The
Type Four chassis was a common front wheel drive platform used in the 1980s for the
Saab 9000The 9000, Saab's first executive car, was released in 1985. It was replaced by the Saab 9-5 in the fall of 1997 for the 1998 model year.The 9000 was based on the Type Four chassis, a platform shared with the Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema and Alfa Romeo 164. The Croma and Thema are outwardly similar to...
,
Fiat CromaThe Fiat Croma is a nameplate used for two automobiles produced by Italian automaker Fiat, one built from 1985 to 1996 and the other since 2005.- First generation :...
,
Lancia ThemaThe Lancia Thema was an executive car produced by the Italian automaker Lancia between 1984 and 1994, and was one of four cars to share the "Type Four" chassis alongside the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma and Saab 9000...
and
Alfa Romeo 164The Alfa Romeo 164 was an executive car with saloon body, produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo from 1988 to 1997.The 164 was re-badged as the 168 for the Hong Kong and Malaysian markets, as the number "164" had a very negative connotation , and "168" has quite the opposite The Alfa Romeo...
. It emerged as an agreement between the four carmakers in October 1978 to reduce development costs. The Fiat and Lancia looked much like the Saab, but the Alfa Romeo only shared the chassis. The wheelbase is 2.67 m (105
inchAn inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...
es) on all models. The contemporaneous
Peugeot 605The Peugeot 605 was an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot between 1989 and 1999.The 605 was based on the Citroën XM , and was successor to the unsuccessful Peugeot 604 which went out of production some years earlier...
looked very similar to the Alfa Romeo 164 as it was also styled by
PininfarinaPininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy.Founded as Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina, Pininfarina has been employed by a wide variety of high-end automobile manufacturers,...
, but was actually based on a
Citroen XMThe Citroën XM is an executive car that was produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1989 and 2000. Citroën sold 330,000 XMs during the model's 10 years of production...
platform.
Because they were very similar, many parts can be exchanged between the four cars regardless of brand.
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The
Type Four chassis was a common front wheel drive platform used in the 1980s for the
Saab 9000The 9000, Saab's first executive car, was released in 1985. It was replaced by the Saab 9-5 in the fall of 1997 for the 1998 model year.The 9000 was based on the Type Four chassis, a platform shared with the Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema and Alfa Romeo 164. The Croma and Thema are outwardly similar to...
,
Fiat CromaThe Fiat Croma is a nameplate used for two automobiles produced by Italian automaker Fiat, one built from 1985 to 1996 and the other since 2005.- First generation :...
,
Lancia ThemaThe Lancia Thema was an executive car produced by the Italian automaker Lancia between 1984 and 1994, and was one of four cars to share the "Type Four" chassis alongside the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma and Saab 9000...
and
Alfa Romeo 164The Alfa Romeo 164 was an executive car with saloon body, produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo from 1988 to 1997.The 164 was re-badged as the 168 for the Hong Kong and Malaysian markets, as the number "164" had a very negative connotation , and "168" has quite the opposite The Alfa Romeo...
. It emerged as an agreement between the four carmakers in October 1978 to reduce development costs. The Fiat and Lancia looked much like the Saab, but the Alfa Romeo only shared the chassis. The wheelbase is 2.67 m (105
inchAn inch is the name of a unit of length in a number of different systems, including Imperial units, and United States customary units. There are 36 inches in a yard and 12 inches in a foot...
es) on all models. The contemporaneous
Peugeot 605The Peugeot 605 was an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot between 1989 and 1999.The 605 was based on the Citroën XM , and was successor to the unsuccessful Peugeot 604 which went out of production some years earlier...
looked very similar to the Alfa Romeo 164 as it was also styled by
PininfarinaPininfarina S.p.A. is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder in Cambiano, Italy.Founded as Società anonima Carrozzeria Pinin Farina in 1930 by automobile designer and builder Battista "Pinin" Farina, Pininfarina has been employed by a wide variety of high-end automobile manufacturers,...
, but was actually based on a
Citroen XMThe Citroën XM is an executive car that was produced by the French automaker Citroën between 1989 and 2000. Citroën sold 330,000 XMs during the model's 10 years of production...
platform.
Because they were very similar, many parts can be exchanged between the four cars regardless of brand. For example, the doors from the Fiat Croma fit directly on the 9000, but are lighter, due to less side impact protection. The
windshieldThe windshield or windscreen of an aircraft, automobile, bus, motorcycle, or tram is the front window. Modern windshields are generally made of laminated safety glass, a type of treated glass, which consists of two curved sheets of glass with a plastic layer laminated between them for safety, and...
from the Croma can also be used on the 9000. Likewise the wing mirrors off both the 9000 and the
ThemaThe Lancia Thema was an executive car produced by the Italian automaker Lancia between 1984 and 1994, and was one of four cars to share the "Type Four" chassis alongside the Alfa Romeo 164, Fiat Croma and Saab 9000...
are almost identical (9000 has a pressed recess on the mirror casing, Thema is without recess) and should fit both cars with the doors being similar albeit in crash structure. Because its platform was shared closely with three other cars, the Saab 9000's ignition key was situated on the steering column instead of between the front seats.
On the 6th episode in the 9th season of the British motoring program
Top GearTop Gear is a BBC television series about motor vehicles, primarily cars. It began in 1977 as a conventional motoring magazine show. Over time, and especially since a relaunch in 2002, it has developed a quirky, humorous style. The show is currently presented by Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond...
, James May welds together a Saab 9000 and an Alfa Romeo 164 to make a stretch limousine. He said the two cars should be entirely compatible because they have the same wheelbase and floor pan.