The Eighties gave beginning to some downright groundbreaking rally legends, from the Lancia 037 to the Audi Quattro to the Alfa Romeo GTV6. As producers have been at all times experimenting with new expertise in an try and one-up their opponents, prototypes that by no means noticed the sunshine of day have been comparatively commonplace.
One such prototype was the Alfa Romeo Dash 6C. Based mostly on the common Alfa Romeo Dash, the 6C was to be designed by Zagato and developed by Autodelta, the Italian automaker’s competitors division. It might have used the identical mid-mounted 2.5 L V6 engine from the GTV6, which despatched 158 hp to the rear wheels.
The 6C additionally obtained new bumpers, a rear spoiler, widened wheel arches, and wider 205/50VR15 wheels. Autodelta constructed a second automotive with a bolstered chassis for rallying, however neither automotive was produced.
Now, a Portuguese firm goals to vary that.
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Alma
The Alma Dash revives the spirit of the prototype Dash 6C
Headquartered in Oliveira de Azeméis, Portugal, Alma is an engineering workshop based and run by automotive engineer Rafael Soares. By day, Alma focuses on efficiency enhancement, restoration, and tuning of basic and sports activities vehicles. By evening, they work on creating the Alma Dash from run-of-the-mill Alfa Romeo Sprints.
That is certainly not a replica of what the unique Dash 6C was meant to be. Alma gave the fenders a extra muscular look with seamless transitions between the composite panels and bodylines. The entrance and rear bumpers gained slight overfenders impressed by those on the Lancia 037 and the Maserati Shamal. Particular mentions go to the vintage-looking Hella projectors with built-in billet aluminum housing and redesigned Vitaloni mirrors.
Alma
The cabin combines a classic really feel with trendy facilities
The 80s rally inspiration continues inside, the place new corduroy seats and a relocated Zagato-designed steering wheel reportedly improve the driving place. Varied surfaces have been totally retrimmed in Alcantara and aluminum, whereas 4-point Sabelt harnesses, AC, energy steering, and a Bluetooth speaker mix the general classic ambiance with a contact of modernism.
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Alma beefed up the powertrain of the Dash for rowdy driving enjoyable
Below the hood is a re-engineered model of Alfa Romeo’s 4-cylinder boxer engine, with redesigned heads, solid pistons, customized camshafts and valvetrain, a stainless exhaust system, and a revised lubrication circuit. Alma bored the engine to 1800cc and bestowed it with twin Dellorto carburetors with velocity stacks, making between 160-220 hp by means of a close-ratio 5-speed handbook transmission and an out there Torsen LSD.
Alma
Alma even paid consideration to the Dash’s underpinnings, utterly redesigning the entrance and rear suspension with adjustable dampers and reworked geometry. The brakes have been upgraded with bigger vented discs and motorsport-grade parts to deliver the 4-cylinder to a halt very quickly. Alma claims that with all the built-in light-weight parts. the Dash weighs a mere 880 kg (1940 lbs).
Closing ideas
The Alfa Romeo Dash is a good-looking automotive by itself, however Alma actually took it to the subsequent stage. Not like different restomods we have seen previously, the fashionable facilities within the Alma Dash do not detract from the classic feel and appear of the automotive as a complete.
The beefed-up internals and powertrain deliver a welcome enhancement to the driving expertise of this Italian stallion with out overdoing it, hanging that steadiness between driving enjoyable and excessive output.
Alma
Now for the dangerous information. The Alma Dash might be produced in a restricted run of 20 items, with every one in a position to be personalized with an intensive vary of choices. Pricing begins at 50,000€ (USD$52,146), excluding taxes and the donor automotive. Deliveries are scheduled to start out within the third quarter of subsequent 12 months.
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