1996 Alfa Romeo 164 Cloverleaf– Classified of the Week

Today’s episode of Classified of the Week is brought to you by the numbers 164, 3.0, 6 and 24. That’s because we have this rather delightful Alfa Romeo 164 Quadrifoglio with a top of the range 3.0-litre, 24 valve V6 engine under the bonnet up for grabs. Here are some more numbers for you too; the car produces 227bhp and 209ft-lb of torque, which is enough to propel the thing from parked to 60 in seven seconds and on to a top speed of 150mph. We like those numbers. Those are good numbers.

Appearing on the scene in 1987 and sharing its floorpan with Fiat, Lancia and Saab models at the time, the 164 was clearly the belle of that particular ball thanks to its Pininfarina-designed body. It was also a step in the right direction for Alfa Romeo in terms of build quality. The body and chassis were galvanised from the factory which meant they didn’t disintegrate on contact with water and with a choice of engines ranging from 148bhp 2.0-litre Twin Spark and 2.5-litre turbo-diesel four cylinders, through a 192bhp 3.0-litre 12 valve V6, to the biggest and best of the bunch as mentioned above, there wasn’t a lemon in the lot.

The Quadrifoglio, or Cloverleaf, was the crème de la crème of the Alfa Romeo 164 – the meglio del meglio. Debuting in ’93 not only was it fitted with the beautifully sonorous Busso V6 but it was also treated to a bit of a makeover with the addition of a body kit in the form of a larger front spoiler and side-skirts. The interior also got a spruce up and leather sports seats were standard. A four wheel-drive model was introduced at the same time in place of the front wheel-drive setup of the lesser variants, named the Q4, but everything else remained the same.

Our focus for today’s feature is this 1996 model. It’s up for £6,000, which is another good number and we are genuinely tempted. The car has covered just shy of 90,000 miles but the engine is not original to the car. Reading the advert took us on an emotional roller-coaster as we discovered that the car has had not one, but two replacement engines! You can have a read for yourself but suffice to say due to some rather lousy luck the third engine is now in, resplendent with many new parts – including that all important cambelt – and the 164 was put back on the road in June of this year, complete with a full MoT and clean bill of health. The seller states that the car now runs “very nicely with perfect oil pressure and coolant temp” and with a stainless steel exhaust and after market cataylser it will definitely have the bark to match its bite.

It also has slotted brake discs and stainless steel braided hoses, both front and rear, and the electronically adjustable shock absorbers all function as they should. It’s a magazine-featured example with a good service history dating from the year of production.

The car appears solid, the Alfa Rosso paintwork presents well and the polished pepper pot wheels look splendid but the car is beginning to show its age and some areas could do with touching up. A good correction may be sufficient but a full re-spray would see this 164 back to its full glory. There are a few electrical gremlins too (this is a ’90s Alfa Romeo after all) but nothing that would put us off from calling it our own.

Alfa Romeo would revive the Cloverleaf badge in 2007 for use on its 8C Competizione and the nomenclature is currently used to denote the manufacturer’s top of the range models, which is exactly what we have here. Aimed squarely at the performance saloon market the Alfa Romeo 164 Quadrifoglio offered a much prettier and more individual alternative to the BMWs and Mercedes of the time. To be fair it still does and you can guarantee to turn more heads driving one of these than any equivalent German fare. And that V6. Oh that V6. Someone buy this before we do.

If you missed out on this one, here’s where you can find an Alfa Romeo 164 for sale.