Alfa Romeo does not build many cars like the Alfa Romeo 159: a 4-door Sedan (car) / saloon / 5-door station wagon / estate with 1.75 , built from 2004 to 2011 in the decade of stability control, dual-clutch gearboxes and the first serious hybrids. Its designer of record is Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign / Centro Stile Alfa Romeo (interior). Production ran to 247,661 cars.
Where it came from
The Alfa Romeo 159 (Type 939) is a car built by Italian marque Alfa Romeo between 2004 and 2011. It is a large family car in the compact-executive market segment with four-door saloon and five-door estate variants. Introduced at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show as a replacement for the 156, the 159 used the GM/Fiat Premium platform, shared with the Alfa Romeo Brera and Spider as well as the Kamal and Visconti concept cars.
The 159 placed third in the 2006 European Car of the Year awards. Production of the 159 ended in November 2011, with 247,661 cars manufactured. The 159's late transition to what was fundamentally made as an E segment platform resulted in the 159 having excessive weight, a problem shared by the Brera coupé and Spider.
Under the skin
Under the skin sits 1.75 other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Kerb weight is 1385 –. The gearbox is a 5-speed manual transmission / manual / 6-speed manual (M32, F40, C635) / 6-speed Selespeed automated manual transmission / automated manual / 6-speed Q-Tronic AWTF-80 SC Automatic. The wheelbase is 2700 mm. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
Where it sits in Alfa Romeo's history is not in doubt: the Alfa Romeo 156 came before it; the Alfa Romeo Giulia (952) followed it; it was built at Pomigliano d'Arco, Italy. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the Ford Mustang, the Chrysler 300, the Hyundai Tucson. Nearby in the Alfa Romeo catalogue sit the A.L.F.A 12 HP and the A.L.F.A 15 HP.