This car, Lot 130, sold for $646,502 (€552,000), including buyer’s premium, at Bonhams Cars’ Monte Carlo, MCO, sale on April 24, 2026.
Until the end of 1992, the cars performing in tin-top (sedan) racing in Europe were recognizable to — and fundamentally the same as — the examples you could buy in showrooms. That’s illustrated by the other three cars from this collection of DTM racers: the 1990 Sierra Cosworth RS500 and Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evo II, and 1992 BMW M3. That was because they ran to Group A regulations. That is, all major parts and construction more or less remained as-factory, with permitted (and homologated) modifications for racing. These modifications begat the “Evo” versions of various contenders including the M3 and 190E.
That all changed with the Class 1 Touring Car regulations for 1993, which allowed bespoke race-car technology, though the silhouettes had to remain largely as seen in dealer showrooms. Contenders could run any engine from their manufacturer’s range, up to a maximum of 2.5 liters and 6 cylinders, and could drive either end. All-wheel drive was also permitted, along with traction control, anti-lock brakes and electronically controlled differentials, which at the time weren’t even allowed in Formula 1. Aerodynamic aids were free below the wheel centerline.
These cars contested the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) series from 1993 to 1995, the International Touring Car Series (ITC) in 1995 and the International Touring Car Championship (ITC) in 1996. BMW and Audi pulled out in protest of the new specification’s complexity, and only three manufacturers, Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz and Opel, competed in Class 1. Nicola Larini won for Alfa in 1993, but this was a very brief window of the highest technology; the withdrawal of Alfa and Opel from the ITC at the end of 1996 effectively spelled the end of the class, and DTM reverted to nearer-to-production 2-liter cars for a while. Until 2019… but that’s another story.
More fun than F1?
For 1995, the rules were relaxed even more, so suspension systems were no longer required to be based on the production layout. Which is where this car comes in. A regular 155, being Fiat Tipo-based, is transverse engined and drives the front wheels, or all four in the case of the Q4 version. Suspension is by the ubiquitous MacPherson struts at the front, and subframe-mounted trailing arms at the rear.
Not in the Class 1 racer: It’s a spaceship by comparison, and full of carbon fiber, which helps keep weight down to about 2,340 pounds. Lift off the front clamshell, with its dummy headlights, and it’s akin to a Formula 1 racer, with inboard suspension via wishbones and pushrods, and huge ventilated brakes. Inside, the center section of the shell is recognizably Alfa 155, though comprehensively reinforced with roll-cage tubing. Forward of the bulkhead there’s a stout tubular structure mounting the engine and suspension. Even the motor isn’t like the 60-degree “Busso” V6 found in the hottest version of the roadgoing 155. Later ti DTM V6s like this car used the “690,” a redesigned 90-degree block, with valves operated pneumatically like a contemporary F1 engine, and revving to almost 12,000 rpm for up to 480 hp. (Sneaky? Not at all: Opel’s V6 for ’96 was Isuzu-based.) It’s mounted longitudinally, bolted directly into the front cradle and drives all four wheels via a paddle-shifted 6-speed semi-sequential transaxle sourced from Xtrac.
Aero management is everything in racing, and as well as a massive rear wing, the “free under the wheel centerline” allowance has been taken quite literally. The chin spoiler is pushed well forward, and vents abound to bleed hot air. Under the rear, there’s an insanely dimensioned diffuser, also molded in carbon fiber.
A 155 V6 Ti DTM, with a power-to-weight ratio of around 430 hp/ton, gets to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds and could exceed 186 mph on the straights. There were at least 10 of these built for 1995, run by four separate teams. These included Alfa’s “No. 2” squad, but Alfa only managed 3rd (last) in that year’s championship after a season beset with reliability issues.
Laptop included
Our subject 155 V6 Ti DTM is finished in its 1995 livery and still wears 1995 DTM stickers in the rear windows. It ran at the 2019 Goodwood Festival of Speed with the vendor, and appeared complete, down to the Magneti Marelli and Kelsey-Hayes engine and ABS brains strapped to the floor. The fuel tank is out of date for racing after 2015, but runs up the hill at Goodwood are just, ahem, “demonstrations.”
According to Bonhams Cars, the car does run, though it was last started three years ago. This is a slightly complicated process, requiring a laptop with ECU software to talk to the Marelli software in the car, plus a powerful external battery. The engine needs to be pre-heated until it’s got oil pressure, then fuel and ignition can be switched on and it can be cranked, maintaining 2,000–3,000 rpm with a light throttle (these things don’t idle happily) while you keep a close eye on oil and coolant temperatures to make sure it doesn’t overheat. Luckily, the relevant laptop is included, and the vendor has agreed to be on standby to help. He has decided to focus on some different cars from another era, which is why his small collection of DTM racers was offered in Monaco.
The price was right where expected, given that a ’94 version, still with strut-based front suspension, offered in Paris last February, had a similar guide price of €500k–€600k — though it failed to sell, the high bid being €380k (then $396k, but today that would be around $445k due to shifting exchange rates). This ultimate development of the 155 ti V6 is a prime example from one of Touring car racing’s most interesting and exciting — though tantalizingly brief — periods. What sets this car apart is that it can be run and driven and that adds a premium. Had this been chassis SE062007, the #8 Nicola Larini sister car, which set the four fastest laps in the 1995 season, it might have been even more.
