Many car manufacturers tend to wax nostalgic during the Covid-19 lockdown, reminiscing about the glory of the days past. Let us follow their example for a little while with this weird-looking one-off Alfa Romeo racecar.
Back in the 1980s era, the Italian marque had the model number 164 in production: a rather mundane sports sedan equipped with a 3.0-liter inline-six engine worth 194 hp (144 kW). It needed 8.1 seconds to get from standstill to 100 km/h (62 mph) and maxed out at 230 km/h (143 mph). Then someone in Alfa Romeo came upon the idea of giving it Formula One tech.
Brabham F1 team led the project in cooperation with Alfa Corse. They designed a special monocoque chassis for the 164, made of a mix of aluminum and Nomex honeycomb parts. The stock body proportions were kept as is, with the middle bodywork staying aluminum and both ends being replaced with lightweight carbon fiber and Kevlar components.
The powertrain represented the single largest highlight of the entire project. The six-cylinder mill flew away, yielding space to a uniquely designed 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V10 (V angle = 72ยบ). Capable of 620 hp (462 kW), it was nearly an overkill for a car weighing mere 750 kilograms (1,650 pounds), taking it from zero to 100 km/h (62 mph) in barely above two seconds and all the way up to 329 km/h (204.4 mph). The specs still look impressive to this day, but back in 1988, they were like something straight out of another world.
Watch the video and share your feelings about this unique and memorable build!