Alfa Romeo 164, Saab 9000, Lancia Thema and Fiat Croma: four of a kind

It involved packaging different engines and suspension layouts into a family of bodyshells that varied from saloons to hatchbacks – plus a single estate.

This Saab 9000 Carlsson is a later, ‘slant-nose’ car

Saab claimed a saving of two million hours from the shared development of the Type Four platform, but this was as much of an indication of the Swedish firm’s thoroughness as the fact that the resulting 9000 shared only 12, quite minor, body pressings with its closest relation, the Lancia Thema.

Saab stylists under Björn Envall refined the hatchback lines, drawn by ItalDesign, for its unveiling in May 1984, four months ahead of the Lancia’s Frankfurt debut.

Curiously, the Saab was a shorter car than the prevailing 900 and 160mm off the long-wheelbase 900CD that it was ostensibly built to replace, but because of its airy shape and a transversely mounted engine – a first for Saab – the 9000 was substantially larger inside.

The Saab 9000 Carlsson’s 2.3-litre turbo ‘four’ makes 220bhp

MacPherson struts were another Saab first, although it exercised its autonomy on the rear, opting for its familiar beam axle with trailing arms and a Panhard rod.

The turbocharged 175bhp ‘four’ out of the 900 T16 was the only available option at first, angled 20° backwards and built in-unit with the gearbox, with equal-length outer driveshafts intended to reduce torquesteer.

In time, a booted variant, the upmarket £26,495 CDE, followed, along with a naturally aspirated 2-litre model, which broadened the range to the extent that, by 1990, the 9000’s production was exceeding the still-beloved 900, with a steady 45,000 rolling off the lines in Trollhättan each year.

The Lancia Thema 8.32 is conservatively styled, despite the surprise under the bonnet

While Saab was battling to reach the big leagues, Lancia, the flagbearer of Italy’s luxury-car tradition, was in serious trouble.

In 1978, it had sold 12,000 cars in the UK; by 1984, that figure was barely 3000, and global sales weren’t enough to compensate for its crumbling British reputation, left in the tatters of rust and poor build quality.

The eccentric Gamma, with its flat-four and fastback profile, had not tempted buyers from its increasingly sophisticated European rivals, so the Thema was destined to be less of a successor than a total rethink.

Also turning to ItalDesign, Lancia’s neatly proportioned three-box saloon was the visual personification of the firm’s cautious approach to a market that it had forgotten how to stir.

The Lancia Thema 8.32’s retractable rear wing adds 26lb of downforce at 100mph

Echoing the new-school leaders, such as Audi’s C3 100 and Renault’s 25 that had arrived in 1982, the soberly styled Thema majored on its 0.32 coefficient of drag, stiff bodyshell and a wide range of engines, from naturally aspirated and turbocharged four-pots through a turbodiesel to the outsourced Peugeot-Renault-Volvo V6.

In order to appease the tifosi, a four-wheel-drive, Ferrari-engined range-topper was promised.

Early press bumf highlighted that 43% of the Thema’s body weight was galvanised sheet steel, plus each got 33 litres of rust-inhibiting wax.

Treading carefully, UK concessionaire Lancar planned to import 500 cars for 1985; at £15,840 for a fully kitted, 185bhp LX turbo, it was far more competitively priced than Lancias of old.

The pre-facelift Fiat Croma CHT is undramatic

The arrival of the Fiat Croma in May 1985 suggested a revival of the Turin giant’s fortunes in producing large cars, with the memory of the moderately successful 1972-’81 132 feeling much more than a decade old.

Though built alongside the Thema at the Mirafiori plant, the Croma was assembled at twice the rate, 400 per day, and its range of engines below the shared 2-litre turbo – tuned for flexibility rather than outright power – was more modest.

Fiat had acquired Lancia in 1969, and it is clear that the two cars were not as desperate to separate their origins as the others.

Major body pressings and much more of the floorpan are shared between the Thema and Croma, and their MacPherson-strut front and trailing-arm/transverse-link, coil-sprung rear suspensions are near-identical.

The Fiat Croma’s corporate nose helps to achieve the 0.32Cd figure

The Fiat almost reads like a budget Lancia in specification, especially as the 155bhp £13,500 Turbo ie, but in the metal there is a world of difference between them.

Fiat added Alfa Romeo to its roster in early 1987, just in time for the launch of the last of the Type Four models, the 164. 

As the boss of this wider Italian automotive empire, Giovanni Agnelli delayed its launch from the Geneva Salon in April to Frankfurt in September, insisting on more Fiat components in the interior and – unusually for Alfa – time to build stock ahead of anticipated order excitement.

