Alfa Romeo 166 V6 | Last Chance Saloon
When it's rare and everybody should care, it's a Last Chance Saloon - of course the 166 is in
By their nature, most cars become rarer with the passing of time. Usually they become uneconomical to keep on the road, thanks to a repair bill that vastly exceeds the secondhand value. Or they get crashed. Or the cost of VED, fuel and insurance is more than anyone is willing to pay - looking at you, Subaru Tribeca - and cars end up scrapped. Some just didn’t sell very well in the first instance, against expectations or entirely in line with predictions. It’s not just a classic trend, either: the influx of Chinese cars, and some sub-par EVs from the more established manufacturers, means seldom-seen cars will continue for a while yet. And the life of many vehicles will still end craned on top of many others to be harvested for spares. Rightly so in a lot of cases, you might say.
But not always, and that’s what Last Chance Saloon is all about, celebrating those cars so rare that finding one for sale is a real talking point. A car to be saved for all the right reasons, in other words. If not now, when - and all that. Because if this decade has taught us anything at all, it’s that the kind of cars we all grew up interested in are not coming back. So before they get tucked away in the hope of appreciation, or rendered obsolete by poor parts supply, we should all be aiming to go and enjoy the finest decades of automotive history. You get the picture. As long as it wasn't a limited run in the first instance, and as long as it’s interesting, it’s fair game.
The Alfa Romeo 166 is the ideal Last Chance Saloon, even if we do say so ourselves. Everything that conspired against it succeeding as a new car makes it attractive as a modern classic: no diesel option in the UK hurt sales when the fuel was booming, but who’d want a 20-year-old Alfa diesel now? The 156 was the prettier, more affordable Alfa saloon in period, though that means the 166 is rarer and that bit more interesting. Not being as good as the E39 5 Series (even BMW struggled to make a car as good as the E39 5 Series) means values aren’t quite as daft.
All of which means there are precious few remaining. Indeed, the only version on HowManyLeft showing more than 20 units still remaining taxed on UK roads is the 2.0 Twin Spark Lusso - and that’s at 21. Add up all 16 variants and you’re left with just 119 cars. Most V6 trim levels account for fewer than 10 each. Sure, there are plenty more SORNd (and some that really are just a couple of bits away from completion, right), but there’ll be plenty more that need proper restorations by now. As recently as 2018, there were 387 cars registered; probably the rot has been stopped now (in every sense), but the numbers aren’t ever going to meaningfully rise.
Which is a shame. The 166 looked superb, sounded even better, and featured an interior that could have come from an Italian fashion house. It wasn’t the fastest saloon in the world, or the best to drive, but it was undoubtedly alluring. Now more than ever, in fact.
However, its fate was sealed long ago. In August 2009, the 166 was named Britain’s worst depreciating used car, beating cars like the CityRover, Mitsubishi Space Star and Cadillac CTS to top spot. Glass’s Guide reported that it retained just 14.4 per cent of its used value after three years. So what might have been a £30k car new in 2006 - right at the end of UK sales, just like this car - was expected to be worth £4,320. Yowch. Even allowing for the discounts that would have been around, that’s a phenomenal, almost unbelievable loss. Just in time for scrappage schemes, too…
So it’s a miracle that any 166s survived, really, worth so little at a time when even bona fide classics were being taken off the roads permanently. There were lovely V6s at the old £1,000 Shed threshold for a long time, and you can bet that not many of those made it into the 2020s. This one isn’t less than a thousand pounds, sadly. It isn’t less than £10,000, either, though you might be able to get it down to that. It must be one of the last 166s sold new in the UK, on an ‘06’ plate and with fewer than 60,000 miles showing. The interior is a feast of cream leather, the engine bay is potentially even cleaner than the body, and there’s said to be a full service history.
It’s a V6, too. The Twin Spark was always a lovely engine, if better suited to hauling smaller, lighter Alfas around; the 3.0 Busso (or later 3.2) was the engine for the job, really. It’s a surprise, in fact, to find such a late 166 with the 3.0-litre - Alfistis, feel free to contribute as to why that might be. The Sportronic auto might not be quite as desirable as a manual, though at least it isn’t a Selspeed.
And in truth, any 166 that’s made it this far now ought to be a good 'un. Or at least not a pup - they were disposed of a while ago. Those that remain will have been cared for, surely; partly because Alfas will need it, partly as they tend to have that effect on people. What better chance to see for yourself…
If I was brave enough to go for a vintage Alfa saloon of this size that has a Busso, I'd put my bravest pair of pants on and go for a 164. If you're going to break down by the side of the road or fail to even make it off of the drive, do it in style.
One of these or a Brera 3.2 oh, and the Romeo Spyder are my fave 3 Alfas.
£11K?
Is this one of the ones destined for the Far East that came here instead?
If the heater matrix leaks it could take out the ECU for the Automatic transmission. 'Bagging' solutions should've been documented on the web.
It seems 166 development started before the 156, but initial designs were deemed to have overly long overhangs meant it arrived to market after the 156. Has anyone seen any images of the 166 that was canned in development due to the overly long overhangs?
Don’t let FWD put you off, these arent cars you race about in anyway.
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