H a n G a r a j: Alfa Romeo 164 Pro-Car

I like Big Bulky Old Cheap Car

Dunno why...lately i really like Alfa...while browsing Mudah.Com....found out..this car cost below average of 15k for early 90's...quite bad if you compared with other car maker in its class...In Malaysia...buying a 2nd hand Alfa Romeo 164 is like buying Titanic trouble (click > comment )...the value depreciate so much like tomorrow all Alfisti will be ban from road....only true Alfisti own this car (click > malaysian alfisti )....while riding to work daily...in 1 week...i realise...not more than 5unit daily driven around Klang Valley...its either rare or scared to drive this car. here some small history of the car (thanx to Mr.Wiki)....

First unveiled at the 1987 Frankfurt Motor Show, the 164 could be considered the first of the "new generation" of Alfa Romeos. It was the last model to be developed while the marque was still independent (although it was launched a few months after the purchase of the company by Fiat), and was most notably the first large front-wheel drive Alfa. The 164 was essential to Fiat's plan to relaunch Alfa Romeo as a prestige car brand after the late 1970s and early 1980s. The 164 was the last Alfa saloon to be sold in the North American market, where only the 3.0 L V6 was offered (12-valve from 1991 to 1993, 24-valve from 1994 to 1995). It was quite successful in Europe, attracting keen drivers who wanted an affordable and reliable sports saloon as an alternative to the German offerings of BMW and Mercedes-Benz. The 164 was discontinued and replaced by the Alfa Romeo 166 in 1998. 273,857 had been produced.

The Alfa Romeo 164 was styled by Pininfarina in 1987, shortly after completing the Ferrari Testarossa. The 164 can be seen to share several styling design ideas with the Ferrari expressed as a four-door saloon. In concern for heritage, the design is also the logical extension and successor of the Alfetta, particularly the late-model "long nose, square light".

The 164 was the first Alfa to feature extensive use of computer aided design for calculating structural stresses, resulting in a very rigid but still relatively lightweight body. The 164 was the basis of the Type Four chassis, which it shares with Lancia Thema, Fiat Croma and Saab 9000. Being the last to reach the market, the 164's bodyshell was the most aerodynamic of the four, and had a markedly sleeker profile and lower coefficient of drag. In order to permit this design variation, an exclusive front suspension was developed.

The 164 was the first of the "new technology" Alfa Romeos, and is the technological and styling basis of all Alfas to the present day.The 164 also introduced dramatically improved build quality over previous Alfas, featuring galvanised steel frame and various body panels for the first time, ending the most common complaint by Alfa customers about rust problems encountered in older models such as the Alfasud and the GTV.

Even though some purists feared of loss of character due to the adoption of front-wheel drive for the first time in an Alfa top-line saloon, the car proved itself as a supremely comfortable and sure-footed car, with a distinctively sporting character, inline with the marque's tradition. In fact, the motorpress of the day found its only fault to be some torque steer, particularly in earlier versions.

Equipped with the most complex wiring loom of any Alfa Romeo, the 164 was designed to compete in the executive car segment dominated by the Mercedes-Benz 200-series and the Volvo 740/760 ^[3]. It offered better value for money in terms of technology (having three onboard computers, one for air conditioning, one for instrumentation, and one for engine management; air conditioning and instrument functions shared a multiple-mode coded Z-80-class microcontroller for dashboard functioning). Air-direction within the ventilation system was controlled by a pair ofservomechanisms, which were constructed using notoriously fragile plastic gears and were prone to failure; possible high part costs are alleviated by the commonality of these parts with the 166. At least one aftermarket company has also developed metal replacement gears which eliminates the breakage issue.

Also, the car had some very advanced features for its day, such as automatic climate control and electronically controlled damping suspension (in the top-line Cloverleaf models and 164S). This suspension actively reduced damping in response to conditions to provide a dynamic compromise between road holding and comfort. The 164 also boasted engines rated among the best in the industry at the time, and the same basic engine designs were used until very recently by Alfa Romeo across its model range.

Alfa Romeo 164 Pro-Car

The 164 served as the basis of the Alfa Romeo Proteo, which in turn served as the basis of the new Alfa Romeo Spider.^[6] The 164 also served as the basis of the Italdesign Scighera supercar concept — interestingly, only the engine output was uprated, the majority of the car's underpinnings, and even its interior being shared with the 164 without significant change.

The Alfa Romeo 164 Pro-Car made in 1988 was a 3.5L V10 mid-engined racing car. The Alfa Romeo V10 engine was originally planned to be used for Ligier Formula One cars and produced 620 bhp (462 kW; 629 PS) at 13300 rpm and 39 kg·m (380 N·m; 280 lb·ft) of torque at 9500 rpm.^[7] Weighting only 750 kg (1,653 lb) the 164 Pro-Car achieved a top speed of 340 km/h (211 mph) and went quarter of a mile (~400 m) in only 9.7 seconds.^[7] It was planned to race in a special racing series (as a support event to Formula One Grands Prix). Alfa was only manufacturer who made a car for this series before it was canceled. Only one chassis with an Alfa Romeo V10 was built by Motor Racing Developments Ltd.,^[7] the company behind the Brabham Formula One team, which was owned by Alfa Romeo at the time.