31.01.2005 This week, Alfa Romeo dealers across the world will stop taking orders for the 156 saloon and 'Sportwagon' as the countdown to the arrival of its replacement gets underway

This week Alfa Romeo dealers across the world will stop taking orders for the Alfa 156 sedan and 'Sportwagon' as the countdown to the arrival of its replacement gets underway. With its eagerly anticipated successor due to arrive around the middle of the year, the production lines will have to be re-tooled in Naples for the new model, which still goes by its codename 'Project 939'.

The Alfa 156, first introduced in 1997, is undoubtedly Alfa Romeo's most significant model in recent years. It is a car that went on to redefine the general public's perception of marque, introducing a whole new generation of car buyer, and successfully re-launching the famous carmaker into the modern world.

Designed in-house by Walter de Silva, it was a conventional three-box saloon, but with a host of innovative features, including concealed rear door handles which kept the lines surprisingly clean, demonstrated by its drag coefficient of just 0.31.

The Alfa Romeo 156 arrives to widespread acclaim

The Alfa 156 was car of utter beauty, and it truly mesmerised the automotive world when it made its first appearce. Its smooth, sleek, curvaceous lines were like nothing ever seen before in a 'large saloon' family saloon car, and in true Italian tradition it did what none of its bland, faceless Germanic rivals could ever hope to do: it stirred passion and evoked emotion.

A variety of petrol (1598cc with 121bhp, 1797cc with 144bhp & 1970cc with 155bhp four cylinder twin spark, 2492cc V6 with 190bhp) and diesel (1910cc four cylinder turbo with 106bhp & 2387cc five cylinder turbo with 137bhp, both with common rail) engines were made available with either a five-speed gearbox, or in the case of the 2.5 V6 only, a six-speed gearbox or a Q-system four speed automatic.

The suspension featured double wishbones at the front, and a development of the 164 suspension with McPherson struts at the rear. Aluminium alloys have been employed for several components in both the front and rear suspension in order to reduce the weight. This theme of weight reduction was continued in various other areas of the vehicle, for example in the front seats which had magnesium frames, saving about 4kg per seat. The structure was also designed to be light whilst also offering excellent crash protection. The latter trend continued with front airbags.

The seal of approval came quickly as it had captivated the hearts of motoring journalists, and for 1998 it scooped up that most prestigious of awards, 'European Car of the year'.

The Selespeed version, was at first available only with the 2.0 litre twin spark engine (although later it was added as an option to the GTA), used a five speed manual gearbox operated electro-hydraulically and controlled by buttons on the steering wheel - technology directly transferred from Ferrari in Formula One. The shift speed depends on driving parameters, with over 5000rpm and 60% throttle the shift takes 0.4 seconds, below these parameters and it slows to 1.5 seconds. A 'city' mode can also be selected, giving a fully automatic shift. The automatic also has a conventional H-pattern shift for manually selecting the four ratios, rather than the now more popular sequential type.

The Alfa 156 Sportwagon joins the fray

In March 2000 the Sportwagon was introduced, a 'lifestyle fastback' version with identical mechanicals and engines as the saloon, but with an extended roofline and a hatchback. The Alfa 156's gorgeous lines lent themselves perfectly to creating an 'estate' version, a gap in the marque's range left by the discontinuation of the Alfa 33 Sportwagon in 1994, and the Alfa 156 Sportwagon can justifiably lay claim to being one of the most beautiful estate cars of all time.

The next year saw the launch of the sporty GTA, made available as both saloon and Sportwagon. This new version made use of the classic V6 in a new 3.2-litre 250bhp format with manual or Selespeed transmissions, new suspension geometry and setting, greatly improved brakes, more direct steering, 17-inch wheels, and a variety of aesthetic modifications that gave it a hard, sporty look.

The beginning of 2002 saw a mild facelift across the range. External changes were insignificant, a revised dashboard featuring a mutli-function display being the most visible change. More significantly a new direct injection 2.0-litre engine replaced the old TS unit, with an improved power outpt of 165bhp. The 2.4JTD also had its power increased to 150bhp. Various electronic systems (VDC, MSR, etc) were added, as were window-bags, an air quality sensor and a dual-zone climate control system.

Giorgetto Giugiaro entrusted with giving the Alfa 156 a makeover

June 2003 saw a second facelifted and revised 156 and Sportwagon range brought out. This was principally a cosmetic makeover, and the job was handed to that most legendary of car designers, Giorgetto Giugiaro. He grafted the new 'family' vertical grille onto the nose, together with new, sharper headlights, stronger bumpers and slightly revised rear lights.

It added up to give the Alfa 156 a new tougher, more aggressive look, allowing the six year old car to grow up, but importantly without losing any of its simple, smooth beauty. The interiors and equipments levels were also very carefully upgraded and improved.
 

On track success: In the hands of Fabrizio Giovanardi and Gabriele Tarquini, the Alfa Romeo 156 has proved itself the most successful touring car of recent years with a string of European drivers' and manufacturers' titles to its name

On track success: In the hands of Fabrizio Giovanardi and Gabriele Tarquini, the Alfa Romeo 156 has proved itself the most successful touring car of recent years with a string of European drivers' and manufacturers' titles to its name

Three years ago Alfa Romeo created the 156 GTA and Sportswagon GTA line, wild-looking, performance cars with the marque's legendary 3.2-litre V6 engine under the bonnet

Three years ago Alfa Romeo created the 156 GTA and Sportswagon GTA line, wild-looking, performance cars with the marque's legendary 3.2-litre V6 engine under the bonnet

The beautiful Alfa 156 Sportwagon has also been a huge sale success, and deservedly takes its place as the most stylish and exciting 'fastback' to emerge in the last decade

