British colour, but very Italian lines
To open this week's SOTW, a classic pub-banter fact for you: the last car that Pininfarina designed before it created the Alfa Romeo 164 was the Ferrari Testarossa.
That's not a bad pedigree for a large executive saloon. Alfa fanatics may even tell you that the 164 is what a saloon version of a Testarossa would look like. But while the 164's wedgy profile and horizontal styling lines are (vaguely) reminiscent of the wideboy Ferrari, we reckon you'd really have to squint to make the connection.
That's not to say that the Alfa isn't a looker, though, with its understated, elegant Italian style and beautifully balanced proportions.
The Alfa Romeo 164 was the last of the Type Four project cars to come to market, hitting the showrooms in 1988, and shares the majority of its underpinnings with the Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema and the Saab 9000 (also the subject of a recent shed). The 164 is, however, a sleeker, more aerodynamic design than its Type four cousins and, as such, has bespoke front suspension to fit into the more rakish bodywork.
Although the more fundamentalist Alfisti may be upset at the thought of a front-drive Alfa, the 164 has a reputation as a fine-handling car. It's also less prone to the horrors of rust than some Alfas, being the first car the company made to use galvanised steel for the frame and some body panels. We'd still worry a little about the electrics, though - the 164 had the most complex wiring loom of any Alfa at the time, and up to three on-board computers.
Very eighties, but it still looks cool
This particular 164 is a 1991 3.0-litre V6 lusso with the four-speed ZF auto. That means just two valves per cylinder, 182bhp and 192lb ft of torque (24v versions had up to 229bhp). Even so, its top speed should be north of 140mph.
The advert doesn't exactly go into great detail, but this is a two-owner car with a long-ish MOT and a reasonably sensible 98,000 miles on the clock. It looks pretty clean, too, and is surely one of the most glorious-sounding Italian creations this side of the Rome Philharmonic. For £650, we think it's definitely worth a look.
1991 H Reg ALFA ROMEO 164 3.0 V6 Lusso. £650
4 Doors, Automatic, Saloon, Petrol, 98,000 miles, Metallic Green, MOT-01-2010, 2 Owners. Insurance Group:15, A NICE EXAMPLE OF THESE SOON TO BE CLASSIC PERFORMANCE SALOONS. FABULOUS SOUNDING 3LTR V6. GREAT DRIVING CAR £650