather than the hairy-chested hooligan antics on offer from the preceding 75. However, it also proved its sporting prowess in the 916 GTV and Spider and, of course, there’s the small matter of those three little letters.
GTA. By 2002, it had been over three decades since that unassuming moniker had been used on any Alfa Romeo. Denoting one of the greatest cars to ever grace a racetrack, naming a model “GTA” carried no small amount of mystique. Befitting then, that both the 147 and 156 GTA contained the final evolution of the then-23-year-old V6 engine.
Fully pumped up to 3.2-litre (3,179cc), the ultimate Busso now delivered a torrent of torque (221 lb-ft) and a blistering 247bhp. It was slightly reigned in to “just” 227bhp for the facelifted 166, but also found its way in unpasteurised form into the bays of the Phase 3 GTV, Spider and, finally, the GT.
After an unbroken run of 27-years spent bewitching drivers, in 2006 the final Alfa Romeo V6 engine rolled off the Arese production line. In a twist too contrived for even the soppiest of Hollywood movies, just a few days later, Giuseppe Busso himself also sadly passed away. His legacy forever tied to the brilliance of his engineering designs, the motoring world seems a much duller place without both him and those glorious engines he produced.
Bus-So Near And Yet Bus-So Far
But did the story have to end there?
In a word, no. Although the tightening regulations around emissions was given as an excuse for the axing of the V6, it was actually efficient enough to meet Euro-4 stipulations (which is just incredible for an engine whose design was, to all intents and purposes, a quarter of a century old). So, it could have remained in production, unchanged, for at least a few more years and we’re sure that had there been any R&D budget left, it could have been further massaged towards eco-friendliness. Who wouldn’t want a 159, Brera or 939 Spider with a real Alfa Romeo V6 engine?
There are also tantalising “what-ifs” dotted around the Busso’s history - such as the 2.5-litre twin-turbo example built for the Nuvola concept in 1996. Mated to a four-wheel-drive system it knocked on the door of 300hp and was claimed to be capable of 174mph. Then back in the heady, optimistic days of 2002, a 156 GTAm was built and displayed at Bologna Motor Show. Sr. Busso’s magnum opus was enhanced to the tune of 300bhp with an increased displacement of 3,548cc.
There were even reports of Cosworth executives sniffing around the factory’s tooling and moulds as soon as they heard production was ending. It seems that everyone, except those sitting around FCA’s boardroom, wanted the Busso to be given a stay of execution.
I’m sure, though, that given just how loved this engine is, and the beautiful cars its sublime chrome inlet pipes have graced over the years, it will be revered and cared for in car enthusiast circles for a long time to come. We here at italicar certainly intend to do our bit to help keep the beautiful Busso alive.