Shed Of The Week: Alfa Romeo 164 - Pistonheads.com
One hundred years ago this August, a Neapolitan entrepreneur called Nicola Romeo became a director of the ALFA car company. Romeo's first job was to produce munitions for the Allied war effort, but the cars following that first bout of world unpleasantness laid the foundations for a motoring brand that blended steel and romance in a way that few other marques have been... Since the 1960s, Alfa Romeo has been most strongly associated with smallish (and generally excellent) sporting coupes and ragtops. With one or two notable exceptions like the Alfasud, the company's attempts to muscle in on the Joe Average market have enjoyed about as much success as an SNP candidate in South Ken, but many of Alfa's big execs turned out surprisingly well. The only one we've had in all that time, in fact, was back in July 2013. It was black and had the same 2. 0-litre Twin Spark engine as this week's Shed, along with ten months MOT, six months tax, and a headscratchingly low £250 price tag. Even in its most basic form, today's Ford Focus lards in at around 1,270kg. At its 1987 launch, the Alfa 164 weighed 1,200kg. This may seem astonishing for a car in the 5 Series/E-Class bracket, but it's true, and it gives you a clue as to why... Source: www.pistonheads.com
