Successor 75 had sporting success, but things went differently in the showroom
The 155 is known as one of the most successful models in Alfa’s rich racing history. The model was less successful in the showrooms. He therefore had to follow up the last real Alfa, the legendary 75 when he retired in 1992. That was a rear-wheel drive, the 155 had front-wheel drive. A look back at the mid-sized car, which was produced less than 200,000 times, the predecessor of the successful 156.
At the beginning of 2020, there were still 206 Alfa 155s registered in the Netherlands. Of these, about 65 percent had a valid MOT, which immediately explains why the wedge-shaped sedan has become a rare sight on public roads. In Belgium the situation is even worse: there you simply no longer see the successor to the popular 75. Whether it has to do with the fact that the 155 was not seen as ‘a real Alfa’ when it was launched in 1992, because it was conceived under Fiat tutelage? Has the next model, the sensuously lined 156 that won the title of Car of the Year, claimed the collective attention? Or was the 155 just not good enough quality to successfully stand the test of time?
Slow start for the 155 Series 1, from 1992 to 1995
The answer probably lies somewhere in the middle, just as the 155 only started to flourish in the middle of its career. The Series 1, which ran from 1992 to 1995, unfortunately could not match the triumphant image of the racing versions in the showroom. The stretched Tipo foundations with front-wheel drive were simply too weak for that and the lines of designer Ercole Spada were initially too tame.
155 Q4 had powertrain Lancia Delta Integrale
However, there was certainly potential in the angular sedan, which from the outset had spicy Twin Spark engines and in Q4 specification (the counterpart of this recently spotted Peugeot 405 T16) even received the powertrain of the Delta Integrale. Admittedly scaled back a bit so as not to annoy sister brand Lancia, but still good for a classic sprint in 7 seconds and a top speed of 220 km / h, which was not bad thirty years ago.
Even a basic 155 with 1.7 was smooth
Admittedly, of the 192,618 units produced, only 2,701 carried the renowned four-leaf clover. The rest were of simpler origins and were more than once accused of being just a Fiat Tempra in an Alfa outfit. Still, the 155 steered significantly sharper than its stable mates, even the basic 1.7 had enough energy to get out of the corner and fuel consumption remained within limits thanks to the good streamline of the design. However, compare the Centocinquantacinque with its illustrious predecessor and suddenly a lot of driver attributes appear to be missing, such as the rear-wheel drive, the inboard brakes for better weight distribution and the transaxle construction, in which the gearbox is mounted on the rear axle. Giuseppe Busso’s burly 3.0 V6 was also exchanged for a paltry 2.5 V6 with ‘only’ 166 hp.
Widebody for the 155 Series 2
The restart came in 1995, when evolutions in motorsport necessitated changes to the street version. To remain competitive in the many touring car championships, the GTAs needed a wider track, which motivated Arese to thoroughly update the 155. The Series 2 models were called widebodies because of their flared wheel arches with extra track width at both the front and rear for more stability. Between the rear wheels 1.6 cm was added, between the front skids 2.4 cm. Even more striking was the fact that the front track was significantly wider than the rear (1,493 versus 1,427 mm) in order to counter understeer. Unfortunately, the (re) development costs were too high for the Integrale technology of the Q4, resulting in an early retirement for the four-wheel drive version.
Twin Spark engines got 16V
The rest of the 155 range did move a bank forward. In addition to the geometry changes, the Twin Spark engines received a new 16-valve cylinder head, while the interior was treated to fresh materials with a better finish. The Super variants added more luxury as usual, the S(port) models received a spoiler kit with black or anthracite five-spoke wheels from Speedline with tires in size 205/45 R16. With that, the 155 already looked more like the track models, with sharpened performance thanks to the 16v engines.
The 1.8 Twin Spark 16v was delightful
In 1995 AutoWeek tested a 1.8 Twin Spark 16v S and noted: “We were able to improve the 0-100 km/h acceleration time quoted by Alfa repeatedly and without difficulty by a full second: the 155 completes that sprint in 9 seconds.” Not bad for a family sedan that was praised for its gigantic trunk (525 liters) and scored negative points with the limited legroom in the back.
2.0 16v S was top model after 155 Q4 dropped
With the Q4 phased out and the V6 more focused on comfortable power, the 2.0 16v S came into focus as the driver’s car of the bunch. The renewed four-cylinder engines had a fickle timing belt instead of a durable timing chain, but if you gave them a good sip of oil on time, there was hardly anything to criticize. The 2.0 sixteen-valve was blessed with a variable intake, ditto valve timing and still two spark plugs per cylinder for optimal ignition. The power was 150 hp at 6,200 rpm, the 0-100 sprint and the top speed were 9 seconds and 208 km / h respectively. However, the sporty timbre (and the fact that the speedometer was rather optimistic) made it all feel a lot faster.
Ken Divjak already owned an Alfa Romeo 155 around 2000. Another one came later.
When one came on the market around the turn of the millennium with 135,000 kilometers and a good maintenance history, the writer did not hesitate for a second to put his hard-earned money into his first own car: a 2.0 liter 16-valve in Blu Armonico with the optional S- package. What followed was 50,000 of the most memorable miles I’ve ever driven without ever stranding on the side of the road. When the clutch started to struggle at 175,000 kilometers and there was still no new money in the savings bank book, the 155 ended up in the garage under a duster. There he stood all alone for ten years, until he resurrected about three years ago as a project car in a Belgian car magazine, with half a renovation as a result.
155 now 30 years
Even now that the 155 has reached classic status on paper, the decline of the model will continue for a while. The ideal time to get one quickly and to be ahead of the potential hype? That depends on how many euros you have left for it. As a buyer, you should almost receive money for a worn-out smallbody, knowing that it will take a lot of time and resources to make it roadworthy again. Usable copies can currently be found under €5,000, while original widebodies with low mileage are gradually creeping up to €10,000. The Q4 remains the cream of the crop, which translates into prices ranging from €15,000 to €25,000. A lot of money for an unloved Alfa, but a bargain in light of the lotto amounts that Integrales command these days.
Perhaps in the long term recognition for Alfa 155
It could just be that the 155 will eventually get the recognition it deserves, even if the previous 75 was significantly better and the subsequent 156 significantly nicer. Just imagine having the 155 taken care of by a restomod specialist such as Alfaholics in England, where they remedy the inherent weaknesses of the suspension and immediately complete the sharpened handling with a 200 hp tuned 2.0 Twin Spark. Add a set of original Recaros and the picture is complete. We bet that the car world will then pay attention to the undervalued street versions of the illustrious 155 racers, just as is already the case with the regular BMW E30s?
This story was previously published in AutoWeek Classics 6 2020
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl