What may at first look like a simple 80s saloon is actually one of the greatest cars Alfa Romeo has ever made.
The 164 was the last car to be developed by Alfa as an independent company and it shows, with the first type four cars (a 4-brand partnership to use unified components and design to cut cost), the Saab 9000 and Lancia Thema coming out in 1984 with the Fiat Chroma coming out in 1985. These cars all looked very similar and shared a lot of mechanical and bodywork, but Alfa was not happy with this and for their type four model, they had different ideas and all they kept was the floorplan.
Out went the boxy shape for an all-new aerodynamic and timeless Pininfarina sculpture, the suspension changed out for a sportier design including diagonally mounted front shock absorbers to account for the much sexier lower body line and finally out went the Fiat, Saab, and Lancia four-pots and in their place, a revolutionary twin spark unit and the Busso V6, perhaps the greatest engine of all time.
A True Great
Up to this point, Alfa Romeo had a bit of a reputation for bad quality, pretty much everyone loved the way they drove but couldn't buy one as they were scared of them falling apart.
Alfa set out to change this image with the 164. In the long development cycle, they used robot technology, advanced computer simulation systems, and drivers around the world to rack up over 4 million kilometers of intense testing.
These cars were designed not only to last but to be taken apart and put back together again and to top it all off they were galvanized too, a first from Alfa. So with the release of the 164, Alfa went from being a bit of a joke to a class leader in terms of build quality that has set the standard for how cars should be developed from that point on.
Ah the engines, there is a sensational 2.0 chain cam engine that pioneered VVT before the word V-Tech was even in its infancy, with 145bhp it takes the 164 to 60 in 9.2 secs. The jewel in the crown, however, is the Busso 3.0 12v V6, it had to be made transverse in this application but little has changed from the GTV 6 era, apart from capacity, oh and to get it to fit under the hood the plenum had to be offset so here entered those heavenly chrome inlets. Now with 192 bhp 140mph+ was possible and 0-60 took a little over 7 seconds.
Performance (close to the Ferrari engined Thema 8.32 for less money) is one thing. This engine has something else up its sleeve, it doesn't make engine noise, this thing actually sings, seriously, just listen to it in a GTV6! The noise coming into the cabin makes you tingle as you drive, urging you to push it harder and go faster, add this to fantastic torque all the way through the rev range and the smoothest delivery as you drive honestly make this a front-row candidate for the greatest engine of all time, an opinion shared by many famous motor journalists.
Handling Prowess
The greatness didn't stop at the engine either, whilst some may consider its heavy V6 mated to Front-Wheel-Drive a weakness it really wasn't. Alfa set up the suspension in such a way that instead of understeering like a barge as you would think an FWD executive car would do, it didn't. This car glides through the bends with a traditional bit of 80's roll initially, before firming up and powering on through. That light and long back end seem to step out and lighten up just a bit too, helping the driver hit a perfect line around the corner. It does all of this whilst communicating tons of feel through the wheel. The handling of this machine can only really be compared to one of the best handling hot hatches like the 205 GTI.
Whilst not a track-ready animal, the suspension setup was quite revolutionary at the time as it was a fully independent system with McPherson struts all around so whilst it had tonnes of grip from the wide 15-17 inch wheels, it also had a very compliant ride for the time and always stays composed. In fact, it is possible to feel exactly what each individual wheel is doing as you drive.
That Design
The 164's Pininfarina styling has fared far better than other type four counterparts. The design, whilst a bit marmite due to the iconic two-tone paint job has a sort of subjective perfection about its proportions: everything looked just right.
As you can see, the interior is Italian style personified, smooth lines and a spacious cabin, and whilst there is a lot of 1980s plastic in here, all the bits designed for the driver to touch, the gear lever, the wheel, the pedals, and the luxury front and rear electric bucket seats (leather or wonderful velour) feel just right. Just watch out for the heater control stepper motors, they are a dash out job to fix. Probably the biggest problem this car had. It had to be an old Alfa in some way!
Invest
Values now are slowly climbing starting at about $6,000 for a phase 1 example with the reliable, repairable, and better sounding 12v V6, seriously there are reports of these things going for 500,000 miles! A 24v facelift model with an updated interior is also available but the added complexity for an extra 20bhp whilst losing some of that original V6 song isn't worth the sacrifice. The 12v models are also capable of shockingly good fuel economy, expect about 30 US mpg on a cruise!
The 164 is an under-appreciated classic car around the world sure to gain more interest shortly. Buy one now before it's too late!
Sources: Sammy Moon, youtube:AusBenzin, The Grand Tour