CarBrandLogos archive · Alfa Romeo · 1997

Alfa Romeo156

The saloon that made Alfa Romeo desirable again, then took over touring cars.

Photo: Salexx156 · CC BY-SA 4.0

The story

A defining chapter in Alfa Romeo history.

Explore the ideas, engineering and context that shaped the Alfa Romeo 156, then continue into its specifications and place in the marque's lineage.

Origins

By the mid-1990s Alfa Romeo under Fiat ownership was selling competent cars that nobody particularly wanted. The 155 had been a Fiat Tempra in a good suit. The 156, launched in 1997, changed the conversation entirely.

AR TS 1.6l 001 · Tennen-Gas · CC BY-SA 3.0

Design and engineering

Walter de Silva's design did most of that work. He put the shield grille back at the centre of the nose, gave the car a rising waistline, and hid the rear door handles in the window frames so a four-door saloon read as a coupe - a trick copied endlessly since, and startling at the time. It won the European Car of the Year award for 1998 and, more usefully, made people who would have bought a 3-Series look twice.

Alfa Romeo25V6 · Typ932 · Public domain

In production

Underneath it was front-wheel drive, built at Pomigliano d'Arco, with double wishbones at the front and Twin Spark fours and V6s above them. The significant engine was the diesel: Fiat's 1.9 JTD was among the first common-rail units in a passenger car, and it turned the 156 into a long-distance machine just as the European market switched to diesel wholesale. A Sportwagon estate followed, then the raised Crosswagon, and in 2002 the GTA with a 3.2-litre V6.

Motorshow Geneva 150 · Norbert Aepli, Switzerland (User:Noebu) · CC BY 3.0

Legacy

Racing versions took the European Touring Car Championship repeatedly around the turn of the century, with Gabriele Tarquini and Fabrizio Giovanardi among the drivers, and the sight of a 156 cocking a wheel through a chicane became the series' signature image.

Chapter 5

Giugiaro handled the 2003 facelift and the 159 replaced it in 2005. The 156 remains the point at which Alfa Romeo remembered what it was for.

At a glance

The facts that define it.

Produced

1996–2007

Engine

Petrol:

Body

4-door Sedan

Technical specification

The 156, in detail.

Production: 1996–2007
Class: Compact executive car (D)
Body style: 4-door Sedan (car); saloon; 5-door Station wagon; estate; 5-door Crossover (automobile); crossover
Layout: Front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout; Front-engine, front-wheel-drive ; Front-engine, four-wheel-drive layout; Front-engine, four-wheel-drive
Engine: Petrol: ; 1.6 L Alfa Romeo Twin Spark engine#16-valve Twin Spark engines; Twin Spark Multi-valve; 16V Straight-four engine; I4 ; 1.8 L Alfa Romeo Twin Spark engine#16-valve Twin Spark engines; Twin Spark 16V I4
Transmission: 5-speed Manual transmission; manual; 6-speed manual; 5-speed Selespeed Electrohydraulic manual transmission; automated manual; 6-speed Selespeed automated manual (GTA); 4-speed Aisin Q-System Automatic transmission; auto
Designer: Walter de Silva at Centro Stile Alfa Romeo ; Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign (2003 facelift)
Assembly: Italy: Pomigliano d'Arco (Alfa Romeo Pomigliano d'Arco plant; Pomigliano d'Arco plant) ; Thailand: Rayong (GM Thailand)
Manufacturer: Fiat Auto