Alfa Romeo GTV-6

by Pat Braden

The last two-door Alfa coupe for the US market.

The Alfa Romeo GTV-6 was produced at a time when Alfa Romeo was hemorrhaging money. Yet, the engineers at Alfa managed to create one of the most sophisticated sports cars of its era. An all-alloy SOHC V6 engine driving a rear five-speed transaxle with deDion suspension is world-class engineering. This was also the last two-door sports coupe Alfa imported into the US before its retreat from the market in 1995. Alfa wanted its new car to be bug-free, so GTV-6s built in 1980 were used exclusively by the factory for testing. The model was finally considered ready for public sale in 1981, but fortune was not with the new Alfa. Porsche’s 944 was introduced at the same time, and robbed Alfa of many sales in its inaugural year. Then, a clerical error caused virtually the entire 1982 US allotment to be silver with a blue interior. Mechanical problems included weak head gaskets and a hydraulic cam belt detensioner which, if it failed, could require a major engine...