Alfa Romeo 166

I can still remember the very first 166 we sold, which requires stretching our memories back to circa 2008/2009. It was the grey 3.0 V6 Super Lusso pictured below, and it had orginally been ordered by a RAF officer stationed in The Netherlands. It offered a weird combination of UK and Euro specification. The main idiosyncracy I recall was the fact that the SatNav and reversing sensors were set up in Dutch, so each time you put it into reverse a friendly Dutch lady uttered something completely incomprehensible. Before listing it for sale we ironed all of these oddities out - and if you have even the slightest experience of the 166’s interminable ICS entertainment system, you’ll have some idea of the hours and the earfuls of swearing that was put into this.

Then, when it was eventually sold, the guy collecting it calmly informed us he was buying it purely to rip the 3.0 V6 Busso engine out and slot into his kit car. I could have cried.

1999 Alfa Romeo 3.0 V6 24V Sportronic

Fast forward a few years, however, and the big bruiser of Alfa’s 90’s range had rightfully developed more of a following. As an example of this, a few years back we restored a lovely 3.0 Sportronic in Alfa Red and a classic car fan had snapped it up long before we had had a chance to advertise it. The big comfy cruiser perfectly suited the auto-box, taming the fury of the famous V6 engine into an Autobahn muncher and the refreshed Alfa Red paintwork looked simply stunning.