Alfa Romeo 166
Alfa Romeo 166 (1998-2000)
The Alfa Romeo 166 is a sedan of the Italian car brand Alfa Romeo. It was introduced in the fall of 1998 as the successor to the Alfa Romeo 164.
The 166 is based on the chassis of the previous model, but this was revised with new suspension. Thus, there are at the front double-wishbone design instead of MacPherson struts and instead of Camuffo rear axle of the predecessor a multilink axle on a cast aluminum carrier. The body is based on cost grounds heavily on its predecessor, for example, the position and shape of front and rear windows.
Technically, three generations can be distinguished: the first to 2000, the second to 2003, and the third until the end of production in 2007.
Design
In the first two versions of the relatively small headlight ( halogen or xenon light optional ) with the one-time rare, inside low beam, outside the high beam headlamps with integrated parking lights were striking. Unusual also was the flat- scheduled "nose" of the vehicle.
In the third embodiment, the front has been transformed, which was then rounded. She wore wider headlights (optional bi -xenon light) and a twice as big " Scudetto " (Alfa - heart) as well as an offset to the left front indicator, as it was first introduced with the Alfa Romeo 156. In the interior only changed the materials.
The vehicle also harbored a small technical innovation, because even with its launch in the autumn of 1998 Alfa Romeo was the then standard bulbs replaced in the indicators of the rear tail lights with LEDs. Only eight to ten years later, this technology was incorporated by many other manufacturers across the board and sold as a great innovation of media attention. Alfa Romeo has not advertised it at the time, and so the first use of LED outdoor lighting remained virtually unknown.
Facelift
The engines were revised in mid-2000, as the legislature, the new Euro 3 emissions standards decided, which could not meet the existing engines with the Euro 2 standard. The petrol engines were designed at the same time on the so-called OBD2 or EOBD standard. Furthermore, there was a new, more powerful navigation system called " G3".
In both generations had the 2.5 and 3.0 liter engines optional 5-speed (later 6-speed ) manual or 4 -speed automatic ( Sportronic ) from ZF. The automatic could also be manually switched.
In late summer 2003, the front fascia has been changed, which now bore the family face as the models 156 and GT.
The automatic, there was now only for the 3.0 - liter engine, the 3.2 ( known from the 156 GTA, but here 7kW less) only with 6- speed manual transmission. Also new was the 2.4 - liter JTD with 20 valves and 129 kW (later 132 kW) diesel, which it was with six-speed manual or a new five-speed automatic ( but then reduced torque, 330 Nm instead of 400 Nm). Over the years, one engine after another was removed from the program last there was only the 2.4 - liter diesel (132 kW) and the 3.2 -liter petrol engine.
Alfa Romeo 166 (2003-2007)
Rear view
The end of 2007 the production of the large sedan was discontinued. To this day, she received no successor.
Motors
2nicht on the German market.
Dissemination
The Alfa 166 proved to be at least in Germany not a commercial success. After initially quite good numbers ( 3572 approved cars in the first full year) the approvals of the great Alfa have since declined significantly. From January to October 2006 dropped to only 86 approvals. A total of 96 575 copies of the 166 were produced, 10,222 were exported to Germany.
With the Alfa Romeo 159 also a greatly expanded successor to the 156 appeared, which the 166 comes very close to the interior and exterior dimensions, the width surpasses even while a number of modernized design elements in the interior has.