Alfa At Their Maddest Stole The Integrale - Is It any Good? 155 Q4
Vložit
- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- A strange choice for Alfa to use the running gear from a Lancia but the Alfa Romeo 155 won the German DTM, The British Touring Car Championship and the Italian championship. This car, the 155 Q4 is essentially a Lancia Integrale underneath, but does it drive as well? The 155 was poorly received on launch but the face-lifted versions were much improved. Today I drive a rare wide body facelift version of the Q4.
If you want to get exclusive videos and support the channel here is my Patreon link:
/ number27
I don't think Jack addressed why he was driving a left hand drive version. In case you're wondering, the Cloverleaf 4 (Q4), was only sold in LHD form but was available in the UK. Only nine were sold here.
There was one company that had the Alfa right to covert them possibly 3rhd were converted
the Integrale was only released as left-hand drive
Just aftermarket made some right hand drive but they are not good made
@@fiatascari probably Bell & Colvill. They also converted a few Barchetta's from Punto steering gear and many Alfa Spyders.
Always appreciated the quirky look of the much un-loved 155. I have a "mostly Alfista" neighbour who went from a Giulietta 1.8, to an early spec red Delta HF (non- Integrale), then onto a rare Prisma Integrale (the famous two-tone one), followed by an even rarer Dedra Turbo 4WD, and eventually buying himself the 155 Q4. A series of uncommon, fascinating cars!
He sadly drives a diesel Renegade these days. 😂
The 155 took the best of the 75 and 164
The diesel renegade is still a fiat lmao
These “phase 2” Q4s are exceedingly rare cars, you’ve been very lucky to find one indeed.
Just as rare or should I say even rarer are the Japanese market only 155 TI Zagato and 155 GTA Zagato, awesome looking cars! 👌👌, I really like them.
One of just 110 Widebody Q4
They are rare because most older Lancias or Alfas has turned to ironoxide... ;) Sounds really nice though... I looked at an Alfa 147 as a second car about 12years ago but ended up with a Renault Clio instead. My colleague who is an Alfista told me; -You want a car to drive, not to fiddle and wrench with... ;)
@@mikaeljonsson4686 well the 155, especially the ones after 1995 have better rust protection than many newer cars like W203 Mercedes C class or most of the japanese cars up to 2003 or so. That being said they are almost 30 years old so being rusty isnt really a surprise.
@@mikaeljonsson4686 At that time, rust was already a distant past. Please stop with this banality in a group of car connoisseurs
Brings back memories.... Owned one for a decade, drove more then 100.000 km's in it, tweaked it's engine and suspension a bit. No Q4 but a 2.0 16V in lovely Verde Tundra. Wide body and the exact same interior. Still miss it. Well, I miss all my former Alfa's.
Same here. I started with a 155 1.8 TS Lusso (Rosso Proteo) and then I moved on to the 155 2.5 V6 (Nero) after that I made a small switch to a Fiat Punto GT but after a couple of years bought a 155 2.0 TS 16V (Rosso Proteo) with the same interior like the one in this video.
After that I owned a couple of 156's and nowaday's I have a 159 SW TBI.
When I was a 5 year old watching the 1994 btcc round at brands hatch I fell in love with that car and had it as my cake topper for my 6th birthday, which was really difficult to find in rural NZ in the 90s had to have my parents drive two hours to go to the modelling shop to find it lol
I dare say you wouldn't be the only person with that story, the 155 was great looking motor in its BTCC guise.
Thank you for the memories Jared and for watching !
The rattly interior is a special feature that shows that the car is working !
I once took somebody from a bla bla car type of app for a shared trip. My passenger fell asleep on the highway until the road got bad and the glovebox opened and scared the crap out of him
@@velkovskinikola2 Haha..mine does that 🤣
Like English cars, if they didn’t leak oil, something was wrong
@@nzmarco Something BMW introduced to their engines.
To show it's working? No. It's to remind you that the car is ALIVE, unlike your neighbour's Panzer-Benz. 😜
Remember these in the BTTC and Gabriele Tarquini dominating, what a cool Alfa, so lucky to get to drive one and loving the videos
Alfa competed in BTCC for many years but only won one championship (with Tarquini) so yes great days, but to say they “dominated” you must be wearing your red-tinted Alfisti glasses!
