Alfa Romeo introduced the new Alfa 164 to the large public at the 1987 Frankfurt Auto Show.
Despite being launched after the Italian company was purchased by Fiat, the 164 was considered the last independent model built by Alfa Romeo.
The car was designed by the same Sergio Pininfarina as a 4-door saloon car, inheriting many design lines from its predecessor, the Alfetta (especially the long nose). Also, it shared chassis with the Lancia Thema, Fiat Croma and Saab 9000 and was built out of galvanized-steel materials to prevent past rust problems (like the ones on the Alfasud or GTV). Aimed to challenge BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class on the executive car segment, the new Alfa 164 was fitted with plenty of new technological features: air conditioning, instrumentation and engine-management computer board, automatic climate control and electronically controlled dampening suspension. In 1993, Alfa introduced a new variant within the 164 range, the Quadrifoglio 4, featuring all-wheel-drive and a more powerful 3-liter V6 engine.