The beautiful Alfa 156 Sportwagon has also been a huge sale success, and deservedly takes its place as the most stylish and exciting 'fastback' to emerge in the last decade

The ultimate performance Alfa Romeo 156 arrived this year after legendary London-based tuner Autodelta turned their attention to the GTA version and took it to the very edge

The ultimate performance Alfa Romeo 156 arrived last year after legendary London-based tuner Autodelta turned their attention to the GTA version and took it to the very edge

Introduced in 1998, the beautiful Alfa Romeo 156 re-launched the brand, scooping up the accolade of 'European Car of the year' one of a whole host of awards it would go one to win

Introduced in 1998, the beautiful Alfa Romeo 156 re-launched the brand, scooping up the accolade of 'European Car of the year' one of a whole host of awards it would go on to win

Walter de Silva was responsible for penning the Alfa 156's smooth, flowing lines: here the designer discusses the 'hidden' rear exterior handles on a pre-production model

Two years ago the master designer Giorgetto Giugiaro restyled the Alfa 156, sharpening its lines and creating a more aggressive look, all without harming the car's beauty

Two years ago the master designer Giorgetto Giugiaro restyled the Alfa 156, sharpening its lines and creating a more aggressive look, all without harming the car's beauty

Last autumn saw the market arrival of the Alfa 156-based Crosswagon and Sportwagon Q4, 'pumped up' models which cash in on a market trend for 4x4 'Crossover' vehicles


The long-awaited Alfa 156-based coupé also finally emerged that year. Called simply the GT, it was well received by the press and public alike, its sleek two door lines, winning it a whole host of important awards.

Q4 badged versions signify the arrival of four wheel drive

The next addition to the range saw the introduction of four-wheel-drive last autumn with the arrival of the Crosswagon Q4 and Sportwagon Q4. Both these 'pumped up' new models cashed in on a market-demand for 'Crossover' vehicles, used a new Torsen 4x4 drivetrain under the Sportwagon body, and are powered by the 1.9 MutliJet JTD engine.

The Crosswagon Q4 has been designed to appear more off-road, with various plastic embellishments and a raised ride height. The Sportwagon Q4 remained visually the same as the normal 2WD Sportwagon, apart from the badge.

Autodelta create the ultimate Alfa 156...with 328bhp

Last year the ultimate road-legal version of the Alfa 156 arrived on the scene when London design and tuning house Autodelta, famed for eking the very last drop of performance out of Alfa Romeo's, turned their attention to the GTA model.

The result, dubbed the Autodelta 156 GTA AM, has seen an amazing 328bhp squeezed out of a larger-bore 3.7-litre V6 engine which features new, Ferrari-inspired, engine mapping. Together with an uprated engine, transmission and suspension, this car takes the Alfa 156 to the very technological and performance edge.

On the tracks the Alfa 156 continues the Alfa Romeo racing legend

The Alfa 156 has been just as successful on the tracks as in the showroom, a real requirement for a marque which has based its entire history on defeating the opposition on the toughest and most demanding circuits of the world.

In fact the Alfa 156 has staked its claim as the most successful touring car race of this decade. It started its racing life in Italian Superturismo at the end of the 1990s, where Fabrizio Giovanardi swept to victory after victory, before it arrived in the newly reformed European Touring Car Championship during 2001.

Alfa Romeo's almost continual involvement in the FIA European Touring Car Championship, virtually from its inception in 1963, is the stuff of legends. Ever since the legendary Andrea De Adamich won the 1600cc class in 1966 at the wheel of a Giulia GTA, a feat he was to swiftly repeat the next year, Alfa Romeo's name have been indelibly etched on the roll of honours. In various guises the famous Guilia GTA and GTAm models raced to an amazing six manufacturers', and an incredible nine drivers', titles.

The Alfa 156 was not to disappoint, rightly taking up its place in the history books. In 2001 the European Touring Car Championship was reformed, and Fabrizio Giovanardi effortlessly switched from winning in Italy to winning in Europe, taking away with him the new drivers' title, while Nordauto, the Italian outfit charged with running the factory-backed cars, scooped up the teams' award.

The next year saw Giovanardi claim a second title, while Alfa Romeo took home the trophy of the newly revived manufacturers' cup. 2003 was to prove another highly successful year as Gabriele Tarquini, a driver rightly embedded in Alfa Romeo's recent racing history, returned to the Milanese marque in style, and got straight down to winning races.

The year was to culminate with a stunning final pair of races at Monza. Tarquini arrived on home soil sharing equal points with his arch BMW rival, Jörg Muller, and with Alfa Romeo, now running under the revived Autodelta banner, very much the underdogs as the German car's had held the upper hand during the closing stages of that season. Despite Muller claiming pole position, Tarquini, starting down the order, was unstoppable on race day, and imperiously, he swept to the title. Last year the honours kept on coming as Autodelta claimed the teams' title.

Now after more than seven years in production and rapidly approaching the end of its life cycle, the Alfa 156 still looks just as fresh and stylish as the first day it was unveiled. Its place in Alfa Romeo history is assured: its style, its design, its innovation, its sales success, and its countless victories on the race tracks, have embedded its position as one of the Milanese marque's great models.

In just a few months time, its successor, codenamed project 939, arrives on the scene. Generally dubbed as the 'Alfa 157', inside glimpses certainly give the impression that Alfa Romeo will have another worthy winner on their hands, that the superb Alfa 156 will now give way to another Alfa Romeo worthy of bearing the famous 'cross and serpent' badge.


by Edd Ellison (Additional material: CarsFromItaly.com)

 

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The Alfa Romeo 157, due for launch at next year’s Geneva Motor Show in March, is set to enrich the marque’s reputation as a producer of true sporting saloons

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