Did you know there’s a Callaway-modified twin-turbo Alfa Romeo GTV6?
Callaway is famous for its spiced up Corvettes , but one of the first cars it put the magic touch on was an old Alfa.
The ultimate version of the car came from an unlikely source—Reeves Callaway. Before he became a household name in the Corvette community for turbocharging America’s sports car, he worked with Alfa Romeo’s U.S. importer and developed a twin-turbo version of the GTV-6. Called the Callaway C3, the car features improved suspension and brakes along with two IHI turbochargers, two air-to-air intercoolers, and a solid-state fuel injection control system. The result was 230 hp, a 50-percent increase over standard, and 245 lb-ft of torque, enough to “keep even the most skilled driving-with-a-capital-D enthusiast entertained.
Alfa built about 22,000 GTV-6s litre from 1981–87, and less than 5000 are thought to have been imported to the USA. Thanks to age, neglect, and above all rust, not many are left. And of the few ones left only a hand full are very good.
Alfa Sales were in the doldrums in the 1980s, the American sales line-up consisted only of the Spider and the Alfetta GT-based GTV 6, both of which were aging. Alfa’s U.S. importer, Alfa Romeo Inc., wanted a halo vehicle, one that could perform with the same verve as the Porsche 944, the Corvette and the home-grown Maserati Biturbo. In 1983, Alfa Romeo Inc.’s chief engineer, Don Black, turned to the turbocharging gurus at Callaway Turbo systems (today, Callaway Cars Inc.). Alfa Romeo Inc. worked hard to ensure this project met factory expectations, and to reassure Callaway’s engineers that their GTV 6 was a suitable base.
The Alfa Romeo Callaway Twin Turbo GTV-6 not only gained turbocharging, but Callaway also did a number of other improvements to make the car what it always ought to have been. They improved the sloppy factory gear linkage, the ridiculously heavy factory steering and also tweaked the suspension for a great overall result.
The Alfa Romeo GTV 6 Callaway Twin Turbo inspires bitter sweet sentiment, its performance potential balanced by the fact that Just 35 examples were ever modified by Callaway, all being red or black save for singular examples in white, silver and champagne.
So this sub-six-second to sixty car is definitely one you shouldn’t miss if you ever come across one - not that you will, since there are so few out there.
On Doing Research for the above Article we found an Example Listed on Ebay in July of this Year below is the advert.
Rare Twin Turbo: 1985 Alfa Romeo Callaway GTV6 For Sale.
This is a stunning, rust free example of a 1985 Alfa Romeo Callaway GTV6 that is 1 of only 35 built! Currently the car has only 42,000 miles on it and is for sale by the third owner. There is a VIN listed and while most of the listing has 1986 as they year of the car, the VIN decodes to being an ’85. The current bid price is at $25,100 and it does have a reserve. The car is located in Charlotte, North Carolina and can be found on E-Bay.
Mechanically, this car is sporting a fully rebuilt motor that has been broken in by 1,500 miles. It is amazing that there is a 2.5 liter, SOHC, twin turbo V6 under the hood. That is connected to 5-speed manual transmission. Other work done includes new hoses all around, fuel pump, timing belt, rebuilt gear box, rebuilt driveshaft, and most importantly a Milano style AC compressor for air conditioning.
There is not a whole lot mentioned about the interior, but you can see just how amazing it looks in the photos. The only specific note they describe is that the front seats are Recaros and they have been re-dyed because the original leather was starting to fade and crack. It was more of a preventative decision to prevent the leather from splitting. Another creature comfort are the power windows, which do work.
This car is being sold by what seems to be a car manager. The listing states the car is part of a 45 car collection, including multiple examples of this car and other Alfas. They also note that the car did have a fire in the engine bay, which only effected that area, and was repaired. It does show on the Carfax. At least they were kind enough to disclose that. This car is quite a vehicle and would be a great conversation starter for any automotive enthusiast.