@@neilturner6749 Wore them permanently durning the might 90's, as my copy book could never stretch to owning one
@@neilturner6749as far as I am aware the 155 was the only time the Alfa Romeo factory entered and ran in the BTCC. Every other time it was privateers
I think Alfa Romeo may have made the 155 Q4 just to make us lust for more Alfa Romeos… When I lived in Italy I owned both an Alfa 33 1.7 QV and a 75 2.0 Twin Spark, both flawed and quirky, but very enjoyable to drive. The two Alfas I owned made me want to own a 155 Q4 more than anything else at the time and most Alfisti I knew felt the same.
I had the Lancia Dedra version, my mate had two 155’s including the ex-press Q4. Such a great platform, streets ahead of any other early nineties saloon.
Was that "press car" K131NGH Q4?
I got into ALFAS back in Florida in the 70's and owned them for 10 years / from a 1967 Guilia 1300 TI to a GTV-6, regular GTV'S, spiders, a Milano and a 164.
In 2001 I came to Brasil and was amazed at the european ALFAS here, things we never saw in the US
Are still some 155's here for sale but here they are mid 90's cars with the FIAT twin cam twin plug engines, usually 1.8 or 2.0. I always felt like they are like a small 164, the center of the dash looks 164' ísh
And they felt to me like a Berlina but faster. ALSO owned a 1996 FIAT Coupe normale, same engine as this 155. They DID make some Coupes with a turbo and I've seen them here for sale but never got a look at one, assumed it was a 2.0 turbo. I loved the Coupe but it has terrible headlights, you could not see a thing at night.
TODAY I own a 2010 FIAT SIENA 4 door 1,4 litre. Has all the feel and driving enjoyment as my Coupe and my 105/115 GTV's, is fun to drive. Likes to rev and take the turns with ease too
Lol never seen a Fiat Siena here in Italy. Check out alfa 75. It is a classic already.
Wow the 200kg difference from an Integrale is enormous and would certainly make driving dynamics different.
Man these older Alfas are awesome. Wish they had more Alfas in the states.
Just ask and we'll send some from Italy
@@basstard13 it's funny I have been looking for a decent GTv6 out of Italy. Seems like there are not too many there either.
@@Engineerd3d you're right, not many mainly because back then cars over 2 liters had a 38% VAT applied
@@basstard13 yes due to the "super bolo"
@@Engineerd3d the super bollo was a higher road tax [which is still on today in different guise: mad money for each HP over 250 - no matter if the car is a 15 year old Seat Leon Cupra R worth 10k, you pay lots while a 2yo 80k Porsche with 240hp pays way less than you].
This was extra higher IVA [Italian VAT] when you bought the car.
An absolute 90's gem ❤
Always loved the 155, friend had one. Many good memories of spirited driving on Summer nights. Thank you Jack.
My friend had a 155 2.0 t spark in 2001, P reg - one of the wide body ones. I loved it and got to drive it a few times. We used to watch btcc and Tarquini too. P122RBF was the reg if I remember correctly.
P122RBF was mine from 99 to Feb 2001 part ex'd it for galant V6 sport estate at inchcape Shrewsbury as needed bigger car! Regretted selling it ever since!! Loved that car!! Got a 159 ti now though so back to Alfas eventually!!
talking of boxy touring cars, bout time we have a T5R volvo estate booting around those famous country lanes, those were my favorites to hear/watch/see in the flesh.
i got to drive a stolen one [NO, i was recovering it] + i was really impressed
keep up the good work young man
They created that car to race in the Italian Supertouring Championship, which was the Italian equivalent of the DTM; more or less. Then they created the 155 V6TI to race in the DTM, when the I.S.C. became more similar to the BTCC.
BTCC “Super Touring” rules at the time forbade turbochargers and, by the time Alfa came in, had also banned 4WD thanks to Audi’s dominance with the A4 Quattro.
@@neilturner6749 In fact I have written "They create that car [the 155 Q4] to race in the ISC, which was the Italian equivalent of the DTM".
