The Story Of Alfa’s Violin

The classic Alfa Romeo V6 engine, nicknamed “Busso,” from his creator’s name, is so revered among enthusiasts that its presence under an Alfa’s bonnet often multiplies the car’s market value. Let’s go through the history of this legendary powerplant.

Alfa Romeo’s V6 looked as good as it sounded (c. Wheelsage.org)

Genesis

This story starts in the late 1960s, a time of success and confidence for Alfa Romeo. With the Alfetta and Alfa 6 on the drawing board, a brand new engine was needed, especially for the larger saloon. The engineers wanted a compact, lightweight unit, leading to an aluminum 60° V6 engine, with a more modern and efficient cylinder head design than the firm’s existing twin-cam fours.

On the new V6, the two valves per cylinder had a much tighter angle between them to reduce thermal losses and have straighter inlet tracts. A single, belt-driven camshaft per cylinder bank directly operated the intake valves, while the exhaust valves were conducted by a rocker via a short pushrod.

The first iteration of the Alfa Romeo V6, launched in 1979 (c. Wheelsage.org)