1995 Alfa Romeo 164 QV Review: The Car BMW Should Have Feared

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One of the lead engineers of the Montezemolo Ferraris (Ugolini) had worked on the 164 since short after its inception. He was tasked with perfecting the chassis by finite elements analysis at a facility in Paris, and when the study was done the stiffness was almost double that of the closest competition, more than double that of an hatchback Then in 1983 the styling concept was overthrown on favour of Pininfarina's proposal, and the monocoque had to be adapted to the new looks. So he stepped in and with just 4 kilos of reinforcements he made his calculations real and gifted the 164 with 120'000 kgm\rad. Soon after that Fiat Auto Group bought Alfa, at a project briefing this torsional stiffness value was revealed to Fiat engineers, who accused Alfa of having made this result up because the Fiat the Lancia and the Saab only scored 70'000. At the end the Fiat Group saloons were mandated to be at least 100'000 rigid

A friend of mine at Primary School when I was 12 - his Dad had one of these, he was an optometrist. Really cool guy.

164 is the first Alfa Romeo model I saw as a schoolboy in 1996, it looked like something else. I still own a 24V 164 since 2012 here in Sri Lanka. Maintenance and upkeep are getting expensive by the day, but it is a fantastic car to have. Thank you for the video, James.

Quick note on Sod's law regarding sunroofs and windows. It never invokes on opening. You find out on closing.

One of my all time favourite cars ever owned. The Busso V6 is one of the greatest engines ever made. Mine was serviced by an ex Alfa touring car team mechanic and he was able to change the rev limiter from somewhere in the 7,000s up to 8,500rpm. Driving through Dartford tunnel with 8,000 revs, that was tingling moments, really was. Mine was all black on the outside and black interior. So when discussing the room in the boot, it is gauged on the number of bodies you can get in there, it was that sinister. As to parts, yep. Even when relatively new, the gearbox went while within warranty. It took six weeks for a gearbox to be sent over from Italy and cost them over five grand. Apart from that it was very reliable. The gearstick did come out in my hand once, while on the M25. But it just slotted back in and never caused issue again. Comedy moment, I had a warning light on the dash. The warning lights are in a long bar under the gauges. I checked the owners manual and couldn't tell what it was. I took it to the main Alfa dealer. They couldn't work out what it was either and offered to just take the bulb out of the warning light.

The coolest car you have driven this year ! This car should only be parked in a freezer ! Awesome. ❤

Back in '94/'95, I worked for Hewlett Packard in Bristol. There was some sort of company car tax swindle whereby the management made their cars available as "pool cars". One day, I got lucky, and got handed the keys of a shiny red Twin Spark. Two additional points: the 164 was the absolute dream car of my sister's husband, and the day I got the car was, coincidentally, his birthday... So after I'd done my business, I drove round to his house, parked in front, and banged on his door. "Happy birthday!" I said, dangling the keys. I didn't let him drive it, despite him begging quite pathetically, but I did take him for an extended sortie down the back roads.

Had an Alfa and loved it. She didn't love me back and nor did my bank manager. When I sold it I wondered how long it would take me to forget how she hoovered up all my savings + nearly sent me to the poor house. Here I am, looking at Alfas again .. a decade later

I saw a Rosso example in Tunbridge Wells a week or so ago. It took be back to my teens, when the QV was the stuff of dreams. I remember the rave reviews in Autocar and other print media too. That beautiful 24-valve engine, the spaceship interior that has aged fantastically well. What a car.

That shape! The perfectly proportioned saloon wrapped around a sensational V6 engine and very competent chassis. I loved mine and was very VERY sad when I had to move on from it.

My dad had a 1996 2.0 TwinSpark Super Lusso in black as a company car back in the day. It was an incredibly special car, full of soul, passion and flair! It was reliable, well built and looked like something 4 times it's cost. As a teenager at the time I would drool over the Cloverleaf version which to this day I think still looks like a four door Ferrari. Chuffed that you found one to review James!

I was obsessed with the design of this car as a kid! It looked so cool and mean in black!

I had a 3litre V6 Lusso in deep green . Ran for 3 years from 30,000 to 90,000 miles and wholly reliable . My son’s still remember and comment on just what a great car it was.

I will never forget 1989 when the original 3.0 V6 manual car came out. The torque steer was ridiculous but the whole car was intensely happy-making and the engine divine. My first was only a short term loan but a friend later had one of her own which she and I both adored

The 164 QV 24V must be up there with the best cars I've ever owned, I've had 3 of them and they are just amazing, even the 24V Super gives you the same feeling. Awesome cars, great review James

I have a 1996 TS Super I bought as a neglected non runner and am slowly bringing back to life. Surprisingly rust free car in a good spec with ABS, Aircon etc. I chose the twin spark as no belts to worry about and the last iteration of the classic Alfa twin cam.

The sound of this engine is how Subarus sound on TV show Road Wars lol From previous Busso ownership I can confirm to avoid straight through exhausts and to focus more on the intake. Carbon air boxes sound incredibly good and Ferrari throttle body’s can be made to fit. Check YouTube for the best V6 noises on any road car with this set up 👍 Jay, you need to try a 2.5 in a 156 - it’s the sweetest 24v Busso imo

Oh my god! I so nearly bought a 164 Cloverleaf back in the mid-90s. It wouldn't have been at all sensible, but I just really really wanted it. The one that got away...

The 164 is a special one. Missing so much my dad's late '98 2.0 Twin Spark. That engine also has a glorious sound, you can hear the intake inside so well.