They raced the 155 GTA in Italy which had the same engine but an even wider body of which they made one road version which you can find on CZcams as well (look for Davide Cironi). In Japan they also had two GTA road versions namely the Ti-Z (with the twin spark 2.0) and GTA-Z (as in Zagato) with the integrale engine.
That was my car Jac and I was the one that imported it into the U.K. from Santander Spain, because of it rarity but as usual it never got any respect or attention like lancia delta does
I live in Spain and there were quite a few Q4s sold here, which get advertised occasionally at silly prices. You were lucky to find a car which hadn´t been messed with, but then Santander is a classy place!
Adrian Campos won the Spanish Touring Car championship one year in a 155Q4 which may have boosted the sales a bit. The car still exists.
To be fair it wasn’t like the way it is now I gave it a full paint job and sourced the sportpack original wheels and got rid off boost gauges 🤮 and mot’d it, I sold it and basically got my money back, just to be honest, it’s meant to be the rarest of all 155’s but I just got slated from a forum and to be fair it was slow too soft suspension and an absolute let down on what I was expecting, I also had a Q4 skinny which was a far better car, but they are beautiful
@@f1lmm Interesting, Joseph, glad you got the money back! I was never sure if the quick steering rack fitted on most wide body 155s also got fitted to the wide body Q4. As you've had both specs, can you confirm any difference?
I actually can’t remember if it had quick rack but I’ve had plenty of sport packs with quicker rack, that does feel better I suppose less turns obviously but not a great steering lock if I’m honest, they were really slow tho, 🤮
Hi Joesph ,I have had it fully resprayed again two years ago, the paintwork was showing white blotches , had a SS exahaust as well , now owned for Six years
I love the 155 always have ..... Money no object I'd definitely have one in my garage, keep the content coming Jack 👍
Nice to see a rare Wide body Q4. Sounds rather nice. Greets from an owner of an early 1992 155 Q4 🙋🏼♂️
very interesting history, and i think the reason she feels different to the Integrale is the change from RALLY Car to Touring Car so a Longer wheelbase and probably slightly heavier class weight limit, and making the suspension more compliant is a more circuit based set-up.
Thank you to show me the last Alfa my dad bought. We love this 155.
Jack the gearbox from the Q4 is the box from the Lancia Thema 8/32 ZF unit
Great video of an interesting car. Love the engine noise on acceleration!
I just love these older Alfas: they seem more interesting and idiosyncratic compared to the newer ones. A friend of mine had an Alfetta GT years ago, a real head-turner, when Alfa was still an independent company.
Agree, I'll takea 105/115 car anyday over this new stuff
The basic problem with Alfa Romeo : their cars we actually love are... the ones they used to make 2 decades ago. That statement seems to remain true whatever the timeline is. 🤔
My first Alfa was a 75 V6, such a shame the 155 wasn't RWD
That is why Alfa is dead today
2.5 v6 155 was rear wheel drive
@@fiatascari in racing...NOT what the public could buy
Yes u could I have one that’s in my driveway
@@rosenfeldclaudia why?
Great car. My father had it new from 1993 and it had abaout 12 years. Never had any issues.
Great car!!!
Awesome car. Nice video. Always fascinating to learn about these rarer cars. Keep up the good work.
I bought a 155 Q4 WB a few months ago. It needs new paint and general tlc, but boy, I was the happiest man seeing it on the my trailer. This car is a real Q-car and I was lucky enough to find one of 110 ever made. It looks like you're a bit dissapointed by how it drives, but remember that this car was never meant to be an Integrale clone. I see it as an homologation special built to be able to use the 4WD system in their touring cars. Keep up the good work with even more quirky cars
All the fiat brands used the same underpinnings, with different engines. We got the 155 Q4, Dedra integrale and Tempra 4x4. Alfa had the 16V turbo, Lancia 8V turbo and Fiat hade a N/A engine. The reason it doesn't feel like a Delta Integrale is because the suspension is completely different. This has the Tempra suspension but with a Integrale drivetrain.
