1980 ALFA ROMEO ALFETTA

Conceived as Alfa Romeo’s entry into the fiercely competitive 'Group 4' category, the Alfetta GTV Turbodelta was a factory homologation special developed by Autodelta between 1979 and 1980. 400 examples had to be made to satisfy the FIA’s homologation rules and regulations, with the car based on the standard GTV 2000. All Turbodeltas were left-hand drive and exclusively sold in mainland Europe, never offered directly to the UK market. The recipe was wild, with a 150bhp 2-litre Nord engine, no intercooler, a KKK turbo and twin-choke side-draught Webers fed via an experimental aluminium airbox, it was Alfa Romeo’s first ever turbocharged production engine. Fewer than five were ever fully built in period by Autodelta themselves, making this recreation arguably closer to a 'real' Turbodelta than most of the 400 homologation specials.

Primarily intended for circuit racing and rallying, the Turbodelta competed in events like the European Touring Car Championship (ETCC) and select rally stages, often run by Autodelta-affiliated or privateer teams. Though not a dominant force in period, its distinctive power delivery, muscular stance and scarcity cemented its cult status as one of Alfa’s most charismatic homologation specials.

It’s all too easy to dismiss recreations/homages/tributes until one is done properly like this. This Turbodelta tribute took five years and was executed with a forensic level of detail by Alfa Romeo gurus, Chris Snowdon Racing (CSR). The project started from a combination of sentimental roots following our vendor recalling his father’s Alfetta GTV 2000 owned in period, and spotting a genuine Turbodelta for sale in 2019. The snowball effect has been rather impressive and show-stopping since then to say the least.

The donor car was an ex-hillclimb car purchased from CSR as a guilt-free blank canvas instead of tearing up a nice, standard road car. The shell benefits from a bare metal respray and is much lighter thanks to fibreglass doors, bonnet and bootlid, and Lexan windows. A genuine Group A 1985 ETCC Luigi Racing aluminium roll-cage was fitted, the arches, roof scoop, bonnet and spoilers all came from moulds taken directly from a genuine Group 4 Turbodelta in Switzerland, with the wheel arches lifted from the famed Hilliard/Bortorelli example.

The engine is an early Mathwall Engineering-built turbocharged Nord unit, originally from a Bell & Colvill GTV Turbo, essentially the UK-market version of the Turbodelta. It still uses the original Turbo Technics SN/0002 turbo, now paired with a front-mounted intercooler for better cooling, efficiency and spacing as it also runs Jenvey individual throttle bodies and an Alfa 75 Turbo Evoluzione manifold. Mapped via a Canems ECU, it produces over 200bhp with a curb weight of just 1,080kg meaning it will have more get up and go than any original Turbodelta could manage.

The handling has also seen some CSR wizardry, with 30mm front torsion bars, an uprated anti-roll bar, and proper GTV6 2.5 suspension geometry dialling out any semblance of understeer. It sits on original, but reconditioned, 15x10 and 15x11 Autodelta magnesium wheels shod in Pirelli P7 Corsa rubber. Stopping power has been uprated with 280mm discs and four-pot callipers up front, and the inboard rear set-up has been retained.

The interior is purposeful, but very well finished, and features Sparco bucket seats, a Sabelt suede steering wheel, a revised dash with five auxiliary gauges, a 10,000rpm canted rev counter, digital speedo, and a boost gauge. The car was fully stripped to bare metal, restored, and rebuilt with virtually an entire car’s worth of new parts. The final bill? Over £60,000.

This is an unmissable opportunity to acquire one of the most thorough, evocative and usable Turbodelta tributes ever created. A fabulous celebration of Alfa Romeo’s motorsport ambition and a thrilling driver’s car in its own right, estimated at a fraction of its build cost, your viewing is highly recommended.