Five touring cars you can’t miss at FOS 2019

1995 Alfa Romeo 155 DTM

Alfa Romeo raced its 155 V6 Ti in DTM from 1993 to 1996, as well as the subsequent International Touring Car Championship. Featuring a high-revving, 2.5-litre V6 engine and four-wheel drive, the model produced a max output of 420bhp.

This example harks from 1995, a year in which Alfa made up almost half of the 32 cars in contention. With Alfas taking three wins throughout the season, the manufacturer came second in the DTM manufacturers Championship, replicating the feat in the International Touring Car Championship, with two race wins. 

1988 Renault 21 Turbo SuperTourisme

In 1988, Renault contested the French Super Production Championship, with Jean Ragnotti taking eventual victory. His wheels? A Renault 21 Turbo SuperProduction, based on the French manufacturer’s popular road model of the same name. 

The following year, Partick Landon’s team entered the 2.0-litre Renault 21 Turbo into the SuperTourisme Championship, despite new rules from the Fédération Française du Sport automobile (FFSA), which were unfavourable towards the Renault-powered Turbo engine, with boost pressure limited to 2 bar. As a result the team made a number of modifications to the car, resulting in an entirely different model to the previous year’s, with a longitudinal engine configuration closer to that of the original production car, which improved the car’s centre of gravity. Despite a calamitous start to the season, the Renault 21’s performance picked up after the mid-season break, despite a handicap of 128kg and transmission issues. With 11 poles out of 14 races, the car came second in the championship. 

1987 Holden VL Commodore SS 

Australian manufacturer Holden produced the road homologised Commodore VL SS in 1986/87 in order to enter a race-optimised version in Group A Touring Car racing.

Modified heavily by the manufacturer’s official performance tuner, Holden Dealer Team (HDT), the racing version proved to be extremely successful, winning twice during the inaugural World Touring Car Championship in 1987.

After splitting with Holden in early 1987, Peter Brock and his HDT team entered as a privateer at Bathurst for the first time in a decade, taking third place. However, after the two Eggenberger Motorsport Ford Sierra RS500's that finished 1^st and 2^nd were disqualified for illegal bodywork (not until February 1988), meaning Brock was awarded the win in what was his last Bathurst winner. This very car features in Batch 2, Class 7 Tin Top Titans at the Festival of Speed.

1992 Mercedes 190E DTM

Contesting the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (German Touring Car Championship) from 1990 to 1993, the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II featured a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine. After it was launched at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show, 500 road-road-going units of the model were produced, in line with DTM regulations stating that the competing cars must be derived from a production model.

The Evo II dominated the 1992 season, taking 16 victories, 17 second places and 13 third places in just 24 races. Klaus Ludwig piloted the Group A racing touring car to Mercedes-Benz’s first DTM title that year, while at the Hockenheimring on May 24 Ellen Lohr became the first woman ever to have won a DTM race. 

1992 Mercedes 190E DTM

Contesting the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft (German Touring Car Championship) from 1990 to 1993, the Mercedes-Benz 190E 2.5-16 Evolution II featured a 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine. After it was launched at the 1990 Geneva Motor Show, 500 road-road-going units of the model were produced, in line with DTM regulations stating that the competing cars must be derived from a production model.

The Evo II dominated the 1992 season, taking 16 victories, 17 second places and 13 third places in just 24 races. Klaus Ludwig piloted the Group A racing touring car to Mercedes-Benz’s first DTM title that year, while at the Hockenheimring on May 24 Ellen Lohr became the first woman ever to have won a DTM race.