Alfa Romeo 90

History

Designed by Bertone and introduced at the 1984 Turin Motor Show, the 90 was pitched between the Alfa Romeo Giulietta (nuova) and the Alfa Romeo Alfa 6, both of which were soon discontinued after the 90's launch. The car used the Alfetta's chassis (including its rear mounted transaxle) and used engines from the larger Alfa 6. The bodywork was similar to both, albeit modernised. One notable feature of the 90's design was a small chin spoiler which extended above a certain speed to aid engine cooling. Its angular lines with integrated bumpers gave the car a neat look consistent with the period, however the aerodynamics suffered with a . The cars design was conservative, inside and out, with perhaps the only unusual element being the U-shaped parking brake lever.

The 90 was equipped with electric front windows and electrically adjustable seats as standard. The more luxurious Gold Cloverleaf (Quadrifoglio Oro) model had electric rear windows, a trip computer, power steering, central locking, metallic paint and a digital instrument panel as standard. The passenger fascia included a slot for an optional briefcase, made by Valextra. The external finish was very similar across the board, it being near impossible to tell the different models apart from appearance alone.

The 90 was revamped in 1986 with many minor changes throughout, the most obvious exterior change being a new grille with smaller horizontal slants. A total of 56,428 cars were sold over four years of production.

The 90 was only made as a sedan, but in 1985 Carrozzeria Marazzi developed a Station Wagon prototype at the behest of Italian motoring magazine Auto Capital; only two cars were made.

Suspension

The 90 has a longitudinal front engine, a rear mounted gearbox with differential lock and independent front suspension wishbones with torsion bar springs and rear De Dion tube. It has disc brakes on all four wheels, the rear brakes are mounted inboard.

Engines

Five engines were available: two Alfa Romeo Twin Cam engines; 1,779 cc and 1,962 cc and two fuel injected Alfa Romeo V6 engines: 1,996 cc or 2,492 cc, and finally a 2,393 cc turbodiesel made by VM Motori. The carburetted four cylinder engines have twin Dell'Orto carburettors with manual chokes, while the 1,962 cc was also available in a fuel injected variant which also incorporated a novel variable valve timing system. The fuel injected engine has the same maximum power but offered somewhat less torque; this was perhaps more than made up for with a 20 percent improvement in fuel economy.

The 2.0-litre V6 version was dedicated to the Italian market, where cars with engines over 2.0-litres were subjected to a doubled 38% VAT up to 1993. It was equipped with an innovative engine control unit and electronic injection system named CEM (Controllo Elettronico del Motore), developed by Alfa Romeo subsidiary SPICA. It manages the opening time of the injectors and the ignition depending on the angle of the butterfly valves, with one throttle body per cylinder unlike on the Bosch L-Jetronic used on the 2.5 litre V6 engine. V6 models received a double-plate clutch while the four-cylinder models rely on a single-plate unit.

References

References

1. "Alfa Romeo/Models".
2. De Leener, Philippe. (7 February 1985). "Gedetailleerde Wegtest: Alfa 90 2.0". Uitgeverij Auto-Magazine.
3. [https://www.autocar.co.uk/slideshow/world%E2%80%99s-most-weirdly-wonderful-car-options Autocar: World’s most weirdly wonderful car options]
4. [[#AG140. De Leener]], p. 35
5. "The Sportwagon".
6. "Automotive/Past vehicles/Alfa Romeo 90".
7. [[#AG140. De Leener]], p. 36
8. (1985). "Quattroruote: Tutte le Auto del Mondo 1985". Editoriale Domus S.p.A.
9. Villare, Renzo. (7 January 1993). "Ora il lusso costa un po' meno". [[La Stampa]].
10. "Alfa Romeo 90".
11. [[#AG140. De Leener]], p. 39
12. "alfa romeo 90". carfolio.com.