Alfa Romeo 166

History

The 166 served as the replacement for the 164. In order to keep the design fresh, Alfa Romeo made a series of modifications to the Lancia Kappa based underpinnings, radically changing the suspension set up, and also taking a clean paper approach to the interior.

The car was initially available with the following choices of petrol engines: a 2.0-litre Twin Spark 4-cylinder engine rated at 155 PS, a 2.5-litre V6 rated at 190 PS, a 3.0-litre V6 rated at rated at 226 PS or a 2.0-litre turbocharged V6 rated at 206 PS. The Diesel engine options consisted a L5 2.4-litre 10v common rail turbodiesel version rated at 136 PS, 140 PS and 150 PS, praised for its refinement.

The TS model used a five-speed manual gearbox, whilst the 2.5 and 3.0 had the option of a Sportronic automatic gearbox. The 3.0 V6, L5 2.4, and V6 Turbo were otherwise supplied with a six-speed manual gearbox.

The top models were named "Super" and included a MOMO leather interior, 17" alloy wheels, rain sensitive wipers, cruise control, climate control and ICS (Integrated Control System) with a colour screen. Options included xenon headlamps, GSM connectivity and satellite navigation.

The suspension system consisted of wishbones at the front and a multi-link setup at the rear.

Facelift (2003)

By the second half of 2001, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo began working on a facelift for the 166. The facelift was designed by the newly hired Daniele Gaglione under the supervision of Wofgang Egger. The facelift of the 166 was unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show. The facelift included upgrades to the chassis, interior, and engine range. The new front end resembled the also recently revised 156.

The 2.0-litre V6 Turbo model was dropped because of marketing problems, the 2.5-litre V6 underwent a revision and now had a power output of 188 PS. A new 3.2-litre V6 was introduced as a range topping option, rated at 240 PS. Both the new 3.2-litre and the 2.0 Twin Spark models now featured the six-speed manual gearbox, whilst the 3.0 model was retained but made available only in the Sportronic form.

The L5 2.4 was re-engineered with Multi-Jet technology which allowed up to five injections per cycle, second stage common rail, with a maximum injection pressure of 1400 bar and four valves per cylinder, to output a class-leading 175 PS.

End of production

In October 2005, the Alfa Romeo 166 was officially withdrawn from sale in markets for RHD. Sales of the 166 never grew as Alfa Romeo had hoped, following the facelift in September 2003, and the additional lack of a diesel engine in the United Kingdom, Australian, and Irish markets limited its reach into company car sectors. The 2.4 JTD diesel engine was only available in left-hand drive markets.

In June 2007, the production of the 166 effectively ended, with no direct successor. In September 2008, the platform was sold to the Chinese state-run manufacturer GAC Group. In total, fewer than 100,000 units were made.

In August 2009, Autocar named the 166 as "Britain's Worst Depreciating Used Car", as it held just 14.4% of its original used value after three years.

Engines

References

References

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12. (26 August 2009). "Alfa 166 loses the most value".