General Motors/Fiat Premium platform

Last updated
GM/Fiat Premium platform
Body and chassis
Class Compact executive car (D)
Convertible
Coupe
Layout Front engine, Front-wheel drive / Four-wheel drive
Body style(s) Sedan
Coupe
Roadster
Station wagon
Vehicles Alfa Romeo Brera
Alfa Romeo Spider
Alfa Romeo 159
Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon
Alfa Romeo Visconti (concept car) [1]
Dimensions
Wheelbase 2,525–2,700 mm (99.4–106.3 in)
Chronology
Successor FCA Giorgio Platform (for Alfa Romeo)

The Premium platform was General Motors's and Fiat Group's high-end automobile platform for front wheel drive and four wheel drive automobiles developed in early 2000s mainly in Sweden by Saab engineers. [2] [3]

The architecture debuted in production form with the Alfa Romeo 159 in 2004, although it was used for the Alfa Romeo Visconti concept car. After the dissolution of the GM/Fiat partnership, both companies retained the rights to continue developing Premium-derived models, though no GM versions were produced as the platform was considered too expensive for Opel cars and a great cost for a small premium manufacturer as Saab.

Saab stopped the development of the platform and therefore of its Premium automobile in late 2002; the Saab models (the 9X sports car and the replacement for the 9-5 sedan) would have used an entirely different suspension[ citation needed ] than the Alfa Romeo vehicles, which would have proved too expensive. A planned Buick model was also dropped.[ citation needed ] In the end, only the Alfa Romeo models moved forward to production and Saab's development and introduction of new 9-5 was seriously delayed. Some of the GM models originally set to use the Premium platform eventually were produced using the GM Epsilon II platform.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo</span> Italian automotive manufacturer

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian luxury carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of multinational automotive company Stellantis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Autobianchi</span> Italian automobile manufacturer

Autobianchi was an Italian automobile manufacturer, created jointly by Bianchi, Pirelli and Fiat in 1955. Autobianchi produced only a handful of models during its lifetime, which were almost exclusively small cars, with the biggest being the short-lived Autobianchi A111, a small family car. Autobianchis were priced higher than Fiat models of similar size and the brand was used by Fiat to test innovative concepts which later found their way into mainstream Fiat vehicles; these concepts included fibreglass bodies and front-wheel drive.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lancia</span> Automobile brand manufacturing subsidiary of Stellantis

Lancia is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe, which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but its history is traced back to Lancia & C., a manufacturing concern founded in 1906 in Torino by Vincenzo Lancia (1881–1937) and Claudio Fogolin. It became part of Fiat in 1969.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fiat Croma</span> Name used for two different large family cars produced by Italian automaker Fiat

The Fiat Croma name was used for two distinct large family cars by Fiat, one a five door liftback manufactured and marketed from 1985 to 1996, and after a nine-year hiatus, a crossover station wagon manufactured and marketed from 2004 to 2010.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Front-wheel drive</span> Automotive transmission where the engine drives the front wheels only

Front-wheel drive (FWD) is a form of engine and transmission layout used in motor vehicles, in which the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel-drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive vehicles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo 156</span> Compact executive car

The Alfa Romeo 156 is a compact executive car produced by the Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It was introduced at the 1997 Frankfurt Motor Show as the replacement for the Alfa Romeo 155. The 156 received a positive reception and in the following year went on to win the 1998 European Car of the Year award. The 156 saloon was discontinued in Europe late in 2005, while the Q4 Crosswagon continued in production until the end of 2007.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">General Motors Epsilon platform</span> Motor vehicle platform

Epsilon is General Motors' mid-size front-wheel drive automobile platform. The architecture was a multi-division project of GM North America, Opel and Saab, and debuted in the 2002 Opel Vectra and 2003 Saab 9-3. Since this platform falls squarely in the center of the worldwide automobile market, GM plans to produce a great many Epsilon vehicles with over a dozen variations. As of 2005, it was GM's highest volume worldwide platform. Even after the dissolution of the GM/Fiat partnership, both companies retain the rights to continue developing Epsilon-derived models.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo 164</span> Motor vehicle

The Alfa Romeo 164 is a four-door executive saloon manufactured and marketed by Italian automaker Alfa Romeo from 1987 to 1998, styled by Pininfarina, and cooperatively designed and sharing platforms and numerous elements with the Fiat Croma, Saab 9000 and Lancia Thema.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo 155</span> Motor vehicle

The Alfa Romeo 155 is a compact executive car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Alfa Romeo between 1992 and 1998. It was unveiled in January 1992 at Barcelona, with the first public launch in March 1992, at the Geneva Motor Show. A total of 195,526 units were made before it was replaced by the 156.