This was a fraught period for Alfa Romeo, which was operating at less than half of its capacity and losing tens of millions of pounds each year.

If Fiat and Lancia had been struggling, the darling of Milan was on the precipice of disaster.

The sleek Alfa Romeo 164 Cloverleaf

In the UK, the cars had been painted with the same rusty brush and the appetite for its larger models was minuscule – just 136 Alfa 6s were sold here from 1979-’86, and it didn’t bother importing the 1984-’87 90.

Meanwhile, the glory of the rest of its ageing range was fading fast. For the UK, sales were down from 14,000 in 1979 to just 220 in 1986.

Fortunately the 164 was a sparkling return to form, not least for its dramatic styling.

This time, Pininfarina beat Italdesign to the contract and lead designer Enrico Fumia’s signature shoulder line gave the Alfa an identity separate from the others.

Its cleverly integrated scudetto grille would also join a new generation of cars paid for by Fiat’s £2.3bn renewal programme.

The two-tone Cloverleaf bodykit adds to the Alfa Romeo’s visual aggression

Underneath, the MacPherson struts were raked backwards to accommodate the lower bonnet profile, while the expected 2-litre Twin Spark ‘four’ and 3-litre V6 made up the UK range, with a turbo ‘four’ and the same VM-sourced turbodiesel seen in the Thema available on the Continent.

Like the Saab, the 164 was pitched in the USA from 1991, but in top-spec V6 Lusso form only.

Production began on a positive note at the Arese plant, and the 300-car allocation for the UK quickly sold out.

Excited plans were mooted for a convertible, coupé and four-wheel-drive range-topper.

The Alfa Romeo 164 Cloverleaf’s 12-valve V6 uses SZ camshafts to make 200bhp

By this stage, the Croma was already at the first of its three facelifts, and Fiat UK was announcing £100m plans to expand its dealer network on the back of climbing sales.

Though outperformed by its smaller stablemates, the Croma was picking up in a way the Argenta never had, and the value proposition was difficult to argue with.

At £1297 less than a Ford Granada, the base-level £9365 Croma CHT was a lot of big car for the money. 

It explains why there are more of the run-of-the-mill versions left on UK roads than the Turbo ie, though both barely make it into double figures, and why it feels appropriate to start here rather than in our relatively intimidating selection of top-spec Saab 9000 2.3 turbo Carlsson, Alfa Romeo 164 3.0 Cloverleaf and Lancia Thema 8.32.

The classic Fiat Croma CHT handles tidily, but it’s a cruiser at heart

Compared with the others, the Croma’s doors feel thin and the cabin sparsely decorated, but there is a completeness to the button-laden dashboard, neatly integrated with the centre console, that confirms its place at the top of the Fiat corporate structure.

Blessed with a large glass area, the cabin feels light and spacious, and the generous internal dimensions easily accommodate the wide seats front and rear.

Weighing less than 1100kg, the softly sprung 2-litre CHT has the slightly detached, surreal feeling of a large tin box floating down the road when you set off.

The sober Fiat Croma’s dashboard looks cheap, but is remarkably free from rattles

Though the mechanical rumblings of the twin-cam are well suppressed, there is a directness to the pedals and a certain notchiness to the rubberised wand of a gearlever that feels a bit uncouth.

Yet these transmit the growling intentions of the 90bhp ‘four’ with wonderful honesty once up to speed, translating the Controlled High Turbulence unit’s trick butterfly valves on each inlet tract into extraordinary flexibility under foot.

Thanks to a healthy 128lb ft of torque from 2800rpm, the CHT climbs its economy-minded gearing assuredly, if not urgently, and is happy settling into its lean-burn stride in the overdrive fourth and fifth gears.

Steering response from the variable-ratio rack is positive, relaying the motions of its soft springs and the relatively narrow, tall-profile tyres into the inevitable (but commendably delayed) understeer.

The Fiat Croma CHT’s twin-cam restricts the inlets below 3000rpm

There’s a softer tone to the Lancia Thema’s door opening, but it’s still a way off the weight of a contemporary BMW or Mercedes-Benz, and although there is an instant wow-factor to the lavishly leather-lined and wood-trimmed cabin, there’s the faint whiff of hollow plastics underneath, instead of the curiously absent aroma of hide.

Look away from the eye-catching recessed dials and there are some ugly inconsistencies in the switchgear, too, although there’s no doubting the sophistication of the Saab-Lancia climate control.

At first, this all appears problematic for the £37,500 8.32.

