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The loner - Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar

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Created on February 13, 2016

Text:

Daniel Reinhard

Photos:

Daniel Reinhard

8

Alfa Romeo / Werk

1

Daniel Reinhard

8

Alfa Romeo / Werk

1

Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar (1988) - on test drive in Monza

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Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar (1988) - View of the V10-cylinder engine in the rear

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Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar (1988) - looks exactly like the standard sedan

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Alfa Romeo 164 from 1987 - the body shape of the production version is completely identical to the Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar

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Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar (1988) - racing cockpit, but the center console was allowed to look like the standard 164

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Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar (1988) - the rear part of the body could simply be lifted off

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Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar (1988) - the doors corresponded to the series in terms of dimensions

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Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar (1988) - racing technology behind a seemingly standard limousine passenger cabin

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Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar (1988) - Technical director Giuseppe Tonti and "his" V10 on the test bench

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Summary

When Fiat took over Alfa Romeo in 1986, Formula 1 activities were no longer an option. The Alfa 75 was becoming less and less competitive in touring car racing, so they turned to something completely new: Ecclestone's fresh ProCar series. In no time at all, they built a racing car with Formula 1 technology based on the new silhouette formula, but with the shape of a production Alfa 164. The result was breathtaking, but could never be used in races because no other manufacturer wanted to compete against Alfa and the series was stillborn. All that remains is this Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar. The report looks back at the development of the Alfa Romeo 164 ProCar and shows the car in historical pictures.

This article contains the following chapters

Looking for a new start
Formula 1 racing cars in limousine guise
Concentrated development work
Racing technology at its finest
Elaborate development
Unfortunately never in racing use
Technical data (as printed in the Sport-Auto 10/1988 magazine)
Comparison of the standard and racing versions of the Alfa Romeo 164

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

After the state-owned company Alfa Romeo was taken over by the Fiat Group in November 1986, Alfa Romeo had to concentrate on touring car racing and Formula 1 naturally "belonged" to Ferrari. When it became apparent that Alfa Romeo had relatively little chance in the World Touring Car Championship with the Alfa 75 Turbo in 1987, the Group management ordered a complete withdrawal. Alfa Corse, which had emerged from the former Auto Delta sports department, was to concentrate instead on the ProCar series, which had been newly announced by the FIA. The ProCar series, in turn, was a child of FOCA boss Bernie Ecclestone, who in the past maintained excellent contacts with Alfa Romeo through the use of Alfa Romeo engines in his Brabham Formula 1 cars.

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