Alfa Romeo prototype from the 1980s revived by Alma Sprint

The 1980s gave birth to some downright groundbreaking rally legends, from the Lancia 037 to the Audi Quattro to the Alfa Romeo GTV6. As manufacturers were always experimenting with new technology in an attempt to one-up their competitors, prototypes that never saw the light of day were relatively commonplace.

One such prototype was the Alfa Romeo Sprint 6C. Based on the regular Alfa Romeo Sprint, the 6C was to be designed by Zagato and developed by Autodelta, the Italian automaker's competition department. It would have used the same mid-mounted 2.5 L V6 engine from the GTV6, which sent 158 hp to the rear wheels.

The 6C also received new bumpers, a rear spoiler, widened wheel arches, and wider 205/50VR15 wheels. Autodelta built a second car with a reinforced chassis for rallying, but neither car was produced.

Now, a Portuguese company aims to change that.

The Alma Sprint revives the spirit of the prototype Sprint 6C

Headquartered in Oliveira de Azeméis, Portugal, Alma is an engineering workshop founded and run by automotive engineer Rafael Soares. By day, Alma specializes in performance enhancement, restoration, and tuning of classic and sports cars. By night, they work on creating the Alma Sprint from run-of-the-mill Alfa Romeo Sprints.

This is by no means a copy of what the original Sprint 6C was meant to be. Alma gave the fenders a more muscular appearance with seamless transitions between the composite panels and bodylines. The front and rear bumpers gained slight overfenders inspired by the ones on the Lancia 037 and the Maserati Shamal. Special mentions go to the vintage-looking Hella projectors with integrated billet aluminum housing and redesigned Vitaloni mirrors. 

The cabin combines a vintage feel with modern amenities
The 80s rally inspiration continues inside, where new corduroy seats and a relocated Zagato-designed steering wheel reportedly increase the driving position. Various surfaces have been fully retrimmed in Alcantara and aluminum, while 4-point Sabelt harnesses, AC, power steering, and a Bluetooth speaker blend the overall vintage atmosphere with a touch of modernism.

Alma beefed up the powertrain of the Sprint for rowdy driving fun
Under the hood is a re-engineered version of Alfa Romeo’s 4-cylinder boxer engine, with redesigned heads, forged pistons, custom 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 through a close-ratio 5-speed manual transmission and an available Torsen LSD.

Alma even paid attention to the Sprint's underpinnings, completely redesigning the front and rear suspension with adjustable dampers and reworked geometry. The brakes were upgraded with larger vented discs and motorsport-grade components to bring the 4-cylinder to a halt in no time. Alma claims that with all of the integrated lightweight components. the Sprint weighs a mere 880 kg (1940 lbs).

Final thoughts
The Alfa Romeo Sprint is a handsome car on its own, but Alma really took it to the next level. Unlike other restomods we've seen in the past, the modern amenities in the Alma Sprint don't detract from the vintage look and feel of the car as a whole. 

The beefed-up internals and powertrain bring a welcome enhancement to the driving experience of this Italian stallion without overdoing it, striking that balance between driving fun and high output.

Now for the bad news. The Alma Sprint will be produced in a limited run of 20 units, with each one able to be customized with an extensive range of options. Pricing starts at 50,000€ (USD$52,146), excluding taxes and the donor car. Deliveries are scheduled to start in the third quarter of next year.