The Tipo Quattro platform was a shared front wheel drive platform used in the 1980s and 1990s for the Saab 9000, Fiat Croma, Lancia Thema, and Alfa Romeo 164. It was the fifth and largest of Fiat's Tipo platforms ; the four does not refer to the fact that it was used by four carmakers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo Brera and Spider</span> Italian sports car series

The Alfa Romeo Brera and the Alfa Romeo Spider are mid-size sports cars using the GM/Fiat Premium platform, manufactured by Pininfarina and marketed by Alfa Romeo as a 2+2 coupé and roadster respectively.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo 159</span> Compact executive car

The Alfa Romeo 159 is a car built by Italian marque Alfa Romeo between 2004 and 2011. It is a large family car in the compact-executive market segment with four-door saloon and five-door estate variants. Introduced at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show, as a replacement for the 156, the 159 used the GM/Fiat Premium platform, shared with the Alfa Romeo Brera and Spider as well as the Kamal and Visconti concept cars.

Multijet is Fiat and General Motors joint venture in manufacturer since 1996 common rail direct injection turbo diesel diesel engine technology. Most of the Fiat S.p.A., Fiat Professional, Groupe PSA, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Lancia, Chrysler, Chevrolet, Daewoo Motors, Cadillac, Karsan, Temsa, Iveco, Jeep, Opel, Vauxhall Motors, RAM Trucks, Mitsubishi Fuso, Maruti Suzuki, Suzuki, Tata Motors and Saab Automobile branded vehicles are equipped with Multijet engines. Ownership of some Fiat Multijet designs is shared with General Motors as part of a settlement of the failed merger between the two auto conglomerates. The GM Powertrain Torino group in Turin, Italy, manages its interest in these engines. Some PSA Peugeot Citroën diesel engines are also rebadged JTD units, and vice versa. Fiat's common-rail diesel engine is also known as JTD, an initialism of UniJet Turbo Diesel.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Compact executive car</span> Car classification

A compact executive car, also known as a compact luxury car, is a premium car larger than a premium compact and smaller than an executive car. Compact executive car is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in the European car classification.

1985 in motoring deals with developments in the automotive industry throughout the year by various automobile manufacturers, which are grouped by country. This includes the designs, developments, manufactures, markets, and sale of cars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo Giulia (2015)</span> Italian compact executive sedan

The Alfa Romeo Giulia is a compact executive car produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo. Known internally as the Type 952, it was unveiled in June 2015, with market launch scheduled for February 2016, and it is the first saloon offered by Alfa Romeo after the production of the 159 ended in 2011. The Giulia is also the first mass-market Alfa Romeo vehicle in over two decades to use a longitudinal rear-wheel drive platform, since the 75 which was discontinued in 1992. The Giulia was second in 2017 European Car of the Year voting and was named Motor Trend Car of the Year for 2018. In 2018, Giulia was awarded the Compasso d'Oro industrial design award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SCCS platform</span> Automobile platform

The SCCS platform, also called Small Platform or 199 platform is an automobile platform originally developed by Fiat for subcompact, front-wheel drive, and all-wheel drive vehicles. It was first used on the Fiat Grande Punto, which was unveiled in 2005. Developed during the GM-Fiat alliance, the platform was also used for some Opel models including the Opel Corsa D and E. A derivative called the Small Wide platform was introduced in 2012 for applications on larger cars in the compact segment. Usage of the platform continued through the merger of Fiat and Chrysler which created Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), and the merger of FCA and PSA which formed Stellantis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo Stelvio</span> Crossover SUV

The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a car produced by the Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo since 2016. As a D-segment model it slots above the smaller Tonale model in the marque's SUV range. A compact crossover SUV, it was first revealed at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show, introduced by a 60" short film directed by Louis Sebastian Pane, and entered production at the Cassino Plant at the end of 2016. In 2018 it was Alfa Romeo's best-selling model, with roughly 43,000 sold that year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfa Romeo Tipo 103</span> Motor vehicle

The Alfa Romeo Tipo 103 is a sub-compact front-wheel drive automobile developed by Alfa Romeo in the late 1950s. A prototype powered by a 0.9 L double overhead cam inline-four engine was completed in 1960. Alfa did not put the Tipo 103 into production.

Stola is an Italian automotive company founded in 1919. From its start it realized concept cars, prototypes and style models, master models and engineering consultancy for some of the biggest manufacturers in the automotive industry.

References

  1. "2004 Alfa Romeo Visconti Concept by Italdesign". seriouswheels.com. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  2. "Alfa Poised for U.S. Return". caranddriver.com. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  3. "GM's All-New Platform". wardsautoworld.com. 2003. Retrieved 2012-01-02.