The composed Lancia resists torquesteer

Rational comparisons to the £34,850 BMW M5 are as damning as measuring this 212bhp ‘powered by Ferrari’ flagship within its own range: the new-for-1988, 185bhp Thema Turbo matched the 8.32’s 140mph top speed and was marginally quicker to 60mph – for £15k less.

Yet this is to wrongly assume the function of Lancia’s flagship; intended not as the fastest or even finest, this was something special from ambitious engineers feeding the dreams of its still fiercely loyal fans.

How else would the idea germinate to fit the 32-valve V8 from a Ferrari into the nose of a mid-sized luxury car?

The Lancia Thema 8.32’s wraparound doors and copper-look trim

It is extraordinarily snug, sitting on its bespoke subframe slightly ahead of the front axle.

The F105L version of Ferrari’s 90°, Dino-derived V8 runs a cross- rather than flat-plane crankshaft and is down from 3185cc to 2927cc, with low-down torque its priority.

The block was still cast at Maranello, but main assembly was contracted out to Ducati before it reached special 8.32 lines at Lancia’s San Paolo plant.

There is a luxurious thrum to the ultimate Thema that immediately dispels any worries of temperament as it oozes forward on a few hundred revs.

The clutch is light, the throttle long, while the ZF powered steering is BMW slick and the ride betrays a purpose well above the Croma’s, but couldn’t be described as firm.

The Lancia’s Ferrari-derived V8 is uniquely tuned

Its gearing is actually shorter than the cruising Fiat’s, but there is so much shove from low revs – already at 200lb ft by 2500rpm – and the prospect of the full fireworks at the 7000rpm limiter that the ratios seem to last longer.

It gains real urgency from 3000rpm, with a subtle squirm from its specially designed 205/55 Goodyears as the V8 spins its cams into a howling roar, slightly muffled from behind the double-skinned bulkhead.

Ever smoother, this beautifully balanced engine feels almost short-changed by the tachometer indicating a gearchange, but even third will take you to 100mph.

On long, open intermediate roads, the ease with which the 8.32 accelerates and the way its adaptive dampers smother road imperfections encourage a rapid pace.

The Lancia Thema 8.32’s opulent dashboard is trimmed in leather and satin walnut

There is little joy in the controls beyond harnessing its jewel of an engine, and the heavy nose is noticeable when pushing through tighter corners; there is a sense of composure and accuracy until you ask for everything and it falls away in rolling understeer.

The Saab is slightly quicker but requires more work, managing boost and the largest, most aggressive footprint of the quartet.

The 2.3-litre B234 turbo arrived in 1991, bringing power for the top 9000 to 200bhp.

‘Our’ later Carlsson gains the benefit of direct ignition, a ‘slant-nose’ front end and other detail improvements accumulated before the more obviously overhauled 9000CS arrived in 1992.

The firm-riding Saab 9000 Carlsson has on-off power delivery

For another £1000 on top of the already pricey £27k Turbo SE, the Carlsson pack includes a power bump to 220bhp, a boy-racer bodykit, 6.5x16in Rial three-spoke alloys and, overruling Erik Carlsson’s insistence for the earlier cars, shorter-travel, stiffer suspension.

It is certainly the firmest-riding of the set, and the heaviest to steer.

This all makes sense when you plant the throttle and a rush of turbocharged energy hurls the Saab forward.

Despite the frantic efforts of the traction-control system, a tight grip is needed on the wheel to manage the rampant 205/60 Pirelli P700s as they try to pour 246lb ft of torque into the Tarmac.

The Saab 9000’s bodykit was part of the Carlsson package of upgrades

The brakes – big, ventilated discs matched only by the Thema’s – offer prodigious stopping power before surprisingly keen turn-in with noticeably less roll than the others, and with firm reaction from the controls it feels easier to pitch the Carlsson into different attitudes mid-corner.

But the engine remains slow in response and dramatic with its delivery, despite all of Saab’s efforts with Automatic Pressure Control, an 8.8:1 compression ratio and the same LH-Motronic computer-controlled injection as the Lancia.

With its upright, L-shaped dashboard, the 9000 has a more enclosed feel than the others, although the bucket seats (from a later 9000CS Aero) aren’t as enveloping as they look.

The modular radio, heater and ashtray units in the Saab’s L-shaped dashboard can be switched around

Thick door panels, rich carpeting and chunky switchgear give the Saab a sense of quality – even the carry-over 900 heater dials have a pleasing weight – but the acres of black vinyl trim make it feel gloomy and hemmed-in.

The Alfa Romeo, in contrast, is an infectious work of aesthetic harmony, luring you with its crisp lines to an interior that blends intriguing contours with orderly switchgear.

