Archive for Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo has revealed three teaser images of their new B-segment hatchback, recently christened the Alfa Romeo Mi.To. Not Junior, not Furiosa. The name Mi.To is short for Milano and Torino (Milan and Turin), cities which host the Alfa Romeo and Fiat headquarters respectively.

The Alfa Romeo Mi.To will be 4060mm long, 1720mm wide and 1440mm tall. Under its hood will be the same family of Fiat engines ranging from 90 horses up to 155 horses, and all petrol and diesel variants will be force inducted. What’s new would be a new range of dual clutch transmissions, replacing the trademark Selespeed.

It will be equipped with a system Alfa calls DNA - Dynamic, Normal and All-Weather. DNA settings will adjust the responsiveness of the throttle, steering, brakes and gear shifts for sporty, city or slippery roads.

Two more photos and a video after the jump.

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The open top version of the sexy Alfa 8C Competizione, the Alfa 8C Spider will be unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. It will be powered by the same 4.7 liter V8 producing 450 horsepower at 7,000rpm and 480Nm of torque at 4,750rpm with a redline of 7,500rpm. This engine is mated to a 6-speed transaxle robotized clutch gearbox with an LSD differential.

The Alfa 8C Spider’s roof is constructed from two layers of fabric, and goes up and down automatically with a touch of a button on the dashboard. Like the Alfa 8C Competizione, the Alfa 8C Spider will be available in a limited run of 500 units.

More photos after the jump.

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Tata is inching very closely to acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford Motor Company, and everyone is already assuming the two companies are in Tata’s hands, in a deal that analysts have pegged at being worth between US$1.5 to US2.0 billion.

One company that is very happy about all of this is Fiat, who has a close relationship with Tata. Tata uses Fiat turbodiesel engines in their cars, and the two companies have a partnership worth Rs 4000 crore (3.3 billion ringgit) in India.

Fiat says this will most likely allow the Italian company to get access to Jaguar’s technologies. It is particularly interested in Jaguar’s rear wheel drive platform as well as Land Rover’s four-wheel drive technology. Yup, you guessed right - the first model from the Fiat group to benefit from this is most likely the new flagship Alfa Romeo 169, which Fiat plans to develop as a rear wheel drive car.

Related Posts:
Ford may forgo retained stake in Jaguar and Land Rover

While we are on the subject of Alfa replacements, what about the Alfa Romeo 166’s replacement? The new Alfa Romeo 169 is known as the Progetto 941 internally, and it is set to ride on a derivative of the next generation Maserati Quattroporte E/F platform.

This means rear wheel drive. It also means a longtitudinal engine layout, something not seen on Alfa Romeos since the 145 Boxer and 146 Boxer. Engines are expected to be exclusively V6 and V8 (for a GTA variant) engines with Uniair/Multiair technology, with transaxle gearboxes to help the car achieve a close to 49:51 weight distribution.

Sources reveal the V6 engine will be lifted from a new family of Alfa Romeo V6 engines, not an upgraded GTA engine. It will most likely have JTS lean burn direct injection engine heads and twin turbochargers.

Styling will most likely be inspired by the year 2004 Alfa Romeo Visconti Concept styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro. The Visconti was based on the Alfa Romeo Premium platform which underpins the current Alfa Romeo 159, but has its wheelbase lengthened by 20mm.

The 169 was to originally use this platform, but later it was decided that the Quattroporte E/F platform was a better idea. Under the concept’s hood is the first sighting of the new V6 engine family - a 3.2 V6 twinturbocharged JTS direct injection engine to make 405hp and 680Nm of torque.

More photos of the concept after the jump.

Click here to read the rest of Alfa Romeo 169 to be based on Quattroporte E/F?

UPDATE: The new Alfa Romeo baby hatch will be called the Alfa Romeo Mi.To - click for more info!

The latest car manufacturer to enter the fray of creating small cars to compete against the BMW MINI Cooper is Alfa Romeo. Internally, this new car is known as the 955. The new car will share a platform with the Fiat Grande Punto, and will offer technologies like SDC active suspension where various settings can be set via a Ferrari-like steering wheel switch, and an engine with an electronically controlled hydraulic valve actuation (similiar to VVTi-E) combined with a throttle-less intake called the Multiair engine.

Multiair engine options will include a 105 hp 1.4 liter normally aspirated unit, two 1.4 liter JTB turbos making 135hp and 180hp, a 1.8 liter JTB making 230 horsepower, and two diesels - a 120hp 1.6 liter JTDm and a 150 horsepower 1.6 liter JTTDm. These engines will be mated to either a 6-speed manual or a Selespeed automated manual.

Following the footsteps of Volkswagen which used a public voting system to name its new Tiguan SUV, Alfa Romeo had a public vote to let the public choose the name of the new car. Choices included Agea, Enos, Everson, Fira, Furiosa, Milo, Mod, Nevo, Solea, Sparvo, Velvetta and Ventura, and the winner turned out to the name Furiosa.

