The special driving experience offered buyers of the Alfa Romeo 164 luxury sport sedan has been brought to new heights for 1996, with the addition of a more powerful, highly advanced new V6 engine and other refinements to the drivetrain, chassis, exterior appearance and interior features and comfort.
For 1996 the 164 will be available in two versions: the 164 LS, with its emphasis on unparalleled luxury and elegance; and the exhilarating new 164 Quadrifoglio,* delivering a new standard of performance and motoring excitement for the enthusiast driver. The 164 is a roomy, four-door, five passenger sedan, built on a chassis engineered to deliver a high degree of structural rigidity for a very solid feel to driver and passengers. It features a sophisticated front-drive system for the optimum in space utilization and all-weather driving control.
Major changes for 1996 are headlined by a new, exceptionally advanced, V6 engine. Based on the previous 3.0-liter V6, a powerplant that was characterized by responsive power and smooth refinement in its own right, the new engine offers a major improvement on these traits with the addition of new cylinder heads with a double overhead camshafts (DOHC) and four valves per cylinder. These DOHC heads provide significantly improved breathing, with resultant increases in horsepower, torque, response, and driving enjoyment.
The four camshafts are driven by a single, toothed belt, and operate the valves through constant-lash hydraulic adjusters. All the engine accessories are also driven by a single, serpentine belt, which minimizes the engine's longitudinal dimension. The engine management system is the latest Bosch Motronic 1.7, which provides superior operating efficiency and reliability.
In the 164 LS, the engine is rated at 210 bhp at 6300 rpm and 198 lbs/ft of torque at 5000. In the 164 Quadrifoglio, with larger diameter intake and exhaust systems, the engine develops 230 bhp at 6300 rpm and 202 lbs/ft of torque at 5000. In both cases, there are increases of 15 percent in horsepower, and 7 percent in torque, over the previous L and S models, respectively.
A five-speed manual transmission is standard equipment. Optionally available on the 164 LS is an electronically controlled four-speed automatic transmission, with separate "Auto," "Sport," and "Ice" modes. In the "Auto" mode the transmission operates in a conventional manner. The "Sport" mode emphasizes performance by contributing to quicker acceleration and downshifting sooner as the car is slowed. The "Ice" mode acts to optimize traction on slippery surfaces by reducing wheelspin in such conditions.
Exterior appearance has been refined with a fresh look to the front end that includes new fog lamps and a redesigned grille. In the rear, the taillamps have new lenses with a higher optic yield. Front and rear bumpers are more pronounced, and offer increased protection. Aerodynamically formed, body-color rear-view mirrors and revised body cladding with a smoother surface also highlight the exterior changes.
There are new alloy wheels, featuring the traditional, round-hole, Alfa Romeo look, on both models. Those on the 164 LS have an appearance appropriate to the car's luxury image, and those on the 164 Quadrifoglio have a more aggressive design. Wheels on both models measure 15 x 6.0 inches, and are fitted with 195/65VR15 high performance steel belted radial tires.
The 164's interior has always been a statement of quiet, functional, luxurious elegance, and that impression has been built upon for 1996. The instrument panel, center console and secondary controls have been redesigned for improved visibility and operation, incorporating digital display readouts for temperature and air conditioning functions. Seats offer anatomical characteristics for enhanced support and comfort, and there are new rigid door panel pockets with covers. A larger interior rear view mirror provides increased rearward vision, and features an automatic-dipping function to reduce headlight glare from following vehicles.
"The current Alfa Romeo product line is comprised of technologically advanced cars of high quality," said Giovanni Gagliano, Chief Operating Officer of Alfa Romeo Distributors of North America. "However, the 1996 model, in performance, luxury, comfort and details, represents the ultimate realization of the high performance, sport sedan concept."
The significant changes for the 1996 model year add to what was already an extraordinary car to begin with. The 164's sleek and elegant shape was a joint effort between Alfa Romeo designers and the world-famous Carrozzeria Pininfarina. It's timelessly handsome, yet it also offers a highly efficient aerodynamic drag coefficient of just 0.30. As has been tradition for decades, the front end is accented by a modern rendition of the familiar Alfa Romeo grille opening, which has been redesigned for 1996.
The fully independent suspension includes struts, coil springs and anti-roll bars both front and rear. The rack and pinion steering has road-speed sensitive power assist. The four-wheel disc brake system features vented front rotors, and a proportioning valve adjusts the front-to-rear braking effort by compensating for changes in vehicle load. An improved form of Bosch antilock braking (ABS) is standard.
Inside there is door-to-door luxury and spacious comfort. The long list of standard equipment includes a driver's side airbag, automatic air conditioning, power operated and heated front seats with lumbar support, power two-way sunroof, central power door locks with remote locking and remote controlled anti-theft, power windows, dual electric heated remote outside mirrors with electrically controlled folding feature, automatic dimming inside rearview mirror, electric windshield and rear window defroster, digital clock, front and rear fog lamps, headlamp washers, cruise control, tinted glass, center front and rear armrests, ski boot, rear seat reading lamps, lighted visor vanity mirror, height-adjustable B-pillar seat belt stirrups, child safety door locks, a stainless steel exhaust system and a premium AM/FM cassette six-speaker stereo and power antenna.
Both models also feature full leather upholstery, including door panel inserts and steering wheel. The seats are fully upholstered in fine leather, not just in seating contact areas, and there are new power seat controls, operated through a pair of multi-directional switches located on the sides of the seat cushions.
Also fitted to the 164 Quadrifoglio as standard equipment are unique body side cladding, aerodynamic rocker panel moldings, front airdam, rear decklid spoiler and distinctive badging.
Each 164 is covered by Alfa Romeo's Assurance Plan, one of the most comprehensive warranty and maintenance arrangements in the automotive industry.
It includes the following points:
"The Alfa Romeo 164 series offers a blending of beautiful elegant styling, extraordinary luxury appointments, and absolutely outstanding all-round, all-leather, all-year performance and handling, and these traditional characteristics have been enhanced with the improvements made for 1996," said Gagliano. "The list of standard equipment is thorough and impressive, and the Alfa Romeo Assurance Plan is one of the most comprehensive warranties in the industry. If you take all that, and consider the legendary heritage of Alfa Romeo, which is unequaled by any other in the world, you've got what we think is a marvelous combination of automotive virtues."
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