My recent Prime Find featuring the Alfa Romeo 164 prompted further recollections of the platform sharing venture that created it. In the large saloon sector, having the right badge matters. The likes of Mercedes-Benz and BMW now dominate the sector with lesser marques sometimes resorting to inventing new brands in an attempt to gain a foothold; Toyota struck gold with Lexus, Nissan struck bronze with Infiniti and Ford struck rusty old tin with their misuse of the Vignale name. For those marques with lesser executive appeal, development costs can be prohibitive and it can be financially necessary to spread the risk amongst a consortium. Back in 1978, SAAB, Fiat, Lancia (part of the Fiat Group), and Alfa Romeo (not then part of the Fiat Group) all faced the same problem of wanting to produce a large executive class car but lacking the funds to do so. Their answer was to collaborate on what became known as the Type Four chassis, a front wheel drive platform that would be shared across the four brands.
The story really begins in 1969 when Lancia was on the verge of going under. Lancia took great pride in being an engineering company of some repute and their cars were beautifully crafted. Each model came from a blank sheet of paper and the pursuit of automotive excellence drove an artisan approach with a significant reliance on the human touch in the production process. In business terms they had failed to move with the times, hadn’t invested in their factories and were in serious trouble, losing £20m a year (equivalent to over £300m in today’s money). Fiat saw the opportunity to acquire a prestige brand on the cheap and scooped them up. Fiat had already been on a spending spree the previous year when they acquired 49% of Citroën in what was known as the PARDEVI agreement (Participation et Développement Industriels). PARDEVI’s purpose had been to collaborate on future models but Citroën got themselves in a muddle chasing a fuel-hungry rotary engine venture just as the 1973 oil crisis arrived. The Italians saw the writing was on the wall and dissolved the partnership, leaving Citroën to go bankrupt. After being bitten with PARDEVI, Fiat took their time finding another partner but in 1978 the conditions were right to sign up with SAAB. The Swedes were overly reliant on their ageing 99 compact saloon and although they were about to launch their new 900 series, they really needed a large saloon in order to move the company forward and steal sales from their arch rivals at Volvo. The immediate benefits of the Scandinavian-Mediterranean deal would result in SAAB gaining a badge engineered Lancia Delta to slot in below the 900 and the Italians having an opportunity to learn about build quality, which wasn’t their core competency. Together the two companies commenced development of the large saloon both parties required. The platform sharing initiative would be known as the Type Four.
The proposed layout of the Type Four platform was unusual for a time when rear wheel drive was still favoured for large cars. The Citroën CX was a notable exception but most of the competition still chose to push rather than pull their large cars. Think of the Peugeot 604, Ford Granada, Opel Rekord, Volvo 240 and Rover SD1 and also consider the contemporary products from the Italian stables such as the Alfa Romeo 6 and Fiat 130. However, Lancia had long been adopters of front wheel drive and their Gamma and Beta models were driven as such, whilst SAAB had never done anything else. When the two marques took the lead on development of the Type Four they stuck with what they knew. With a common wheelbase of 105 inches the Type Four was designed with Macpherson strut suspension at all four corners, but SAAB would diverge on this point. Engines would be unique to each manufacturer and although the platform would be shared it was not an exercise in badge engineering when it came to the bodies. However, as Giugiaro was contracted to style the SAAB and Fiat Group variants there were clear visual similarities between the resulting models.
The Type Four opposition
Debuting in 1984, the SAAB 9000 was the first Type Four to market and was warmly received by the press. The 9000 was actually a few inches shorter than the supposedly smaller SAAB 900 despite the new car having a longer wheelbase, but its packaging was much more efficient so it felt roomy and worthy of its executive class aspiration. SAAB had beefed up the base architecture of the Type Four to ensure it was the best performing variant in the safety tests that the Swedes had built their reputation on. Although the French PRV V6 engine had been considered during development, the company opted for their own range of 1985cc four-cylinder engines in normally aspirated and turbocharged configurations. However, if anything really set the 9000 apart from its brethren, it was to be found underneath. SAAB had eschewed the template of four Macpherson struts in favour of a set up more suited to Nordic conditions that required a robust system which also dialled out as much understeer as possible. Most drivers would rarely reach the limit of adhesion on dry tarmac but that moment of slippage would come at much lower speeds on the wintery gravel roads of the far north. SAAB did not want a car that would push on in a state of hopeless understeer until it slowed sufficiently for snap oversteer. They wanted to protect the driver from such a sudden transition and also make the car feel light and responsive for normal motoring. Their answer was to reduce the slip angle on the laden rear wheel by setting toe-out geometry for a passive rear-steer effect. This was achieved by fitting a stiff beam axle with a Panhard rod and tuning the leading and trailing pick up points to create the required geometry. Gas struts and antiroll bars kept the tyres in square contact with the ground to reduce the risk of sudden breakaway and although the 9000 would still push its nose out at high speeds it remained controllable when conditions got more challenging. SAAB had delivered a remarkable result from the base Type Four, benefitting from the sharing initiative but not being bound by it.
