The outgoing Alfa Romeo V6 engine is a rare beast in today’s homogenized automotive world, a power unit that was designed for one purpose alone, performance, and Alfa Romeo Australia  is providing an equally rare chance to get behind this classic engine in a new Alfa Romeo 156 V6 for just AUS$54,990 with all the on-road costs included in the price.

 

Most engines these days are designed for multiple purposes, they can equally be found in a sports sedan and a delivery van. They provide an average performance as they cannot excel in any particular area for fear that it is detrimental to another use. But not Alfa Romeo’s V6 engine. The Italian car maker knows that the heart of any car is its engine and it wanted an engine that would beat with the same passion that Alfa Romeo has for every aspect of its cars, so it designed an engine that has only ever been used in sports cars and sports sedans. Oh, yes and more than a couple of racing cars, too.

 

The Alfa Romeo V6 engine not just provides the new Alfa Romeo 156 V6 model with responsive performance right across the rev-range; it also sounds the part with a distinctive burble that turns into an operatic howl as it races to the red line. It even looks the part. No sheets of bland black and grey plastic. Open the bonnet of the Alfa Romeo 156 V6 and there is a fine polished chrome manifold wrapped around a cast aluminium head, embossed with the Alfa Romeo logo in – what else? – red.

 

While the V6 engine may be the heart of the Alfa Romeo 156 V6, it is, by no means, the only area of the 156 V6 that is full of sporting character. From the outside there is the acclaimed, award-winning styling that lead to the Alfa 156 to be named as an all-time automotive classic that is both fresh and timeless.