Alfa Romeo V6 thrown lifeline with relaxed Euro 7 regulations

Alfa Romeo now expects its powerful twin-turbocharged 2.9-litre V6 to live on beyond 2025, thanks to late revisions to the incoming European Union’s Euro 7 emissions regulations.

The Ferrari-derived V6 was originally planned to be phased out in the build-up to Euro 7’s mid-2025 introduction, however Alfa Romeo’s boss Jean-Philippe Imparato has now said it could be used in “future applications”.

He stopped short of announcing what exactly will power the V6, which in the 2023 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio produces 382kW and 600Nm of torque.

The Euro 7 regulations are still to be finalised but, in a win for most car-makers, the Council of the European Union last week agreed not to change the current limits or testing conditions for passenger cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles.

Some car companies had claimed that the original proposal would trigger price rises across the industry and lead to some cars, such as the Volkswagen Polo, becoming unviable.

As well as CO2 tailpipe emissions, the EU legislators were also reportedly set to introduce limits to slash the amount of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and cancer-causing ammonia into the atmosphere.

There were also new limits of particulates emitted from car brakes and tyres.

While many European car-makers and their home governments have lobbied hard over Euro 7, others have already fast-forwarded the development of EVs.

Renault boss Luca de Meo recently said that the watering down of the original Euro 7 proposals would distract the entire industry from its inevitable transition to a carbon-neutral future.

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