The Alfa Six is an interesting lesson in how not to do things in the luxury saloon class. Designed to look discreet and dignified rather than flagrantly expensive, Alfa felt that wealthy buyers would want to avoid unwanted attention in bandit ridden Italy, the Six looked stodgy and dated when it came to the European market in 1978. An opulent somewhat made up for its external looks, not to mention the high specification, which included power windows, central looking, plush velour trim, standard ZF automatic gearbox and power steering. Dynamically, the Six didn’t shine in any particular area. The 2.5 liter V6 engine was smooth and eager, but was having to work very hard in heavy saloon. So while its 119 mph (190 km/h) top speed looked reasonable, the 16 mpg (18 liters/100 km) fuel consumption it offered didn’t, even among the amenable expense accounts of the executive class. On the road, fairly strong understeer characterized the safe but unexceptional handling, coupled to a ride that was only averagely comfortable for the class. Faced with stiff competition form the GIM (Opel Senator), Audi (200 Turbo) and Rover (The SDI), the gawky big Italian gathered dust in Alfa Showrooms.
Even the addition of fuel injection systems and some minor styling tweaks could do nothing to help stimulate sales. The car died quietly in 1985, having made few friends. Alfa went on to break its big car cruse in 1988 with the 164, putting their jewel of a V6 to good use in a handsome and highly competent all rounder.
