ALFA ROMEO GTV6 Limited Edition - CAR NO. 11

a similar type of GTV6 with mine, no longer in production

TK 9362 - ALFA ROMEO GTV6 - LIMITED EDITION

Hi! We meet again. It has been 2 weeks or more I did not write on this blog URL. Surprised and frustrated by the disabled AdSense account which I have enjoyed it barely for 12 days only. Estimated amount collected just $4.95 which never gone to my purse. I didn't know the actual reason for the disable. I was so down to the extent of I didn't write or re-apply or appeal for the disabled account. I've been told that such disabled account is not possible to be reinstated again. But I'm very sure that I have not committed invalid clicks as accused by them on me because I've read their rules prior to that and abide by it.

Never mind, life is going on. I will appeal for that later on. 

Now, I'm telling about my car no.11 after I've lost the BMW 525i, 1988 model No. TL 9999( if you read my previous blog you'll know about that BMW car). The car no.11 was an Italian product called Alfa Romeo GTV6 Limited Edition 1981 series. It was an imported version or CBU model. But, it was a used car wherein I was the third owner. But I love this car very much. I bought it in March, 2001 from a Chinese owner.

Roger Moore's Octopussy Hollywood Movie, 1983 can be watched on line.

It was a sleek, fast, powerful and sporty look car. A great performance car. Even James Bond used it in the movie called the Octopussy. View the movie then you"ll see how 2 BMW 5series driven by the German's police couldn't get closer to the GTV6 driven by Mr. Bond, what more to overtake it!

Top speed was 260km/hour and I managed to go up to 245km/hour only in North-South Highway (KL-Seremban Highway) at that time (2001). But, this was a 2 doors hatchback model (3 doors) and it was not quite suitable as a family car because the rear passengers will have to go in first and come out last!

HERE ARE SOME FACTS ABOUT GTV6

Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1981)

From 1974 to 1989, Alfa Romeo sold 135,000 copies of the Alfetta GT / GTV coupe. This car was derived from the Alfetta sedan. Both cars shared the same 1.6 / 1.8 / 2.0 twin-cam engines and a very unique drivetrain: a transaxle incorporating gearbox, clutch and differential mounted at the rear axle to give near perfect balance. 

Besides, both the coupe and sedan gave up traditional live axle and went for a semi-independent de Dion tube rear suspension. The result was much improved road holding, especially in the case of the coupe. The coupe, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, was also very beautiful while boosting a real 4-seater cabin. However, it was quite underpowered. Without the addition of the excellent V6 engine, it would have never entered our classic car archives.

In 1981, Alfa Romeo introduced a 2.5-litre V6 into the car. The resultant flagship coupe was named GTV6. To accommodate the bigger engine, the GTV6 got a bonnet with trademark power bulge.

The new engine immediately won overwhelming praises from motor journalists and car lovers. It was extremely smooth, free-revving and powerful. Equally important, it made great sound. This 60-degree, all-alloy V6 sacrificed Alfa Romeo's traditional twin-cam layout for the cheaper single cam per bank, but the exhaust valves were driven by the camshafts via pushrods so that it maintained the cross-flow combustion chambers. It produced 160 horsepower and 157 lb/ft of torque, remarkable by the standard of mass production coupes during the early 1980s.

For many years, the V6 was regarded as the best V6 in mass production. Even after the GTV6 died in 1989, the V6 continued to evolve and powered many other Alfa cars, such as 75, 164, 155, GTV/Spider, 156, 166 and 147 GTA. During its 25 years life, it was enlarged to 3-litre and eventually 3.2-litre, with valve gears upgraded to quad-cam and 4 valves per cylinder.

Thanks to the V6, GTV6 could out-survive other Alfetta GT / GTV coupes. When it phased out in 1989, Alfa Romeo no longer had a rear-drive coupe (except the limited edition SZ). A great era came to an end. The next GTV coupe in 1995 would be changed to front-wheel drive…