The revised Alfa Romeo 166, to be officially launched at next month's Frankfurt Motor Show, is presented (courtesy of ItaliaSpeed). External changes will include a new bonnet, redesigned wings, new bumpers, larger headlamps and a revised range of alloy wheels.

The facelift, which was developed in-house at the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile, concentrates on the front end of the car. Now fashioning similar styling traits to the GT Coupe, with the grille and intake graphic bearing obvious resemblance, the revitalised 166 is set to represent Alfa Romeo in the luxury saloon segment until 2005. Round 156-style fog lamps appear in the intake grilles, which will probably be finished with chrome 'whiskers' as found on the mainstream 147. This will aim to provide the flagship car with an added air of luxury and will furthermore balance it's sporty yet refined appearance.

Larger bi-Xenon headlamps look to give the 166 a bolder face, a feature that was often criticised on the original design. The headlamps have circular detailing as on the recent Giugiaro-revised 156 and will also offer better illumination qualities.

The traditional Alfa shield, which is similar to that present on the GT Coupe, is more prominently positioned giving the 166 a stronger look. The bonnet appears to be slightly more sculpted, with creases streaming from the grille in typical Alfa Romeo fashion. Apart from the new muscular front wings, the side profile remains unaltered, whilst the only change to the rear is a larger bumper and new tail light outlines.

The engine range will be beefed up, with the entry level 2.0 Twin Spark being replaced with the new 2.0 JTS unit. The new 175 bhp 20V 2.4 JTD will also mark its entry in the 166 after making its debut recently in the revised 156. The 2.5 V6 carries over from the old model, however the top-of-the-range version will now feature the 3.2 V6 from the 147 GTA and 156 GTA models. The JTD and V6 petrol versions will both offer Selespeed transmission for the first time.

An 166 GTA will rapidly follow the introduction of the facelifted range, which Alfa hope will raise the profile of the often overlooked 166 range. The GTA version will use the 3.5 V6 engine first seen in the 156 GTAm concept at last December's Bologna Motor Show. The engine will be tuned to produce around 300 bhp.

The Car Enthusiast will be attending the 2003 Frankfurt Show. The review of the show will be linked from the main Motor Shows page during September.

ItaliaSpeed - 13 Aug 2003