One to Buy: ex-Schubel Engineering / Euroteam 1994 Alfa Romeo 155 V6 Ti Class 1
While most governing bodies adopted Class 2 Super Touring regulations for their national touring car championships during the 1990s, organisers for the German series briefly elected to go with the more extreme Class 1 framework that allowed manufacturers to create some of the most dramatic machinery ever seen in this discipline of motor sport.
The extensive list of modifications permitted in Class 1 included four-wheel drive, traction control, anti-lock brakes, electronically-controlled differentials and anything goes aerodynamic addenda below the wheel centreline.
For 1993, the DTM was contested by works and satellite teams from Alfa Romeo, Mercedes-Benz and Opel. That year, Alfa Corse won the title thanks Nicola Larini’s record setting eleven wins in the 155 V6 Ti while Mercedes re-took its crown the following year when the new W202 C-class came on stream.
Set to go under the hammer at RM Sotheby’s Lake Tegernsee auction in Germany on July 27th is one of just ten examples of the 155 V6 Ti constructed for the 1994 DTM season: chassis ‘88171’.
Campaigned throughout 1994 by the works-supported Schubel Engineering outfit, chassis ‘88171’ was used exclusively by ex-F1 driver Christian Danner who most notably bagged a brace of second place finishes in the car at the Nurburgring.
Following four races with the Euroteam squad in 1995, chassis ‘88171’ was returned to Alfa Corse. In 2017 the car was subjected to an exacting restoration by Fabrizio Pandolfi and returned to its 1994 livery. The car is accompanied by its original FIA Wagenpass and an extensive spares package to include a second engine.
Reprinted below is RM Sotheby’s description:
Estimate: €650,000 - €700,000
Chassis No.: ZAR16700000088171
Documents: Bill of Sale Only
One of just 10 examples of the 155 V6 TI constructed by Alfa Corse for the 1994 DTM season
Subsequently delivered to, and raced by, the semi-Works Schübel Engineering squad
Driven throughout the 1994 DTM season by 36-time Grand Prix starter Christian Danner
Achieved two podium placings and a further 12 points-scoring finishes en route to 9th place in the end-of-year Championship standings
Driven in four races of the 1995 DTM by former Formula 1 driver, Stefano Modena
Exquisitely restored by marque specialist Fabrizio Pandolfi in 2017, with only minimal mileage having been covered since
Presented in its correct 1994 Schübel livery and accompanied by a spares package
Widely viewed as the most spectacular and exciting manifestation of the 1990s touring car boom, the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (DTM) was blessed with star drivers, significant manufacturer involvement and, crucially, excellent promotion.
In 1993, the series adopted the Class 1 FIA ruleset, which permitted the development of high-revving, multi-cylinder engines, advanced four-wheel-drive systems and outrageous-yet-aerodynamically efficient “silhouette” bodywork. Such technical latitude was instrumental in Alfa Romeo’s decision to join the series with its stunning 2.5-litre, V6-powered, four-wheel-drive 155 V6 TI model. Remarkably, the marque’s new charge took 14 wins in its debut year and defeated the rival Works-backed AMG-Mercedes and Joest-Opel teams to secure the 1993 title in the hands of Nicola Larini.
Alfa Romeo returned to the series in 1994; its principal Alfa Corse squad was supported once again by the three-car, semi-Works Schübel Engineering team. Although benefitting from significant technical improvements—including a new Kelsey-Hayes ABS system and Active Suspension—Alfa Romeo’s campaign was blighted by poor reliability; Mercedes-Benz securing the 1994 title courtesy of Klaus Ludwig, with Larini no better than 3rd in the final standings.
The spectacular example offered here is one of just 10 examples of the 1994-specification car constructed by Alfa Corse, and one of the three cars campaigned by Schübel. Driven exclusively by Grand Prix veteran Christian Danner, it secured no fewer than 14 points-scoring finishes, including two superb 2nd-placed finishes at May’s Nürburgring Eifelrennen round. An eventual 9th place in the 1994 DTM standings was further supplemented by a 3rd-placed finish in the first of two non-Championship races in Mugello, Italy.
In 1995, this car passed into the hands of the Arese-based Euroteam squad, for whom Danner’s Formula 1 contemporary Stefano Modena piloted it in the first four races of that year’s DTM. Appropriately, the car’s competitive career concluded on a high note, with a 5th and a 2nd at Avus in early May; the car returning to Alfa Corse for display purposes thereafter.
In 2017, the car was subjected to an exacting “bare metal“ restoration by marque expert Fabrizio Pandolfi and has covered only minimal mileage since. Acquired by the present owner in 2018, it is accompanied by a spares package that includes a spare engine, two gearboxes and a spare front differential, as well as its original Wagenpass.
