This time, we feature the Alfa Romeo Busso V6 engine on Engine Of The Week.
It was only a matter of time that we talked about such an iconic engine. The legendary Busso V6 takes its name after creator Giuseppe Busso, this engine ranges from 2 to 3.2 liters in displacement, although it’s possible to bump up the size up to 3.8 liters with various modifications.
Ranging from 8:1 to 10.5:1 compression ratios, and outputting from 135 hp to 250 hp in stock trim, the Busso V6 has been through many changes and iterations throughout its life.
Released in 1979 and discontinued in 2005, this engine has become a staple of Alfa Romeo’s motorsport heritage. Classed as the best sounding V6 engine of all time, this legendary power unit is music for gearhead ears all over the world.
The legendary Alfa Romeo 155 delights us with its symphony in the video below.
But, the sound alone can’t make this engine achieve it current status, can it?
Put simply: No.
The Busso V6 is one of the best looking engines ever produced, and you might be thinking; it’s under the bonnet, I only care about how much power it makes.
You’d be wrong.
We like to think we are rational, calculating, the sad truth is that we are not, we’re defined by a milliard of impulse, leading to us feeding from contours you watch, we like the Busso V6 because it’s not only a good, well performing engine, but because it has panache and pantomime, it’s a cartoon of an engine, an isotype.
Just looking at that intake manifold with chrome runners we get the feeling it’s a racing engine. Then there is the name behind it, Giuseppe Busso, who worked with Fiat, Ferrari, and Alfa Romeo, and designed the SOHC and later DOHC V6 that bears his name.
His legendary creation is forever engrained in the minds of a gearhead generation of European car enthusiasts. And although Giuseppe Busso left this world a few days after his engine stopped production, his legacy remains in the thousands of automobiles and engines he helped create.