So there you have it. The Alfa Romeo Furiosa. There are currently two camps on where this will fit in the Alfa Romeo model line up - some say it is a smaller model than the 147 replacement (previously to be called the 149, should be a proper word-based name now), and everyone else says this is the new 147 replacement. But looking at segments, the 147 replacement should be based on a platform similiar to the Bravo (C-segment) instead of the Grande Punto (B-segment), so I tend to agree with the smaller-than-147/149 camp.

One more sketch after the jump.

Related Posts:
2008 Alfa Romeo 149 Artist’s Impression
More previews of the Alfa Romeo 149

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The Alfa Romeo 159 has been graced with the famous TI badge. TI stands for Turismo Internazionale and both the sedan and Sportwagon 159 variants will have this new trim level in their range.

The Alfa 159 TI is enhanced with a unique body kit, lowered sports suspension, 19-inch alloy wheels, red Brembo brake callipers all-round, and chrome effect door mirrors and exhaust tailpipe. On the inside, there is an electrically adjustable and heated leather front sports seats, new sports dials, aluminium sports pedals, kick plates, trim inserts, a leather-clad sports steering wheel and gear knob.

Two petrol units and one diesel unit are available - petrol variants include a 2.2 JTS inline-4 and a 3.2 JTS V6 while the sporty oil burner is a 2.4 JTDM. These engines can be mated to either manual or QTRONIC automatic gearboxes.

Alfa’s Q4 all-wheel-drive system is standard on the 3.2 V6 engine option, but can be specified for the 2.4 JDTM as well, while the 2.2 JTS petrol is front wheel drive only.

Click here to read the rest of Alfa Romeo 159 TI (Turismo Internazionale)

Alfa Romeo distributors Sime Darby Auto Italia Sdn Bhd has moved their premises from the previous location at Glenmarie, Shah Alam to a site next to it’s sister company Land Rover (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd at 19 Jalan 13/2 in Section 13, Petaling Jaya.

The new premises will be open 8.00 am to 5.30 pm on weekdays, 8.30 am to 2.30 pm on Saturdays and by appointment on Sundays. The relocation is welcome, as it brings Auto Italia closer to its customer base and target market. Glenmerie can be considered pretty far for someone to travel.

“Our service centre will have the best equipment and specialised tools while our parts centre remains the most comprehensive in the country with more than 2,000 original line items to cater to most Alfa Romeos in Malaysia. We are looking to grow the service centre throughput now that it is more accessible than ever,” said Auto Italia General Manager Lim Boon Leong.

For directions to Auto Italias new premises in Petaling Jaya, please call 03-5569 8800.

Oh my, it seems that Proton has infected it’s old partner Mitsubishi with the Alfadana disease. Mitsubishi’s latest Lancer bears quite a significant similarity to the sexy Alfa Romeo 159 doesn’t it? What do you think?

Novitec tunes up the Alfa Romeo 159, but strangely it is not the petrol version that is tweaked by the diesel! The 2.4 liter 20 valve turbodiesel has it’s power upped from 200 horses to 229 horses via Novitec’s Powerrail III system and a Novitec stainless steel twin tailpipe exhaust system. As for the bodykit, you get Novitec front skirting, side skirts, and a Novitec rear spoiler. The suspension system is a Novitec stainless steel sports suspension system that is height and hardness adjustable. The Novitec 159 rides on Novitec N9 multi-piece 20 inch wheels wrapped with Pirelli 255/30/R20 tyres.

This is not the most powerful 159 in the range - a stock 3.2 V6 petrol variant makes a very nice 240bhp. Alfa Romeo’s trademark has always been some of the best sounding inline-4 and V6 engines around, and it is not easy to get an inline-4 to sound nice. I wonder how a diesel Alfa engine sounds like.

BTW, anyone notice how the latest Mitsubishi Lancer reminds you so much of this car? But then again, it could be just me. *shrugs*

More photos after the jump.

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Malaysian Alfa Romeo distributor Sime Darby Auto Italia Sdn Bhd has unveiled a new limited edition variant of the lovely Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 Selespeed hatchback - the Alfa 147 Edizione Sportivo, or in English, Sports Edition? Changes to the special edition include a customised bodykit comprised of a redesigned front air dam, side skirts, side strip, rear roof spoiler, and a stainless steel exhaust. The car rides on Alfa Romeo ET40 Silver Colour Tristar alloy rims with low profile 215/45 R17TL87W Pirelli Dragon performance tyres. Further enhancing the sporty look are Hotbits HBSC 10-203 Sports Springs, lowering the car by 30mm and enhancing handling and driving dynamics.

Auto Italia press release did not say how many units of this special edition will be produced, but general manager Lim Boon Leong says it will be a limited edition run. It comes with a 2-year warranty, free maintenance for three years and two years free 24-hour roadside assistance from AAM.

Just a recap on the specs, the Alfa 147 Edizione Sportivo is powered by a 2.0-litre 150bhp Twinspark engine, does the 0-100km/h dash in 9.3 seconds, and is specced out pretty well - four airbags, pre-tensioned seat belts, Anti-lock Braking System with Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, Electronic Stability Programme, Cruise Control System, Anti Theft Device-Key Code Immobiliser, Parking Obstacle Detection Device and others.

Read my test drive report on the Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 Twinspark Selespeed.