Alfa Romeo 156

We’ve long since lost count of just how many 156’s we must have sold over the years. At a guess it’s well into the hundreds by now. Below are a few highlights that we particularly recall working with, but they were all special, to be honest. Undoubtedly one of the marque’s biggest successes, Walter De Silva’s original design still looks peerlessly perfect on today’s roads (can any other 20 year old saloon still boast that?) and few other cars can munch miles as comfortably and engagingly as a well maintained 156. The facelifted TI Sportwagon, our trusty 16v Multijet ‘wagon hack (160k miles without any major issue!), all of the various V6’s, the sublime GTA and our unique 2.5 V6 Progetto Facelift - the 156 is an italicar staple and we will preach their bountiful appeal for years to come.

Alfa Romeo 156 GTA

Our ownership of this GTA dates back some years now, and we experienced the whole gamut of Alfa emotions with it. From the unrivalled joy the accelerator pedal delivers connected to the glorious 3.2 24V V6 Busso engine, right through to the gut-wrenching pain of having to rebuild it when a timing belt fails. Yep, we’ve been there, done that and bought the very expensive t-shirt. But as soon as that key turned once more and Sr. Busso warmed his freshened vocal chords up, we regretted not a single penny. Fantastic car.

Alfa Romeo 156 2.5 V6

This is the ultimate modern classic Alfa in our opinion. Right now, you can pick these up for peanuts (just like you could a 75 V6 not that long ago) and in return you get one of the most refined motorway cruisers draped in one of the prettiest designs ever penned. We’ve rennovated so many of the Busso-powered 156’s by now we can pretty much tell what they’re going to need at 50 paces. They do need pampering and the timing belt isn’t a cheap job, but, honestly, these underrated classics are so rewarding to drive and will almost certainly climb in value in years to come.

Alfa Romeo 156 2.5 V6 “Progetto Facelift”

This was an interesting project! A very well respected motoring journalist approached us with a desire to own a 2.5 V6 powered 156 in facelift guise. Sounds an easy task for any self-respecting Italian car specialist right? Well, the only problem was that Alfa never built a RHD facelift 156 with the much-loved V6 engine under the bonnet. Not wanting to let a tiny detail like this stop us, we built him one.