It has covered just 80k miles and, finished in Etna Black (adding an imposingly Mafia air to the marmite styling), looks a good example. Our health-check did unearth a few issues - most pressingly the fact that there was no record of a cam belt change anywhere in the service history. As with any V6 “Busso” engine, you cannot mess about with this so this was our first port of call.

And lucky it was, because as we stripped the engine down it certainly appeared that it was running on the original rubber and tensioners. Speaking from pained experience, you don’t want to pay for a Busso to be rebuilt so getting there in time for this one was a stroke of luck.

Changing a belt on one of these engines is no mean feat - with the amount of components which need to be removed it’s akin to open heart surgery. But being this involved with the cuore sportivo of it all, it does also afford you the opportunity to unearth any other issues to nip in the bud.

The 166 range is known for niggling electronic issues and, often, these are caused by the ingress of water in or around the various ECU’s and sockets. Having been built with luxury and refinement in mind (some might even go so far as to class the model as over-engineered in this sense), there are no shortage of cables, plugs and fuses to check. Here we found some unwanted moisture seeping through to the automatic transmission ECU, so that was immediately dried out, cleaned and re-covered.

We also replaced the cam cover gasket, fitted a polybush to a worn engine stabilizer bar, replaced a tired brake line and gave it a fresh service (oils, filter and plugs). So it should now be in fine form for its owner to enjoy. It will be interesting to learn what he makes of the 166 compared to his many other varied cars.