The Alfa Romeo 156 (known internally as the type 932) is a compact executive car introduced by Italian automaker Alfa Romeo at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show as the replacement for the Alfa Romeo 155. Cars were assembled at Fiat Group factory in Pomigliano d’Arco, Italy and General Motors facility in Rayong, Thailand (production in Thailand started March 2002 and lasted couple of years, cars were targeted for Asia Pacific markets). Between 1997 and 2005, 680,000 examples of the 156 were produced, a huge success for the brand.
The 156 was available in saloon and estate ‘Sportwagon’ bodystyles with seven engine configurations and it went through two facelifts, first in 2002 and second in 2003.
Development
At the beginning the engine range encompassed four cylinder Twin Spark (1.6 L 120 PS (88 kW), 1.8 L 144 PS (106 kW) and 2.0 L 155 PS (114 kW)) 16 valve engines with variable valve timing, along with the straight-4 1.9 litre 8-valve 105 PS (77 kW) and straight-5 2.4 litre 10-valve 136 PS (100 kW) JTD common rail turbodiesel engines. Until January 2002, the range-topping engine was the venerable double overhead camshaft 2.5 litre 24-valve Alfa Romeo V6 engine rated at 190 PS (140 kW).
Initially the 156 range was available with different options (packs) like a sport pack that could include either Blitz clothing , Momo leather interior or Recaro seats, it also included 16 inch wheels, lowered suspension and leather steering wheel and gear knob. There was also available De-Luxe pack with Momo’s mahogany steering wheel and gear knob and for Nordic countries special winter pack consisting of fog lights, headlight washers and heated seats.