I love the look of the 155, and was always disappointed they never came to Oz. Coincidentally, a fella round the corner from me (who is ex Alfa SAf) has a beautiful rosso 155 V6 with the big rear wing and touring car style rims. Still on SA plates, pending registration locally. One of only a handful of 155s in the entire country.
This is one of my favorite Alfas. Reminds me of the the MK3 Jetta/Vento and a volvo 850. That exhaust sounds soooo good
Yeah, I don't know how they did it, but it sounds almost like an Alfasud from the rear (my favorite soundtrack). 🤗
Giacomo, you do some really nice reviews that are very intuitive, I'm old enough to remember when this car was on sale, so nice to see one again, the seating position looks a bit odd, but it's a 90's car.... but what a lovely "old" car, that sounds quite strange considering for me it feels like the 90's was only yesterday, I'd rather own that than most modern cars, having said that, having owned a lot of cars (50+) since I passed my test in 1982, that I didn't keep more than 15 months most of the time, I now have since 2019, a 2009 Audi TT that does everything I need and looks good in a sea of SUV sameness, and that I absolutely love, perhaps one day it will be a classic, probably after I'm dead and buried... but will never sell. I would love a 70's, 80's, or 90's classic, as a weekender, but not having anywhere to keep it, it's just pointless sadly...
Thank you chap!! Enjoy your TT .. for sure it’ll do everything you need!
Very nice channel and the cars choosen for driving impressions are also very very nice. It's a pleasure to watch these. Thank you Jack!
I have a widebody Q4 pretty much the same as this, similar reg too. I think a few were imported at the same time as the Q4 widebody models were never imported officially by Alfa. Mine has had a lot of money spent on it in period, mostly at Autodelta with Bilstein/Eibach suspension and an exhaust etc. Agree on the drive though, the Q4's are nowhere nearly as lightfooted as the twinspark models and the early 8V engined cars felt the best of the lot with their all alloy engines as opposed to the iron blocked 16V cars. They are a great driving thing though, very raw and raucous, especially with a few mods. Good to see one featured!
Autodelta used to look after my 75s and did loads of modifications on my 3.0 car, I remember when they were in back Alperton, Jano was a great guy, fun times!
@@simonelliott5956 LOL, blast from the past, still remember those Saturday mornings at Jano's Park Royal days :D
@@donnied8127 how are you doing! Still in touch with Jano?
@@simonelliott5956 We haven't hear from Jano for quite a while, not really sure what happened after Autodelta went under, was quite messy business apparently. My other half was in touch with his ex wife for a while, then we emigrated. As far as I remember he had some heart issues back then. Just checked the website, moved to Watford, not sure who's running it now.
BTW, do you know of whereabouts of Hussien's 75 v6 3.5l?
@@donnied8127 Yes they moved to Watford some time ago, but even though that’s my neck of the woods I never got around to popping in. A great shame, as there was so much talent there. Those 3.5s were monsters, wish I knew what happened to Hussein’s car. My old 75 ended up written off not long after I sold it, I remember Jano and I went to see it in some recovery yard in Wembley or somewhere, we both stood there speechless and I do believe he shed a tear for it! Where did you emigrate?
The styling cues remind me of my Alfa Romeo Giulietta 2.0 that I owned here in OZ in the early(ish) to mid '80's. Would love it if you could find one of those for a test and take me back down memory lane.
Thanks chap.. big wave to 🇦🇺!!
@@Number27 You can drive my Giulietta 2.0 if you want to visit South Africa ;)
The funny thing is that...they really did steal the Delta. Fiat took all the budget, tech and team from the Delta WRC campaign and poured it into the 155 GTA and Alfa Corse. Abarth basically took the rally Delta and mounted it in a 155 body to compete in the CIVT (which they won in 1992). They even made a 155 GTA Stradale prototype which had the engine, running gear AND suspension from the Delta (unlike the Q4).
I love the way 155s look. I think pre-'95 narrow body looks better with its subtely flared arches front and back. My father has a Verde Mirto 2.0 TS 8V, while it's not the most modern or fastest engine for the 155s it does feel more characterful than the Fiat derived 2.0 16v in my 145QV (found in widebody 155s)
The 155 is with us since 2006 and it's the car that got me into Alfa. He had two 156s 2.0 16V and although they were much better in every measurable way, it felt dull compared to the 155.
