The Alfa Romeo 155 road car was introduced in January 1992 as a compact executive saloon, developed on the Fiat Group's Tipo Tre platform as a replacement for the 75. The standard car switched to front-wheel drive for the first time in this class for Alfa Romeo, a change that attracted criticism. However, the 155's success in touring car racing — including in the DTM — gradually transformed public perception of the car.
The racing programme operated separately from the road car's drivetrain philosophy. The 155 V6 TI was an all-wheel drive machine, with a naturally-aspirated high-revving 2.5-litre 60-degree V6 engine producing 426 PS at 11,500 rpm. It was built to the demanding FIA Class 1 regulations that defined the era's top-level touring car racing, making it a highly sophisticated and expensive prototype touring car.
Alfa Corse entered two 155 V6 TIs for works drivers Alessandro Nannini and Nicola Larini from the 1993 season onwards. The opening campaign was extraordinary: Larini won 11 of 22 races, clinching the DTM drivers' championship in dominant fashion. The 155 also proved itself in other championships simultaneously — between 1992 and 1994 it won the Italian Superturismo Championship, the German DTM championship, the Spanish Touring Car Championship with Adrian Campos, and the British Touring Car Championship with Gabriele Tarquini.
In 1994, rivals from Mercedes-Benz appeared to have gained the advantage in terms of overall pace, but Alfa still managed to win eleven races over the course of the season. A more consistent performance from the German manufacturer ultimately gave them the title, despite the Italian cars' ability to win individual rounds.
From the 1995 season, the Alfa 155 raced with new sponsorship livery from Martini Racing, giving the car one of the most visually striking liveries of the era. The 1996 version of the car used an evolved 2.5-litre naturally-aspirated 90-degree V6 engine based on the PRV unit, rated at 490 PS at 11,900 rpm. The car had a top speed of around 300 km/h and weighed 1,060 kilograms. Despite this development, Opel took the 1996 ITC championship.
In 1993, Larini in the Alfa 155 placed second in the FIA Touring Car Challenge behind Paul Radisich in a Ford Mondeo, demonstrating the car's competitiveness across different regulatory formats.
The 155 V6 TI was a purpose-built Class 1 racing car using all-wheel drive, a layout that contrasted sharply with the front-wheel drive road car. The engine was mounted longitudinally and drove all four wheels through a sophisticated transmission developed for the demands of racing. The FIA Class 1 regulations under which the car competed demanded that silhouette race cars resemble their road-going counterparts visually while being entirely different machines mechanically.
The Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI compiled a total record of 38 wins in championship and non-championship races combined. Seven drivers scored victories with the car: Nicola Larini contributed 17 plus one non-championship win; Alessandro Nannini added 13 plus one; Stefano Modena, Christian Danner, Michael Bartels, Kris Nissen, and Gabriele Tarquini each took one or two victories.
The DTM programme gave the 155 road car a motorsport identity that helped overcome scepticism about the switch to front-wheel drive. Special road car derivatives were produced to capitalise on the racing programme's success, including a GTA Stradale and homologation-related editions featuring aerodynamic components. The 155 was succeeded in Alfa Romeo's touring car programme by the 156, which continued the high standard set by its predecessor in European competition.
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