The same hi-fi-quality click and multi-line texture of the oddly uniform heater controls is matched to everything else in here, all the way back to the buttons for the rear reading lights.

The extra time invested in this car is obvious.

This Alfa Romeo 164 Cloverleaf rides on period-look 17in alloy wheels

From the turn of the key to the suppression of road noise at speed, the additional insulation makes the 164 feel like a newer generation of car. At 1444kg, it’s also the heaviest here.

In this early, 12-valve Cloverleaf form, the 3-litre V6 is raised to 200bhp and 195lb ft by SZ-derived cams and a 10:1 compression ratio, while the suspension gets adaptive dampers as standard and a 1in-lower ride height.

The owner of this car has fitted a 147GTA limited-slip diff and larger brakes behind period-look 17in rims.

The Giuseppe Busso-designed V6 gives instant response from its light, highly sprung throttle, urging the 164 forward with lusty enthusiasm. 

Appealing cabin architecture lives up to the Alfa Romeo’s external promise

Third in the Cloverleaf’s shorter-ratio ’box is quickly consumed in a range of baritone reverberations, with a noticeable step up after 4000rpm.

The gearchange is sweeter than the others, feeling more accurately bushed, and the whole car feels more solid as it deals with your inputs, although there is something detached about the steering.

Torquesteer blights the 164 beyond the subtle corruptions of its Type Four relations, despite Alfa’s attempts to quell it – the Cloverleaf introduced new front suspension geometry and lowered the engine by 30mm – and the aggressive Q2 diff only half solves the problem.

Yet turn-in is better even than the determined Saab, and the adaptive damping is a step ahead in controlling its mass.

The Alfa Romeo 164 Cloverleaf’s bewildering array of buttons gives a distinctly 1980s look

The 164 corners flat, neutral and with the appetite of a hot hatch, while retaining a remarkably fine ride.

Beloved by all who drove it, this was the perfect spearhead for a campaign of new Alfas that followed.

At £25,100, the facelifted 24-valve V6 Super of 1993 reached price parity with BMW’s formidable 525i SE, and was seen as entirely worthy.

The early 1990s hadn’t been kind to anyone’s bottom line, but the marque’s revival over the following decade could stand on solid ground, even if the convertible and coupé never arrived, and the expensive four-wheel-drive Q4 remained a niche offering only for the Continental market.

The Alfa Romeo 164 Cloverleaf has hot-hatch-keen turn-in

It’s a shame the 166 was such a quiet second act in 1996; instead, all eyes were on the smaller 156 that stepped into the exploding compact-executive market.

Just as Alfa was taking its leap of faith, Fiat and Lancia felt the big-car ground fall from beneath them.

Suddenly the Croma and Thema looked desperately dated, despite a rash of facelifts. The Thema estate, not sold in the UK, failed to inspire much interest.

In Britain, the Croma was discontinued in ’93, on the back of falling sales and crushing depreciation.

Even with few on the market, year-old Themas were losing 50% of their value in 1994, the year the marque abandoned the UK market for good.

The eco-focused Fiat Croma CHT was the volume seller

While Fiat refocused on small cars, Lancia never recovered, swaying from the strikingly bland Kappa to the superficial quirkiness of the Thesis as flagships of a fading spirit.

While Alfa fell flat in the North American market, Saab built on its early successes there such that, by the ’90s, half its cars crossed the Atlantic.

In 1994, annual production of 45,000 9000s eclipsed Lancia’s global sales of 32,770.

Then Saab, too, was blessed (or cursed) with the funding of a giant, General Motors, for a great expansion of its model range that led to a brief golden era.

When the 9000 bowed out in 1998, loyalists mourned the last ‘true Saab’ as a relic of the firm’s lost independence.

Lancia left the UK in 1994

Times were changing.

Shared engineering was just the start of a new era of pressure on balance sheets, where conglomerates swallowed up greater parts of industries and everything was tracked by the computers that gave offices a new, glowing ambience.

The cars advanced just as quickly, growing in ability and sophistication, leaving behind the spirits of marques increasingly mired in marketing.

As the Type Fours have turned from visions of the future to bridges to the past, we can be thankful that they aren’t all one and the same.