155s deserve more love, it had the misfortune of being between the much loved "last true Alfa" 75 and the widely acclaimed 156 while being quite restricted by Fiat. Still it singlehandedly upheld Alfa's name and sporting image on circuits. I think the 1993 DTM Championship is the last great win for Alfa.
Agree. 155 is very under-rated, so good value if you can find one!
Ref the "steal". Really all the work on Lancia competition race and rally cars post Stratos was done by Abarth. Names like 037 are Abarth project numbers.
Fiat switched the budget and resource to Alfa in the 1990s to promote their new brand in racing. So the 155 Super Touring, GTA, and DTM cars were also Abarth projects.
One of my favorite car models ever, I've owned a '95 2.0 16v Widebody and even though it had its own quirks and electric problems (blame Bosch sensors for this btw), it is still the most direct and transparent car I've ever driven, and it looks sophisticated but aggressive at the same time, I don't know how to explain it, but I absolutely adore every part of it!
I hope to own a Q4 Widebody one day, not because they will skyrocket in value overtime, but because it'll be everything I need when it comes down to cars. Thanks for making this video, awesome watch!
~ Andrijan
Absolutely fantastic chariot! Back in the day it was my dream car 🚗
Had the same engine, on a Viscose diffed' Dedra 2000 Turbo gear box, in a Fiat Tipo Gran Turismo with Groupe A spec setup.
300+ hp and front wheel drive, no torque steer, no wheel spin, just pure acceleration.
It was a blast, so much fun, and so bloddy fast.
It scared the S%#t out of even a BMW M3.
Top speed was just a flashing 250 km/h in the digital dashboard.(it couldn't register more...)
But the 155 Q4 is an awesome car. It drives well, and it is an excelent investment.
Had a late wide body155 1.8 and thought it was a real drivers car, you could really get into it and enjoy any journey a real favourite of mine of all the cars I've owned, top of my list was the pre facelift 164 Lusso.
The engineers who designed the Lancia Delta Integrale moved to work for Alfa Romeo, because Lancia was going to stop their motorsport journey with Rallying. In the same time, Alfa Romeo were planing to join the DTM Championship, but they did not had a competitive Car and so they hired engineers from the motorsport department from Lancia. Basically, they used the Delta Integrale as a base model and they made the chassis a bit longer and wider than the original Lancia. The 155 DTM was the most expensive and complicated motorsport car in that time, even more expensive than F1. So I ask you to change your title, because you are disrespecting Alfa Romeo with your lie that they stole the design.
Absolutely this man hi is not alfista ,should be testing Japanese crape not the Italian icon, that is mother of ferrari
I have one of these and there is a lot of grey area. Basically it is a homologation special. 2500 were built which was the number required to homologate a car for Super Touring regs in 1993. By 1995 25000 were required. A 4 door sedan body was a pre-requisite.
Using the Integrale components meant that AWD was an option ( Italian and Spanish Championship cars were 155Q4 at first, but also the Lampredi engine. The 155 BTCC cars had FWD and Lampredi based engines, for example. The ITC/DTM cars were AWD/V6.Neither really had much to do with 155Q4 but were only possible because Q4 existed as both sets of regs allowed mix & match of any layout in the range.
The people responsible for both Lancia rally cars and 1990s 155 racing cars were in fact Abarth engineers, deployed by Fiat
These were fabulous cars and super rare
Worked at a dealership mid 90s when the 155 went racing definitely not many about now
Sure I have some photos at a local meet of one of these cars 👌🏻
But you just described in great detail how they stole the design
@@WOWWOW-hk1tb When was component sharing between marques belonging to the same group ever stealing? It's what they do. Was Lancia Delta Integrale stolen from Fiat if so?
This has been dream car since my teenage years.
I had a 155 2.0ts back in the day. It was a cracking drive and when driven steady it did great mpg
Great review and I like the styling very Italian simple but elegant and this car as you said won the Italian, German, and British championships against stilff competition. That’s impressive.
