An Alfa Romeo 166 2.5 V6, seen in Beijing back in 2003. The pretty Alfa was in a great shape, smooth in paint, no rust, and still fitted with its original wheels. The Alfa Romeo 166 was manufactured from 1996 until 2007 with a facelift in 2003. The black car I saw in Beijing is a pre-facelift example.
The 2.5 liter 24 valve V6 model sat in the middle between the 2.0 four and the big 3.0 V6. Output was 188 hp and 222 Nm. The engine was mated to a five-speed manual or a four-speed automatic.
Amazingly, the Alfa Romeo 166 was officially sold in China from 1998 (!) until 2007. In 1998 there were very few people who could afford a large and expensive car like the 166, so Alfa didn’t sell a lot of these. Price started around 48.800 yuan for the 2.5 V6 model.
After 2007 the Fiat Group got into heavy financial trouble. One way they tried to survive was by selling various older platforms to other carmakers, mostly to China. The platform of the pretty Alfa Romeo 166 was sold to Guangzhou Auto (GAC), where it was used for to underpin the first Trumpchi sedan, later renamed Trumpchi GA5. The GA5 has since been succeeded by the Trumpchi GA6, which stands on a new platform. So if you want a bit of Alfa DNA in a Chinese car you got to find one second hand.