Images: Jack Harrison

Thanks to: Heythrop Park, Reserve by Warner Hotels; Saab Owners’ Club of GB; Alfa Romeo Owners’ Club UK; Anglia Car Auctions; McGrath Maserati

Factfiles

Alfa Romeo 164 Cloverleaf

• Sold/number built 1987-’98/273,857 (all)
• Construction steel monocoque
• Engine all-alloy, sohc-per-bank 2959cc V6, Motronic fuel injection
• Max power 200bhp @ 5800rpm
• Max torque 198lb ft @ 4400rpm
• Transmission five-speed manual, FWD
• Suspension independent, at front by MacPherson struts rear struts, transverse and trailing links; anti-roll bar f/r
• Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
• Brakes vented front, solid rear discs, with servo and anti-lock
• Length 14ft 11⅓in (4555mm)
• Width 5ft 9⅓in (1760mm)
• Height 4ft 7in (1400mm)
• Wheelbase 8ft 8¾in (2660mm)
• Weight 3183lb (1444kg)
• 0-60mph 7.8 secs
• Top speed 143mph
• Mpg 21.4
• Price new £25,965 (1991)
• Price now £10-15,000*

Saab 9000 Carlsson

• Sold/number built 1984-’98/503,087 (all)
• Construction steel monocoque
• Engine iron-block, alloy-head, dohc 2290cc ‘four’, Mitsubishi TD04 turbocharger, Bosch LH-Motronic fuel injection
• Max power 220bhp @ 6500rpm
• Max torque 246lb ft @ 2000rpm
• Transmission five-speed manual, FWD
• Suspension: front independent, by MacPherson struts rear beam axle, trailing links, Panhard rod, coil springs, telescopic dampers; anti-roll bar f/r
• Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
• Brakes vented discs, servo and anti-lock
• Length 15ft 8¼in (4780mm)
• Width 5ft 9½in (1764mm)
• Height 4ft 8in (1420mm)
• Wheelbase 8ft 9¼in (2672mm)
• Weight 3053lb (1385kg)
• 0-60mph 7.4 secs
• Top speed 145mph
• Mpg 20.7
• Price new £28,595 (1991)
• Price now £5-10,000*

Lancia Thema 8.32

• Sold/number built 1984-’94/c336,000 (all)
• Construction steel monocoque
• Engine all-alloy, dohc-per-bank 2927cc V8, Bosch KE3-Jetronic fuel injection
• Max power 212bhp @ 6750rpm
• Max torque 210lb ft @ 4500rpm
• Transmission five-speed manual, FWD
• Suspension independent, at front by MacPherson struts rear struts, transverse and trailing links; anti-roll bar f/r
• Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
• Brakes vented front, solid rear discs, with servo and anti-lock
• Length 15ft ¾in (4590mm)
• Width 5ft 8¼in (1733mm)
• Height 4ft 8½in (1433mm)
• Wheelbase 8ft 8¾in (2660mm)
• Weight 3137lb (1423kg)
• 0-60mph 7.2 secs
• Top speed 139mph
• Mpg 15.6
• Price new £37,500 (1988)
• Price now £20-35,000*

Fiat Croma CHT

• Sold/number built 1985-’96/c438,000 (all)
• Construction steel monocoque
• Engine iron-block, alloy-head, dohc 1995cc ‘four’, single Weber 34DAT 54/350 carburettor
• Max power 90bhp @ 5500rpm
• Max torque 124lb ft @ 2800rpm
• Transmission five-speed manual, FWD
• Suspension independent, at front by MacPherson struts rear struts, transverse and trailing links; anti-roll bar f/r
• Steering power-assisted rack and pinion
• Brakes discs, with servo
• Length 14ft 9in (4495mm)
• Width 5ft 9⅓in (1760mm)
• Height 4ft 8½in (1433mm)
• Wheelbase 8ft 8¾in (2660mm)
• Weight 2390lb (1084kg)
• 0-60mph 12.1 secs
• Top speed 113mph
• Mpg 31.1
• Price new £9364.93 (1987)
• Price now £3-6000*

Enjoy more of the world’s best classic car content every month when you subscribe to C&SC – get our latest deals here

READ MORE

Supersaloon showdown: BMW M5 vs Jaguar S-type R vs Maserati Quattroporte vs Mercedes-Benz E55 AMG

Buyer’s guide: Alfa Romeo 156 GTA

Ferrari 328GTS vs Lotus Esprit Turbo vs Lamborghini Jalpa: junior supercar showdown

• Share
• Share
• Email

Share

FeaturesAlfa RomeoSaabLanciaFiat

Aaron McKay

Aaron is Classic & Sports Car’s Deputy Editor

Related Articles

Buyer’s guide: Alfa Romeo Spider

Features

| 18 Feb 2026

Lotus Carlton vs Lancia Thema 8.32

Features

| 12 Feb 2026

Your classic: Fiat 124 Sport Spider

Features

| 29 Jan 2026

Fiat Dino Coupé and Spider: Maranello meets Turin

Features

| 15 Jan 2026