Sounds like a rally car, thanks for video of this rare car Jack! 🙏🙏
Always loved the 155 remember watching in the BTCC in the 90's👍👍
It's definitely my cuppa tea,like saab they look completely different to anything else around at the time.
Excellent review! Memories of Super Touring BTCC in the mid nineties, Tarquini inclusive.
Thank you Rhett!!
Keep up the good work of driving these Italian quirky cars!
Always amazed these were not the wide body versions with the wheel arch blisters
this one is a wide body, we only got the narrow body here in the UK
@@benzinapaul7416 that’s what I meant, the gta had much wider haunches and rear wheel arches as well as a much more aggressive front air dam
@@yeahno.... 155 GTA was a prototype based on Q4, only one built is still owned by Alfa. @benzinpaul is correct, Q4 was only sold in UK in narrow body form, but one or two wide body cars have been imported subsequently (like this one).
@@martinrichardhorrocks9869 yes I am aware, I meant that i was always amazed they didn’t build in the same body as the GTA with the rear wheel blisters too, much more like an integrale
@@benzinapaul7416 I'm sure that my 155 v6 was a wide body, I always believed it was anyway and it looked identical to this except my steering wheel was on the other side obviously...........god I miss that car, should never have given it away, literally gave it to a mate.
Here's some more in depth history of the 155 Q4
The 155 in general was part of the type 3 platform that were only three cars on them other than the 155 which are the Fiat Tempra and the Lancia Dedra.
All three cars had at some point in their production had the same engine and 4wd drivetrain of the Delta Integrale in one form or another (Also one of the main objectives of the type 3 is to be able to receive the Delta Integrale's drivetrain to begin with since the type 3 is essentially the saloon or elongated version of the type 2 platform).
The Tempra had it as the Tempra 2.0 4X4 but with no turbo (so only 128 hp) and was only limited as an option in the estate and it was the only one to have an electronic locking rear diff that you can simply press a button on the dash.
The Dedra had the HF Integrale with the turbo and the 4wd but it never had the 16v turbo like the 155 it was either 16v N/A or 8v turbo so power was in the range between 140 to 180 HP (Also the Dedra did came with the 16v turbo but only the standard HF with fwd).
So the 155 q4 was from the get go was designed as the greatest of the type 3 cars.
Great video. Love the engine note!
Brother Jack, you never disappoint… you always bring your passion in your reviews and as an Alfisti, I love what you get your hands on…
This 155 kicked A** in the European touring car championship, which the 156 never came close.
Thanks for the passion 🇮🇹🤘
Thank for watching Anton’s Dan glad you enjoyed it!!
Autocorrect! Was just supposed to say Anton!
Good to see this honest review. We've had 155s in the family for a long time, 8V, 16v and a Q4. For me the 2.0 16v is the sweet spot but the Q4 is a special car. It is not a daily driver,
I think you are right, Jack, more time in the Q4 will show its better side. Its weight distribution means it isn't a Delta Integrale, but it is very competent, rarer and about 40% of the price. A pity perhaps that it doesn't have a 3.0 busso V6 to add to its long distance credentials but it was always a homolgation special, rather than filling a niche.
I like your Italian pronunciation, Jack! If you speak the language, it´s very hard to mispronounce to suit Anglo-Saxon ears. Same as I won´t say Shack-ess-pay-aray (Shakespeare in Spanish......)
Another car we never got in Canada. Love this one. Great looks too. Jack you keep finding such interesting cars! Well done! BTW, what's it like driving a left hand drive car in the UK?
I’d forgotten this one !
Keep trawling the oddities Jack!
It’s good watchin’ 😂
I had a 155 in this colour with the speedline wheels like this one but mine was a 2.0 twin spark. Great car at the time as thought you had a BTCC car for the road 😅.
Thank you for furthering my education on these many different foreign cars 👍🏻 lots of fun 😁
these cars are brilliant. loved watching these kick butt in the BTCC back in the day. such a shame Alfa dont make things like this anymore. A beautiful thing to behold.
You can thank the fools in Turin that could snatch failure from the claws of victory.
