Unlike the standard GT3 machines currently used in the series, the DTM cars of the mid-2000s were highly personalized and extremely expensive to manufacture. After giving up Group A regulations, the DTM adopted very loose regulations that allowed teams to go wild with the cars, moving further and further away from the production vehicles they were somehow based on.

Just take the Alfa Romeo 155 V6 TI. Its 2.5-liter six-cylinder engine (the maximum size and number of cylinders allowed in DTM) shared little with its road counterpart, and it was mounted longitudinally, and not transversely as in the road car.

Capable of revving up to nearly 11,800 rpm and cranking out over 400bhp, the V6 came in a carbon fiber shell, resulting in a weight of just 1040kg. Unusually for a passenger car, this V6 was responsible for powering both axles, although the rear wheels were under heavy strain.

Besides carbon fiber, other exotic materials on the menu included magnesium and titanium. Alfa was far from the only manufacturer tossing big buckets of money at its DTM car, and something had to give. Amid a spending war, Alfa Romeo and Opel withdrew from the series at the end of the 1996 season, leaving only Mercedes.

The Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft was complete, disappearing for several years before a revival in 2000 involving much more profitable but much less interesting silhouette racers. The legacy of those Roaring Twenties remains, however, for anyone with pockets deep enough to indulge themselves.

The so orange ball of fury in the Jagermeister colors that you see here is a 155 TI from 1995, ready to be auctioned via RM Sotheby’s February 2 in Paris. Chassis number 05 was built by Alfa Corse and supplied to satellite company Euroteam, who hired Michael Bartels for the drive. Despite reliability issues later in the season, strong results, including a few wins at Diepholz, saw Bartels secure 10th place in the championship, ahead of all Corsica factory riders. Awks.

1996, which saw the DTM combine with the ITC (International Touring Car Championship) for a single season, went less well for TI 05 – Bartels ended up finishing 21st in the standings. In the 2000s, the car shuttled between a few owners, and around that time the engine and suspension were rebuilt at a cost of almost € 170,000.

The only use of the V6 and gearbox since the rejuvenation involves a little dynamo work. There are different options for all buyers looking to drive the Alfa, including the Youngtimer Trophy and the DTM Classic, which will run as a support series for the Modern DTM starting next year.

No estimate is provided, but to give you an idea of ​​how much it could end up costing, RM Sotheby’s auctioned a 155 V6 TI in Martini colors for € 792,500 earlier this year.