WERK83 brings the DTM/ITC-time back to life with the Alfa Romeo-models

The body of the super sportscar that was equipped with the so-called Scudetto-Grill, which strongly remembered of the shape of the production model, concealed a sophisticated racing car.

The longitudinally installed 2.5-liter six-cylinder, which came up with 430 hp and 11,800 Nm torque, enabled the Italian athlete to have all-wheel drive, which, despite a weight of 1,100 kg, assured him enormous acceleration up to 300 kph. The safety cell and the tubular steel frame played their part in turning the seemingly standard car into a thoroughbred athlete.

As one of the most successful touring car-developers of its time, Alfa Romeo directly prevailed against the strongly believed competitors in the first race in 1993 of the German Touring car championship and achieved not only the championship title with factory driver Nicola Larini, but was also able to win the constructors' classification thanks to the successful use of a total of seven vehicles.

In the years that followed, Alfa Romeo had to admit defeat to the newly launched Mercedes C-Class in the DTM, just like at the start of the International Touring Car Championship (ITC). Despite several pole positions and fastest lap times, Nicola Larini was unable to repeat the success of the 155 in 1994-1996. It was only in 1996 that the Italian team was able to win again in the championship thanks to a further development of the Busso engine - with the characteristic sound.

An aerodynamics package consisting of a powerful front splitter, the long side skirts, paired with a rear diffuser and an enormous wing ensured optimum road holding and sufficient stability and contact pressure. Automatically closing flaps on the front air intakes ensure less air resistance at high speeds.

In addition to that, the 155 had a special ABS since 1994, which was able to meassure the exact speed due to light sensors on the underbody and thus perfectly worked together with the all-wheel-drive. This version of the race car should celebrate another glamorous appearance in the year 1995.

In that year, the responsible of the DTM drew the conclusion that the series had to be expanded internationally, since the Nürburgring and the Hockenheimring were too few racetracks for the racing cars that had become so sophisticated in the meantime within Germany. In 1995, for example, the DTM ran parallel to the ITC, which was being held for the first time and offered the opportunity for five races abroad in addition to the seven DTM events in Germany.

In preparation for this challenging season, the Alfa Corse Martini works team was able to gain Martini as a sponsor and in 1995 no longer drove in the characteristic red, but in the Martini Racing design that is so legendary today. However, the only victories of the season were reserved for the orange 155 V6 TI in Jägermeister design, which was driven by the German Michael Bartels.

In addition to the design, the vehicle was technically also further upgraded. Thanks to a pneumatic valve control, the engineers were able to increase the power of the V6 up to 440 hp. In addition, the four-wheel drive and the semi-automatic transmission, which was operated via shift paddles on the steering wheel, ran via the on-board computer.

The body of the race car from Settimo Milanese was also reworked and, in addition to the wheel spacers on the front and rear axles being 14 millimeters wider, it was lowered by another five millimeters, which gave the 155 V6 TI from 1995 its unique appearance.

The sticking point with the Step-2 version of the Quadrifoglio racer was the short development time for the technical innovations. As a result, the glamorous looking car spent most of its time in the pits and after a few runs was swapped out for the 1994 car. With him, Nicola Larini returned to his old form and was able to finish the eventful and last DTM season in 1995 as the best Alfa Romeo driver in sixth place in the overall standings.

Alfa-colleague Michael Bartels could achieve overall tenth place in the DTM for the factory supported Euroteam as the third best pilot of the Italian sports car company. The German secured both race victories after his training best time in Diepholz, who had started for the private team of Host Schübel the years before. The first and last victory for Alfa Romeo in the season 1995, which was overshadowed by technical problems.

WERK83 has now released this successful vehicle in scale 1:18. The model impresses with the usual high quality, the attention to detail and the doors that can be opened.

Nicola Larini #8 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI Martini Racing DTM / ITC 1995 1:18 WERK83: RRP 69,95 €: item-no.: W1801001

Michael Bartels #19 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI Jägermeister DTM / ITC 1995 1:18 : RRP 69,95 €: item-no.: W1801002

Products

	Nicola Larini #8 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI Martini Racing DTM / ITC 1995 1:18 WERK83	62,96 €
	Michael Bartels #19 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI Jägermeister DTM / ITC 1995 1:18 WERK83	62,96 €