ALFA ROMEO

90

Designed by Bertone and introduced at the 1984 Turin Motor Show, the 90 was pitched between the Alfa Romeo Giulietta (nuova) and the Alfa Romeo Alfa 6, both of which were soon discontinued after the 90's launch. The car used the Alfetta chassis (including its rear mounted transaxle) and took its engines from the larger Alfa 6. The bodywork was similar to both, albeit modernised. One notable feature of the 90's design was a small chin spoiler which extended above a certain speed to aid engine cooling.[1] Its angular lines with integrated bumpers gave the car a neat look consistent with the period, however the aerodynamics suffered with a drag coefficient of Cd=0.37. The cars design was conservative, inside and out, with perhaps the only unusual element being the U-shaped parking brake lever.[2] The 90 was well equipped, including electric front windows and electrically adjustable seats as standard. The luxurious Gold Cloverleaf (Quadrifoglio Oro) model had electric rear windows, a trip computer, power steering, central locking, metallic paint and a digital instrument panel as standard. The passenger fascia included a slot for an optional briefcase, made by Valextra. The external finish was very similar across the board, it being near impossible to tell the different models apart from appearance alone. The 90 was revamped in 1986 with many minor changes throughout, the most obvious exterior change being a new grille with smaller horizontal slants. A total of 56,428 cars were sold over the four years of production. The 90 was made only as a sedan but in 1985 Carrozzeria Marazzi developed an Alfa 90 Station Wagon prototype at the behest of Italian motoring magazine Auto Capital; only two cars were made.