Modern Classic: Alfa Romeo 164
The Alfa Romeo 164 was supposed to take on BMW. Photo: Alfa Romeo
More than 30 years on, the front-wheel-drive Alfa Romeo 164 is a car that still looks fresh, and in the spirit of our Wednesday classics, is a car to celebrate for being well ahead of its time.
Bursting onto the luxury car scene in 1987 at the Frankfurt motor show, this executive sedan had its ambitious sights set on the BMW 5 Series, Jaguar XJ, Mercedes E-Class and upcoming Lexus LS400 (which launched in 1989). The 164 would replace Alfa Romeo’s ‘6’ which was Alfa Romeo’s executive car of the 1980’s.
In actual fact its real competitors were probably more like the Honda Legend, Volvo 740 GLE and Saab 9000. This sector would soon crowd up quickly with the Peugeot 605 and Citroen XM arrivals too.
The name 164 was used in all global markets except in Hong Kong and Malaysia where it switched to ‘168 where it meant “all the way to prosperity” versus 164 which meant “all the way to death”!
Few cars of the late 1980’s can attest to that and we can thank Enrico Fumia of Italian Design house Pininfarina for its timeless lines. It sported a clean front end with a pronounced Alfa Romeo emblem in the centre of the grille. It’s high sitting tail lights that ran the width of the rear of the car were very slick for its time.
Alfa’s had always been criticised for sub standard build quality. The Alfa 164 would change that with the use of its high tech computer aided design that resulted in a comparatively lightweight chassis.
The 1992 revised version of the Alfa 164. Photo: Alfa Romeo
The 164 shared its platform with the Lancia Thema, Fiat Croma and Saab 9000, but was the last to the market of the three, so it adopted the best of the platform refinements.
It is said that Alfa Romeo would have preferred the 164 to have rear wheel drive but it was developed at a time the company was cash strapped, and the platform sharing restricted its flexibility. Ironically, just after the 164 was released Fiat took over Alfa Romeo.
The 164 had three computers which covered air conditioning, engine management and instrumentation. Unfortunately Alfa Romeo still hadn’t mastered the gremlins that plagued its electronics and this is where problems ensued.
Most export models sported a beautiful 3-litre fuel injected 12 valve V6 that put out 136kW, which was powerful for its day. The engine got rave reviews for its raspy notes and gave the car a decidedly sporty edge. European versions also included a 2.0 four cylinder and a 2.5 turbo diesel.
The 164 would run for 11 years and sell 273,857 units, until in 1998 it was replaced by the 166.
The Alfa 166 replaced the 164 in 1998. Photo: Alfa Romeo
The 166 built on the 164’s avant-garde design and was a stunning beautiful car, again still looking fresh today, and ran to 2007.
The 166 had the dubious honour, in 2009, of being awarded Autocar’s worst depreciating car in the UK, holding just 14.4 per cent of its value after three years!
Sadly no 164s feature as current listings on TradeMe. I am sure they exist and we would love to hear from you if you own one or have owned one.
