The Alfetta GT came to the U.S. in 1975 with the 1962-cc engine, but was offered in Europe with a choice of 1.6-, 1.8-, and 2.0-liter engines. The designation became GTV in 1976, then changed to Sprint Veloce in 1978. Later in the same year, the GTV-6, a version of the GTV with the SOHC V6 2.5 L engine from the Alfa6 luxury sedan, was released. As a result the hood received a bulge to clear the top of the intake and became its most pronounced feature. With Bosch fuel injection instead of the six downdraught Dell' Orto carburettors in the early Alfa 6 installation, the V6 was much easier to start and retained its state of tune much better. The V6 received rave reviews from the motoring press, which had previously lambasted the same engine in the Alfa 6 because of the carburettor problems.
Alfa's reputation for building the world's best V6's started in 1979 with the introduction of the Alfetta GTV. It sported a beautiful body styled by Giugiaro, true 4 seat seating capacity and a rear transaxle gearbox that improved front-to-rear weight distribution to 50/50. The DeDion rear suspension made for great handling.
Handling was impressive, but performance was so-so when powered by the 1.8-litre and 2.0-litre twin-cam four-cylinder derived from 1750GTV and 2000 GTVs . The solution was to create an all-new V6, displacing 2492cc, capable of 160 hp and 157 lb. ft (117 kW @ 5600 rpm).
It enabled the new Alfetta GTV, now simply called "GTV6", to top 130 mph and clock 0-60 mph in slightly over 8 seconds. That GTV6 was the outright winner of the1982 and 1983 European Touring Car Championships.
James Bond drove a grey GTV-6 in the 1983 movieOctopussy. A grey GTV6 is featured for a short period in theJames Bond movie Octopussy. Bond steals the parked car while its owner uses a pay phone booth and makes haste towards Octopussy's Circus.
In 1981, this car took on a new image and a new powerplant to become the Alfa Romeo GTV-6. Exterior sheetmetal and appearance remained much as before, but structure, suspension, brakes, transaxle, wheels, and tires were all upgraded to cope with a bigger and more potent engine. It turned out to be a sterling new 60-degree V-6, with a single overhead camshaft on each bank, driven by toothed belt, plus Bosch L-Jetronic fuel injection (specified for both the American and European versions).
Inclined valves above hemispherical chambers were retained, but were now actuated by a rather complicated arrangement. The camshafts were directly over the intake valves, but worked the exhaust valves via tappets, transverse pushrods, and rocker arms. Displacement was 2492 cc from a bore of 88 mm and a stroke of 68.3 mm, a far cry from Alfa’s long-stroke engines of old. Rated horsepower was 154 (SAE) at 5500 rpm with 152 lbs-ft torque at 3200 rpm, enough (SAE) at 5500 rpm with 152 lbs-ft torque at 3200 rpm, enough to propel the 2840-pound GTV-6 from 0 to 60 mph in 8.4 seconds and on to a top speed of 125 mph.