The second variant of the Type Four was the Lancia Thema, a quite different proposition to the SAAB. The Thema was a three-box saloon but still shared recognisable styling cues with the (initially) hatchback SAAB with the door skins being identical, but the upright chrome grille of the Lancia spoke to a more conservative buyer. Although featuring some lively engines the Thema chassis was tuned for comfort rather than outright handling. If a mid-ranking Mafioso was to have chosen a Type Four, it’s odds on they would have gone for the Thema. Rather unexpectedly, Lancia also developed an estate variant which was extended and assembled by Pininfarina but it’s a different variant of the Thema that sticks in the mind. Capitalising on links within the Fiat Group, Lancia didn’t mess about when it came to producing a performance figurehead and revealed the cryptically named Thema 8.32 at the 1986 Turin motor show. With 8 denoting the number of cylinders and 32 counting the number of valves, the car was powered by a V-formation 2927cc engine based on the heart of a Ferrari 308. Lancia ditched the Ferrari’s flatplane crankshaft for a better balanced crossplane crank in order to reduce vibration but the cast block still came straight from Maranello. The resulting 215bhp doesn’t sound a huge amount today but it was enough to propel the big saloon to nearly 150 mph, with 60 mph achieved in under 7 seconds. It could have been even faster but the Thema was laden with equipment including a hand stitched interior comprising of Alcantara and yards of leather, wooden door cappings, climate control, powered seats for all passengers and electric speed sensitive power steering. The car also featured everybody’s favourite gizmo, a retractable rear spoiler that sat flush with the bootlid when not in use. After some gloomy years in the wilderness, Lancia had used the Type Four venture to produce something niche and interesting that was never going to achieve huge volumes, thereby capitalising precisely on the financial benefits of platform sharing.
With the Thema making small ripples in the market, Fiat Group turned their attention to launching a Type Four variant for their core brand. The Croma was unashamedly a modest car and though a performance version was offered it stood as the exception in the range rather than the rule. The Croma was Fiat’s answer to those who wanted roomy family transport without executive pretensions, but it was a small player in a declining segment. The Renault Espace had been launched the previous year and despite a slow start it would define a type of vehicle that would render the Croma and its ilk obsolete. Fast forward a couple of years and it’s doubtful the Croma would ever have seen the light of day. It’s difficult to be too enthusiastic about the big Fiat. One of the most noteworthy Croma facts is that it was the first passenger car in the world to have a direct injection Diesel engine. That probably tells you all you need to know. The base petrol motor was a 1.6 litre producing 82bhp, which must have been pretty miserable, but you could order a 148bhp Turbo i.e. if you wished (“i.e.” being what it was called rather than poor punctuation). The fact that it was so forgettable means it’s almost certainly the rarest of all Type Four variants today. Whether you lust after one is your own personal decision.
Alfa Romeo’s previous experience of platform sharing hadn’t been positive. They had forged an agreement with Nissan that resulted in the Alfa Arna and Nissan Cherry Europe, a car that blended Japanese flair with Italian reliability. They couldn’t afford to miss the mark again so it was a blessing in disguise that they lacked the money to pursue a planned evolution of the Alfetta based Alfa Romeo 90. The broadly positive reactions to the SAAB 9000, Lancia Thema and Fiat Croma gave Milan cause for optimism and they embarked on an extensive development programme, bouncing around Morocco and ragging around their proving grounds to ensure the new car would handle like an Alfa Romeo should without falling apart in the process. The engine line up would feature a 2.0 Twin Spark DOHC with variable valve timing, a snarling 189bhp 3.0 V6 and a 2.0 turbodiesel from noted manufacturer of boat anchors, VM Motori. Uniquely amongst Type Fours, the Alfa Romeo was available with four-wheel drive; the resulting 3.0 V6 Q4 surely being the ultimate incarnation of the platform. Jointly developed with Steyr-Puch the transmission took signals from the engine ECU and ABS sensors to continuously vary the power distribution front to rear with the potential to send up to 100% of drive to the back axle, so those wanting a rear drive Alfa Romeo could be variously satisfied.
However, it was in the body that Alfa Romeo would most visibly differentiate the 164 from the rest of the Type Four crowd. Giugiaro had been called upon to style its siblings but Alfa Romeo phoned Pininfarina instead. Pininfarina were having a good run in the 1980s and came up with a shape that simultaneously flowed whilst incorporating a series of statement creases and sharp folds. The effect is striking and bold, with serious presence when mated to the aggressive skirts of the QV trim line. The 164’s influence would later be seen in the Peugeot 605, a car from the same design stable that would later directly rival the 164. The Alfa Romeo’s exterior turned heads but the interior was equally appealing, whether that meant enjoying the Italian velour of the lower trim levels or luxuriating in the leather seats of the QV. The centre console of the dashboard housed rows of identical push button switches which looked good but perhaps prioritised form over function; how very Italian. Hopes were high for the 164 and it certainly represented a step forward in terms of ambition and quality but it wasn’t completely immune from gremlins. The electrics proved to be temperamental and the heating and ventilation system was troublesome enough to prove the old clichés about Milanese reliability. It may have not been perfectly executed but the big Alfa Romeo certainly made a big impression.
The Type Four project was a financial lifeline for all parties and delivered some genuinely good cars. Fiat played it relatively safe but Lancia, SAAB and Alfa Romeo were creative in their variations on the theme. The SAAB 9000 was arguably the most accomplished package but the unique four-wheel drive incarnation of the Alfa Romeo is the one that most appeals to me. Platform sharing may now be a byword for derivative white goods but the tale of the Type Four demonstrates how sharing once enhanced the mainstream motor industry rather than dumbed it down.