This car "wakes up" after a nice tune to cca 300BHP (bigger turbo from Delta EVO) and throwing away the electronic suspension, installing a fatter rear ARB and bigger brakes (brembo calipers from 166). I had four of them, love them to bits. The last one had around 400BHP (with all the supporting modifications of course) and it was a proper M3 eater.
Had a 1998 2.0 TS Wide Body in 2006 and loved it, ran it a couple of years and stupidly sold it as the cam belts were due and i couldn't face the job. Found myself lusting after another 155 but they are getting so rare now. Once Alfa's are in your blood though, i'm going to look at a 159 this Saturday, a scarce 1750 Tbi Ti, hopefully i'll be driving it home.
I have a 2.0 L 155 that i am in the progress of renovating.....I personally love the looks ... enjoyed the video, I also have a 2018 Giulia Quadrifoglio and I would love to see you review it , but fear of you scratching it stops me!! LOL
On of the loves of my teenage. I was really mad about this and never seen it in person
Interesting video, undervalued car the 155 specially the Q4 or the V6, DTM winner during the 90s, when Lancia racing team was stop by Fiat, thanks for sharing this Alfa story
Although the nineties gave some of the best for German designs, the Alfa 155 is a great looking car, it has a proper Alfa looks and proportions. For someone who does not take a regular shoeboxes as a benchmark, the design is spot on.
The whole Alfa design in the 2000s aged like fine wines. They just look so clean.
I'm jealous Jack. And that's coming from a 147 GTA owner.
It sounds good for a 4 cylinder turbo. Certainly much better than most modern cars with the same setup. I had a 16V Turbo Fiat Coupe with the same engine.
The Alfa Romeo 155 shared platform with the Lancia Delta mark 2 (tipo 836) and the Lancia Dedra. Interior fittings and switchgear are identical and dashboard architecture is similar. For some reason Fiat decided not to offer the Delta 836 with four-wheel drive, but they did produce a Dedra Integrale, which I believe is even rarer than the 155 Q4. I've owned both a Delta 836 HF turbo and a Dedra 2,0 auto in the past and everything you said about the driving experience mirrors my own experiences, the notchy gearchange being the biggest bugbear when driving rapidly.
Thanks for watching and for the comments Rupert!
my old 155 had a notchy gear change and my current BMW E46 diesel has it as well. Without a notchy gearchange I am not sure which gear I have selected
I have indeed a 155 for long time back home in Portugal. Very rare to drive it as I only go there a couple of weeks a year. I love the car, had some issues in the past as its an old car but is a blast to drive.
Im restoring one of these on youtube.. nice review
I owned a 155 2.5 TD for some time.... wicked machine though....!!
Good review 👍
Reminds me my 155 2.0 twin spark, very nice sounding engine ! (it was the real Alfa engine, not the Fiat 16v)
Please show us the other Delta. Love the episode.
very interesting, didn't know about this
remember these been a touring car
Good job chap. Very Interesting. (Si from Bath)
Thanks Si!
hi all have been buying 155q4 since 2016 own 92 series 1 q4 92 series 1 martini racing 2 wide bodys dark red and silver 96 built last one 94 series 2 narrow body recardo seats all in sdyney australia great car been tracking this cars since 92
I owned an Alpha 155 twinspark back on the day excellent when it was on song but the electrics were terrible and it was so maintenance sensitive that you felt like you got a new car after every service.
A mate of mine had one of these in silver, till he well and truly binned it. Also had a Dedra HF Turbo in red with the 8 valve in it.
Pretty cool to get to drive something that rare - it's in nice shape too!
Love it! Like a giant slice of red cheese 😮 the exhaust sounds mint :)
Anybody who loves an underdog should support the 155. I think the 75 > 155 handover has been one of the most discussed ever in car history. Everybody hated Fiat for buying Alfa and the 155 was where all the hatred went. And it f***ing won the DTM, the most gigantic middle finger ever. I love the 155
I enjoy your videos a lot but this one done my head in, is it really necessary to keep going into an Italian accent when saying Italian names, it’s like one of those Italian tv chefs when they speak perfect English until they say spaghetti
😆😆😆😆 Gary!! What can I say? I’ve got myself into a bit of a quandary here. I am Italian and it feels weird to pronounce that stuff with a British accent!! I did a video on a 145 Cloverleaf yesterday.. that one might have less Italian name stuff in it! Thanks for watching aniway chap!
