Not for U.S. Sale: 2006 Alfa Romeo 159

[BMWDave]

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Not for U.S. Sale: 2006 Alfa Romeo 159
Alfa's best sedan: The new 159 aims finally to harness Alfa Romeo?s potential
MATT DAVIS
Published Date: 7/25/05
2006 ALFA ROMEO 159 3.2 V6 JTS Q4
ON SALE: December (in Europe)
BASE PRICE: $48,000 (est.)
POWERTRAIN: 3.2-liter, 256-hp, 232-lb-ft V6; awd, six-speed manual
CURB WEIGHT: 3836 lbs
0 TO 60 MPH: 8.6 seconds (mfr.)

The new Alfa Romeo-Maserati business unit has a tough road to travel if it is to thrive. Many people have been under the impression Alfa was Fiat Auto?s only shining light in all the drama of the recent decade. But sales of the Alfa 147, 156 and 166 dropped dramatically over the past two years. The company has fallen far behind on sophisticated engineering, since the money to invest just isn?t there. Maserati struggles less, but it still bleeds money.

Despite Fiat Auto?s financial chaos, there are still a lot of fighting words flying about on Alfa?s return to the United States, with many saying cars will start rolling off the boat at an East Coast port in 2007. Alfa has reportedly been returning to the States for years now, but newly appointed Alfa Romeo-Maserati North America CEO James G. Selwa?formerly of Rolls-Royce North America?has affirmed these statements. At the upcoming Pebble Beach concours, where Alfa Romeo is the featured marque, modern Alfas rumored to be on display are the 159 (perhaps in GTA trim), a Brera prototype, and probably an updated version of the Kamal crossover concept.

No one knows better than the people running the new unit what Alfa could do if only it had the capital, and the 159 is a sincere effort to make the very best of a trying situation. The 159 sedan, on sale in Europe late this year, will be followed by the 169 in 2007 and the 149 in 2008. The 159-based Brera coupe goes on sale in Europe following September?s Frankfurt motor show.

Though the GM-Fiat alliance is now technically dead, the new 159 is the one midsize car out of the whole mess to use the premium platform jointly developed by Fiat and Saab. In addition, the 159 is the first to offer the new 3.2-liter V6, which starts out as the High Feature V6 at Holden?s new engine plant in Australia. The 159 is the prime example of the stated ?ongoing cooperation? between GM and Fiat.

The volume leaders for the 159 sedan in Alfa?s markets will be the 1.9-liter JTDm 16-valve diesel and the 2.2-liter JTS gas engine, but Americans will light up most about the 3.2-liter V6 JTS with standard Q4 all-wheel drive.

The V6 JTS will account for only 5 percent of 159 sedan sales, meaning roughly 5000 units per year out of the Pomigliano d?Arco factory in Italy. At first most will end up in Switzerland, southern Germany and Japan. Once and if the U.S. market happens, this top-level version will account for nearly 15 percent of worldwide 159 production. Good news is that little needs to be done to homologate the car for North America.

Job No. 1 for Alfa Romeo-Maserati president Karl-Heinz Kalbfell (formerly of BMW and most recently head of Rolls-Royce for a short time) is to make Alfa Romeos competitive with the equivalent models at BMW.

The 159 was launched in downtown Munich. Over the roads in the immediate vicinity, this 156 replacement showed itself to be a big improvement in most every way. Overall rigidity on the premium architecture is reportedly 30 percent higher than that found on the latest BMW 3 Series. We can attest to the rigid feel under all conditions, but despite a fresh multilink rear suspension, now the damper ratings need to catch up. Rebound rates seem slow, and there is some jiggle over rougher surfaces.

More than likely the key to any jiggle is the 159 V6 Q4?s curb weight. At 3836 pounds, it is heavy?some 400 pounds on a 330xi sedan. Between the big improvements in chassis stiffness and the Torsen C center differential, lightening the weight of the package fell out of the immediate budget.

Q4 runs a default 43/57 torque split that changes to 22/78 in the event of noticeable understeer and to 72/28 in the event of oversteer. We like the unit, heavy though it is, as it is subtle and allows for drifting the rear end just slightly before correcting.

Italdesign-Giugiaro updated the 159 exterior a bit beyond its recent redo of the 156. The 159 is a beautiful piece of work that should remain relevant for the next several years.

In all fairness, the 159 is a big leap in quality over the 156 and it brings Alfa much closer to the Germans. Job No. 2 is to lighten the package substantially and refine some of the ride. Do that, and the new Holden 3.2-liter as modified by Alfa could be just as thrilling as the old Alfa 3.2-liter used in the last-generation GTA models, which was environmentally frightening but experientially enlightening.

[Colonel Cadillac]

That's a whole lotta money for not nearly enough. I do have to admit, though, the Alfa Romeo 156 JTD that we rented in Spain was a pretty good car. It was pretty sporty according to my dad, and had a decent interior.  

[BMWDave]

That's a whole lotta money for not nearly enough. I do have to admit, though, the Alfa Romeo 156 JTD that we rented in Spain was a pretty good car. It was pretty sporty according to my dad, and had a decent interior.

Its also one hell of a good looking sedan!!  

[TBR]

It is the size of a 5er or a bit smaller, right? In which case, $48k doesn't seem all that expensive, though it certainly isn't a cheap choice.  

[TBR]

That's a whole lotta money for not nearly enough. I do have to admit, though, the Alfa Romeo 156 JTD that we rented in Spain was a pretty good car. It was pretty sporty according to my dad, and had a decent interior.

Its also one hell of a good looking sedan!!

The exterior is definitely nice, but I am not feeling the interior:


I like most of it, but the centerstack kills it for me, it looks like they were trying to do a '70/'80s supercar look but it doesn't blend well with the rest of the design.

[Raza]

:o

That thing is gorgeous!

[giant_mtb]

I want one!  :o