It was developed in the early 1970s by Giuseppe Busso, and first used on the Alfa 6 with a displacement of 2.5 L (2,492 cc) and a SOHC 12-valve cylinder head.

The first DOHC version was in the 1993 Alfa Romeo 164, with an aluminium alloy engine block and head with sodium filled exhaust valves.

[14] Applications: A 2.0 L; 121.8 cu in (1,996 cc) turbocharged version, derived from the 3.0 L 12v, first with total digital management, was introduced in 1991 in the Alfa Romeo 164 with 210 PS (154 kW; 207 hp).

It was mainly intended for domestic market, due to Italian law at the time taxing cars with engines with larger displacement than two liters at a higher rate.

Applications: In 1982, the German Alfa Romeo dealer and tuner Gleich offered a 2.8 conversion of the GTV6 2.5 engine.

The engine capacity was increased to nearly 2.8 liters by using new bushings and custom-built forged Mahle pistons while the compression ratio was raised from 9.5 to 10.5:1.

[18] The magazine "Sport driver" tested a 2.8 Gleich powered GTV6 in June 1982: "After engaging the first gear and a somewhat careless step on the gas pedal you get a touched feel to the epiphany GTV6 shot, accompanied by the typical Alfa Romeo exhaust sound.

Special camshafts and carbs were used giving a power figure of 176.4 PS (130 kW; 174 hp)[citation needed] at 5800 rpm.

The main difference with the racing 3.0 SA was the use of modern L-Jetronic fuel injection system by Bosch.

[citation needed] The same engine was fitted to the SZ and RZ — ES30 Zagato, but even more finely tuned with wilder cams and high compression pistons to a further 210 PS (154 kW; 207 hp).

[25] The final run of 3.0 V6 engines in the GTV, Spider and 166 range, produced 218–220 PS (160–162 kW; 215–217 hp)[25] in the Euro 3-compliant version.

Applications: In 2002 Alfa Romeo introduced the 156 and 147 GTA with a 3.2 L; 194.0 cu in (3,179 cc) version of the V6 with 250 PS (184 kW; 247 hp) and 300 N⋅m (221 lbf⋅ft) of torque.

[29] Applications: In December 2002, at the Bologna Motor Show,[10] Alfa Romeo displayed a 156 GTAm prototype, built by N-Technology, with 3458cc.

Alfa Romeo, during the 1993–1996 era of DTM/ITC, racked up an incredible thirty-eight victories of a total of eighty-nine starts.

The V6-engined machine also qualified on pole nineteen times and set the fastest lap in forty-two races.

Application: Later, Alfa Romeo also raced a development of the Peugeot, Renault, Volvo 90° V6 engine, with 490 PS at 11,900 rpm, in the 1996 DTM Championship.