Alfa Romeo · 1962–1968
Alfa Romeo 2600
The Alfa Romeo 2600 (Tipo 106) was Alfa Romeo´s six-cylinder flagship produced from 1962 to 1968. It was the successor to the Alfa Romeo 2000. It has become historically significant as the last Alfa Romeo to have been fitted with a straight-six engine with twin overhead camshafts. That had been the traditional Alfa Romeo engine configuration since the 1920s, but gave way to four-cylinder engines as the factory oriented its production towards more economical mass-produced car models starting in 1950. The 2600 was introduced at the 1962 Geneva Motor Show, as a sedan with a factory-built body (2600 Berlina), a two-plus-two seater convertible with body by Carrozzeria Touring (2600 Spider), and a coupe with a body by Bertone (2600 Sprint). A convertible based on the Sprint coupe was shown by Bertone in 1963. It was also named 2600 Sprint, but did not enter production. The limited edition 2600 SZ (Sprint Zagato) with fastback coupe bodywork by Zagato, and the very limited-edition 2600 De Luxe with five-window sedan bodywork by OSI (Officine Stampaggi Industriali) were introduced three years later in 1965 at the Frankfurt Motor Show.
Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Predecessor: Alfa Romeo 2000 · Successor: Alfa Romeo Alfa 6
All Alfa Romeo 2600 data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →
Overview
The Berlina, Spider and Sprint were based on the corresponding models in the 2000 range, and all three inherited the body styling of their predecessors with minor facelifts. The biggest change was the engine. A brand new all-alloy 2.6-litre engine with six cylinders in line and twin overhead camshafts replaced the earlier four-cylinder engine with its cast-iron block and alloy head which dated back to the 1900 range of 1950. Two carburettors were fitted to the Berlina engines, giving 130 bhp (97 kW). The Sprint and Spider engines had three twin-choke horizontal carburettors and developed 145 bhp (108 kW). The OSI De Luxe was available with either the two-carb or the three-carb setup. The Sprint Zagato had 165 bhp (123 kW) with the three-carb setup. Total production for the Berlina was 2038 cars, the Sprint was 6999 cars, the Spider was 2255 cars, the 2600 De Luxe was 54 cars and the Sprint Zagato was 105 cars. From a sales point of view, the 2600 models were not a success, despite deserved acclaim for their excellent engine. The poor sales were not only due to the elevated prices of the 2600 models. The cars did not compare well with contemporary products, including those of Alfa Romeo itself. The factory had decided - correctly, as it turned out - to concentrate their limited development resources on the mid-sized Giulia which was introduced at about the same time. The flagship 2600 range was only a minor facelift of the 2000 range with a new engine, as this was all that the factory could do with the resources available. Since the 2000 itself had basically been a 1958 restyling of the 1950 1900, this left the 2600 with running gear a dozen years old at introduction. The new engine also added weight and length at the front; though this did much for stability, it did no
Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.
Specifications
- name
- Alfa Romeo 2600
- Manufacturer
- Alfa Romeo
- Production
- 1962–1968, 11,346 produced:, 2,092 Berlina, 6,999 Sprint, 105 Sprint Zagato, 2,255 Spider, 54 OSI De Luxe
- Assembly
- Italy: Portello Plant, Milan, South Africa: East London (Car Distributors Assembly: 1963–1968 – 2600 Berlina)
- Predecessor
- Alfa Romeo 2000
- Successor
- Alfa Romeo Alfa 6
- Class
- Executive car
- Body style
- 4-door Berlina (sedan), 2-door Spider (convertible), 2-door Sprint (coupe)
- Layout
- FR layout
- Engine
- 2.6 L DOHC straight-6
- Transmission
- 5-speed manual
- Wheelbase
- Berlina/Sprint/Spider, 2720 mm/2580 mm/2500 mm
- Length
- 4700 mm/4580 mm/4500 mm
- Width
- 1700 mm/1706 mm/1690 mm
- Kerb weight
- 1220 –
- Related
- Alfa Romeo 2000
- Designer
- Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone (Sprint) , Ercole Spada at Zagato (SZ), Rodolfo Bonetto at Touring (Spider), Giovanni Michelotti for OSI (Berlina De Luxe)
Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Check the linked sources for citations.
More photos
Sources
- Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q611019CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_2600CC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1364992892 · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alfa.JPGCC BY-SA 3.0 · Photo: User Gerdbrendel on en.wikipedia · retrieved 2026-10-01
- Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.