Alfa Romeo 155/156/147
By Peter Collins
In his latest book, longtime VR contributor Collins focuses on the competition career of Alfa Romeo’s 155 Sport Sedan and its subsequent derivatives or evolutions, the 156 and 147. Following a brief recap of Alfa’s rich competition heritage with production cars Collins discusses the takeover of Alfa’s equity by Fiat in 1987, describing the company’s return to competition in hopes of spurring sales. The first attempt was the 164 Procar—built for a “silhouette” formula intended to feature stock-appearing bodywork cloaking purebred racing underpinnings—that never went very far. Collins also touches briefly on Alfa’s abandoned Indycar and Group C projects before settling into his primary production car subject matter.
There he carefully details Alfa’s assault with V6-powered 155s on first the Italian Touring Car Championship and then Germany’s legendary DTM series, coupling a discussion of the cars’ mechanicals with observations from their drivers. Alfa’s efforts with four-cylinder 155s and 156s in the British Touring Car Championship, the European Supertouring series and the World Touring Car Championship are also covered, all illuminated by copious images of the cars in question taken by the author and others.
Available for £40/US$79.95 from enthusiast bookstores or direct from publisher Veloce at www.veloce.co.uk this book is an excellent addition to any Alfa Romeo enthusiast’s library and probably a good fit for most others as well.
