Dream come true: Alfa 155 DTM homage arrives
It's actually a Giulia Quadrifoglio underneath - but that's just the start of the 55-SGT's splendiferousness
Few touring cars are more fondly remembered than the Alfa 155 of the ‘90s. Especially so in Europe, where it monstered its way to a DTM victory in 1993 - no small achievement when you consider the resources that German OEMs brought to bear. This obviously makes the road-going model fit for restomodding - though that isn’t what you’re looking at. In fact, the so-called 55-SGT, from an Italian startup, is based on the current Giulia Quadrifoglio. Which is a great place to start.
SGT Automobili claims to have ‘analysed, optimised, or completely redesigned’ every part of the underlying Alfa in its pursuit of something special - i.e. something that would be a ‘contemporary vision of what a car born for the track would look like today in a road-legal iteration, leveraging the technology, materials, and engineering knowledge available today.’ We’ve heard all that before, of course - but who can argue with the result?
Obviously SGT wanted to be faithful to the distinctive look of the 155 DTM, which it admits required some ‘ functional creative liberties’ in terms of the different scale and host of technical challenges, but the car is not all for show either: via its new front splitter, rear diffuser, tri-plane wing and full-length flat floor, the firm claims up 460kg of downforce for the 55-SGT. Little wonder it is claimed to be equally at home on the road or track.
Additionally, the bodywork is said to be a combination of carbon fibre, Kevlar and something called carbotitanium. SGT claims exceptional torsional rigidity from the final product, as well as a lower kerbweight (said to be between 1,490kg and 1,590kg depending on spec). It’s helpful too that it has dispensed with the rear doors and stripped the cabin of its luxuries, installing a roll cage, bucket seats and fire extinguisher instead - though it retains air con and its airbags for basic usability.
Whatever you use the 55-SGT for, it will be exceptionally quick. The car retains its 2.9-litre V6, but SGT has furnished it with three new maps, yielding 520hp, 560hp and 620hp. Opt for the Trofeo spec, and you get a bespoke supercharger that will take power to 750hp in ‘Race Mode’. No less intriguingly - and in homage to the 155 - the company has installed a custom-designed all-wheel-drive system that allows you to choose between a 50/50 torque split and a ‘sportier’ 20/80 setting. You can even go 100 per cent rear-drive for what SGT inevitably calls its ‘Drift’ mode.
At any rate, it considers this level of adjustability one of the pillars on which the 55-SGT is built; the other is the adaptability of its suspension, which offers three base configurations, but also the prospect of a manual adjustment of compression and rebound. Providing customers with choice is apparently built into the whole experience: if SGT has its way, it will build 55 examples of both the ‘Stradale’ and ‘Trofeo’ variants, each said to be customisable enough to be considered a one-off.
If that doesn’t sound ambitious enough, there’s also the prospect of ten ‘Opening Edition’ models, reserved for ‘highly selected clientele of 55-SGT and SGT Automobili project Ambassadors’ - which is an interesting claim for a firm that appears to have sprung to life from nowhere. But we’re not going to argue: the car looks fantastic, and was not only shown to the world in ‘Proto Zero’ format last weekend, but has also been seen running in numerous YouTube videos. It isn’t immediately clear how much SGT will charge for the production version - but you’d imagine it would have to be an astonishing figure to prevent a queue from rapidly forming at its door…
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