He's Italian, what do you expect?, just like he can't stop moving his arms about when talking! It's just natural!
@@eze8970 I know he’s Italian and I would not be bothered if it was consistent but he said Alfa Romeo about 10 times with an English accent and then swapped to an Italian accent
@@garyferrari1366 He's an Italian, living in England, he gets confused! Just enjoy the differences.
Very nice vid, subbed!
Thank you!! Much appreciated
Lovely exhaust note.
Always LOVED the looks of these but never knew about its Integrale underpinnings? Very cool, I'd much rather have one of these than the rusty Lancias.
Regarding BTCC homogation, whilst employed at a certain French main dealership as a valet in the early 90s, I remember they did the same with the Laguna, in the form of the 'airflow', from 92 or 93..? I can't quite remember, because I remember the Willams Clios more. My mate made us all laugh by installing one of these renault airflow rear spoilers onto his BMW E30 318i coupe. I challenge someone to find a laguna airlfow in original condition!
it would be intresting to put the squadra chip in this car... (the tested car is great). it gives you about 235hp (190 the normal) and, more important, 345Nm of torque at 2500revs! (290 the normal car). (295Nm at 2000 revs. , the normal has 260) and better trottle response as well, and better behavior at high revs (300 Nm at 5500 revs. , the nornal has 240Nm). I think after that it will be much closer to the integrale, as you say!! Nice video man, I love all Alfas, I have a 155... Thanks for the video!
When you get an opportunity, please review a 1977 BMW 630 CSI, and a 1985 BMW 733i. You do great reviews. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with us. Best regards from Nicaragua, Central America.
saloon version of the Delta Integrale NICE!
I loved the 155 DTM version, super cool car, looked just great!! The suspension on the Integrale was a lot stiffer, the entire car was much stiffer than the Alfa. They used a smaller turbo on the Alfa as far as I remember.
The 2nd series delta is very similar to the 155 underneath more so than the 1st series delta.
I have always said, body roll is underrated.
Yes I agree.. a bit of movement is good!
proper pronunciation of "lancia integrale" ;) great video
Only 14 155 Q4s were officially imported to UK in the original "narrow body". I don't think that any of the "wide body" cars were ever imported. I had one of them, bought form a dealer in Basildon, ex Charles Ivy car, and eventually it was featured in Auto Italia for a shootout against Dedra Integrale.
My mate had BMW E30 M3 back in 90s, others had Sierra Cossies, and this was a real "Q" car on the road, and on the track, 4wd came to it's own against M3 in corners, and Cossie could never transfer all that tuned up 400bhp+ onto the tarmac. Even Ferrari 348s and Porches 993 were in trouble on the track after a "light tuning" with a hybrid turbo and an 3" exhaust. We have tested the car on a dyno in a standard guise alongside standard Evo2 Grale, and was basically the same 205bhp, it could have been Italian marketing or some "legal" thing to declare 195bhp standard, same as for 2l v6 GTV turbo.
Now the bad news, I had timing belt failed three times, never lived more than 30k miles from 60k specified in the service manual, the "auto suspension" with three settings was quite useless, so wide bodied cars never had it, and antiroll bars were 1mm thinner than Dedra Integrale, hence more roll in the corners. Like Delta Integrale, servicing was a pain in the lower backside, a good few hours work just to relace NSF headlight bulb....other than that, great car with good memories to talk about.
The dash didn't change during the production of the car, only the gauges got a different look (faceplate).
wow, non ne vedevo una da anni, neppure in Italia. E questa ha pure il volante dalla parte giusta, dove l'hai trovata? 🤣👍. grande, grazie x averla portata. spettacolo.
Grazie a te!! Davvero rarissima.. sono stato felice di averla guidata!
Your "integrale" pronunciation is perfect! I am shocked about the sound. The lancias were not sold here, so the only way of listening to the Lampredi is the Q4. I thought they had the same sound.
Thanks for watching Daniel!