A Ferrari V8 Swap Transforms An Old Alfa Romeo Into An Amazing Italian Dream

10 months, 3 weeks ago - 29 December 2023, motor1

It took four years to complete this build.

Alfa Romeo and Ferrari have a long history of working together, going back to Enzo Ferrari racing for the Alfa squad in the 1920s. So, it only makes sense for someone to drop a Ferrari 360 engine into a classic 2000 GT Veloce. It sure wasn't an easy project.

This builder, an Aussie named Jeff, started with a rusty 1973 Alfa Romeo that needed new body panels behind the B-pillar. Over the course of four years, he did all the work to create this wild machine.

Getting the engine was actually one of the easier parts of the build. He found this one from an exotic car wrecker in Adelaide, Australia, so no mint 360s were sacrificed in the project build process. Apparently, it's cheaper to buy a Tipo F131 3.6-liter V8 than to make extensive modifications to the original 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine.

Fitting the Ferrari V8 into the Alfa's engine bay was a far more significant challenge. The powerplant isn't much longer than the original four-cylinder, but it's wider and taller. Jeff says there's only about a centimeter of clearance in many areas. He has a custom steel hood with a transparent section in the middle to show it all off.

Now, you might think that he'd use a Ferrari gearbox, but because this is a front-engine application of the normally mid-mounted V-8, Jeff had to get creative. The transmission is out of a Subaru BRZ, a gearbox that normally has to handle less than 250 horsepower and 200 pound-feet of torque. The Ferrari engine makes 395 horsepower and 275 pound-feet stock, which is far more than Subaru put into the BRZ. That said, modified BRZs aren't making news for blowing gearboxes left and right, so maybe it'll be all right. Jeff figures it's making around 300 hp at the wheels, a healthy upgrade over the original four-cylinder producing 130 hp at the crank.

The best part? Jeff plans to use this car as a daily driver. It even has air conditioning and cruise control, so it's prepped for the job. He handled all the upholstery, including stitching the seats and door panels in a striped pattern inspired by the classic Ferrari Daytona. This thing looks magnificent.

Unfortunately, we don't get to hear the engine run in this video, but it should sound fantastic. The powerplant features a flat-plane crankshaft, five valves per cylinder, and a pair of camshafts for each bank of cylinders. Peak power arrives at 8,500 rpm, so the mill can really scream.