The Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo is one of the few that does not have it easy at all with a large number of fans. In the History section , I therefore want to present a model from this brand, which at the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s marked a fundamental change in the concept of Alfa Romeo cars and at the same time raised it to an important higher level among the competition.
Introductory information
The car I have in mind is called the Alfa Romeo 164 . It appeared in 1987 as a successor to the now very rare Alfa Romeo 90 . The 164ka is an upper middle class car with a timeless design that still charms many people on the street today. When designing the body, development through computer programs was used to a large extent, so that the car achieved the best possible aerodynamics and, at the same time, fit the appearance for the time. The 164 was developed in the Tipo 4 development program, in which the Fiat and Saab concern developed a chassis platform for an upper mid-range car with all-wheel drive. It can thus be said that the AR 164 is from the family of "fours", as the "siblings" Fiat Croma , Lancia Thema and Saab 9000 were also built on the same chassis. Interestingly, the Alfa Romeo 164 was also the last AR model to be sold in the US market for a long time, until 1995.
Design and history
The Alfa Romeo 164 is one of the really nice cars, which is also confirmed by the fact that the car was designed by Sergio Pininfarina himself, and when it was presented at the autumn motor show in Frankfurt in 1987, it caught the eye with its body shapes and lines. Are you wondering what makes this Alfa so beautiful? Well, above all, a few elements such as side ribbing or transition lines, which are reminiscent of an important sports icon from the 80s, such as the Ferrari Testarossa .
Source: Wikipedia.org
The 164ka was produced from 1987 until 1998, and year after year the car was improved in every way. In 1993, a significantly rejuvenated version came to the market with clear light optics, a different radiator grille and, most importantly, with an even larger portion of equipment, which even the very luxurious Audi or Mercedes cars of that time would not be ashamed of.
Equipment and version
As I already indicated, the equipment in the Alfa Romeo 164 cars from the beginning of its production was able to offer customers everything they literally asked for. Already in 1990, a luxury model known as the Quadrifoglio came to the market. Every fan will recognize this version by the symbol in the shape of a green four-leaf clover behind the name of the model 164.
The Alfa Romeo 164 Quadrifoglio was literally "pumped up" with maximum equipment. There was not much thought about extra charges in the 164 model, because already in the base you got electrically operated all windows, central locking, el. mirrors, immobilizer, alloy wheels, adjustable steering wheel and or ABS system. But watch out! We are still talking about the first generation, the second edition of the 164ka in 1992 caused quite a stir in the car market. The facelift of the car meant the significant arrival of new versions such as Q4 and QV. The QV and Q4 versions featured the best you could expect from the 164.
Source: Wikipedia.org
Facelift in 92" brought for the model 164 important removal of defects, such as not very strong brakes, bad air conditioning rod or poor electrical installation. The new model can be distinguished on the street from the old version, for example, by a different exterior, where the front headlights have clear optics with stronger discharge lamps or a different, narrower grille.
Q4
The Q4 system was the most advanced four-wheel drive system with an active inter-axle differential in the 1990s. The Alfa Romeo 164 Q4 was one of the first production cars in the world to offer this drive. The differential solution was taken from the Lancia Delta Integrale and the Torsen type differential was in turn taken from the sister model Alfa Romeo 155 Q4 .
Source: Flaviendachet.blogsport.com
The Q4 version was only available in the top trim and with the 3.0 V6 12v (200 hp) or 3.0 V6 24v (232 hp) engines, which were exclusively with a six-speed gearbox. As such a heavily equipped car weighed a full 1,650 kilos, the engineers had to give the Alfa ventilated brake discs.
The Alfa Romeo 164 Q4 accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 7.8 seconds and has a top speed of 245 km/h. These data were valid in 1992, but today, after 20 years, it is probably not quite true anymore, thanks to the "care" of some owners.
QV
This is the ultimate version with the best that could be fitted to the car at the time. This too was produced only with the most powerful V6 engine. However, there were 3 power variants of the V6 to choose from, with the power being between 200-232 horses.
The equipment is an endless list, so I will mention only a few things such as: anti-dust cabin filter, cruise control, driver's airbag with FPS (Fire Protection System – central automatic disconnection of the electrical installation in the event of an accident), completely new digital air conditioning or solar control (supplied only to selected markets ). Even today's cars could envy it a lot in terms of equipment and speed.
Alfa Romeo 164 Pro Car V10
The Alfa Romeo 164 Pro-Car from 1988 is a specialist and an unreal motoring masterpiece destined for the racing circuit. This is a "silhouette" racing car with a 600 horsepower V10 engine, but a regular 164 body.
Source: Wolfcars.blogsport.com
The maximum speed of this beast is 340 km/h and it weighs around 750 kg. It was supposed to be used in a special "silhouette" racing series, which is something like today's Porsche 911 Cup races in Formula 1. But before the car could go into mass production, these races were canceled. Therefore, there is only one example of this high-performance beauty produced.
Motorization
Diesel
four-cylinder 2.5 TD (117 and 125 hp)
Gas stations
pre-facelift version:
2.0 T.Spark 8v (148 PS)
2.0 T.Spark 8v (Cat, 144 PS)
2.0 Turbo 8v (175 PS+overboost)
2.0 Turbo 12v (210 PS+overboost)
3.0 V6 12v (192 PS)
after facelift:
2.0 TS Super 8v (146 PS)
2.0 TS 8v (146 PS)
3.0 V6 12v (180 PS)
3.0 V6 QV 24v (232 PS)
3.0 V6 Q4 (232 PS)
I personally like the 164 model and it can be evaluated as a very successful automotive work. A number of awards and titles speak for themselves…
The brand got a new quality direction with the 164 model and unfortunately its promising successor with the 166 designation was a huge disappointment compared to the 164. The 164 thus remains at the top of the best models that AR has ever produced.
Points of Interest
– After the 156 model series, the 164 was the second best-selling car in the modern history of Alfa Romeo!
– In the southern parts of Italy, between 1991-1995, the 164 model was widely used as a vehicle by mafia clans, who, thanks to the spacious trunk of the 164 model, often drove some disobedient debtor here and there in its premises
