Coolest example of Alfa Romeo’s 155 DTM car set to cross auction block

As part of one of the most successful touring car lineages of the 1990s, a Martini-liveried 1996 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti Touring car is scheduled to be sold at auction later this month.

This particular car, wearing period Martini livery, represents the penultimate iteration of Alfa’s five-year-long DTM campaign.

Chassis 005, driven by Alfa Corse-Martini works driver Nicola Larini, was steered to pole position at Magny-Cours and Mugello throughout the 1996 DTM season (then known as International Touring Car Championship) and scored outright victory at Interlagos and Mugello.

It is the final iteration of the Alfa 155 touring car from Alfa Corse, fitted with a 490 bhp (365kW) 2.5-liter V6 engine mated to a six-speed semi-sequential manual transmission. This engine, coded internally as the “690RC” was powerful enough to send the 155 from zero to 100km/h in 2.5 seconds and run onto a 300km/h top speed. The engine redlined at an astonishing 11,900rpm.

Each 155 touring car produced by Alfa Corse was constructed around a steel tube frame with a reinforced carbon fibre safety cell. The car’s thin body panels functioned merely as a cosmetic shell around the rigid structure.

The car equipped an F1-style inboard suspension system, large ventilated brakes, a paddle-shift six-speed semi-sequential gearbox, and ITC-mandated features such as ABS, four-wheel drive and traction control.

Following its 1996 race series, this 005 example was returned to Alfa Corse before being sold to two successive owners within northern Italy. It was then acquired by its current owner in 2018, who commissioned a full restoration in order to prepare it for entry into the inaugural DTM Classics series which it entered in 2019.

A particular focus was paid to returning this chassis to a period-correct state, while retaining attractive patina and original componentry. Larini’s original date-coded racing seat and steering wheel remain inside the cabin.

Nicola Larini is the most successful driver to ever steer the 155 V6 Ti, having won more races behind the Alfa 155’s wheel than any other teammate or driver.

RM Sotheby’s will auction this car on June 15, 2021 and expects it to fetch somewhere between €700,000 and €800,000 (AU$1.11M-1.36M).

Wearing an iconic livery and with its enviable competition pedigree, this 155 V6 Ti is arguably the one to get.