Alfa Romeo UK is connecting with car buyers who reflect the Italian brand’s core sporting and lifestyle values with a summer and autumn promotial programme that is firmly underway.

From the very prestigious Goodwood Festival of Speed - which took place back in June - to the Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard Show in late October, Alfa Romeo is combining its stylish cars with a string of fashionable, public ‘lifestyle’ events.

The summer programme kicked off at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in late June, an event which has grown rapidly in stature to become one of motorsport’s biggest and most glamorous gatherings of the year. Not only did Alfa Romeo join the glittering array of sponsors, the British public was able to see the new Alfa 159 sports saloon and Brera sportscar – which caused a sensation on the occasion of their Geneva Motor Show debut back in March - for the first time, in the UK. Emphasizing the commitment which Alfa Romeo gave to this event, the awesome Brera was driven up the famous Goodwood Hill by Alfa’s new CEO, Karl-Heinz Kalbfell. And with Alfa Romeo’s future rubbing shoulders with more than a dozen of the marque’s most famous models from its long and glittering history all shipped over from its Milan (Arese) museum – Alfa Romeo were signaling in no uncertain terms that it is firmly back in action, with BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi firmly in its sights.

Last month Alfa Romeo’s seductive model range drew the crowds’ attention at major public events as diverse as the Eastbourne Air Show and the Royal Show (held at Stoneleigh).

”These type of events work very well for us,” comments Alfa Romeo UK’s Marketing Manager Roland Ellison, “the cars always receive an amazing amount of interest from people impressed by their looks and who are previously unaware of our products, with the GT Coupé especially being singled out for attention - and if you open the bonnet – particularly on the 3.2-litre V6 - it always draws a crowd!”

The Alfa Romeo promotional programme now steps up a gear with a hectic and diverse schedule in prospect during the autumn months.
 

It starts off at the Biggin Hill Air Fair (3-4 September), before moving on to the Southport Air Show (10-11 September), AutoItalia Italian Car Day at Gaydon (11 September), the Royal Berkshire Show at Newbury Racecourse (17-18 September), Viva Italia 2005 – London’s annual Italian lifestyle exhibition - at Earls Court (23-25 September), and finally the Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard Show at Olympia (12-16 October).

Several of these events will be of particular significance to Alfa Romeo enthusiasts, not least the Auto Italia Day – to be held in the grounds of the Motor Heritage Centre, at Gaydon in Warwickshire on 11 September, and which will be the scene for a second official UK preview of the stunning new Alfa Romeo 159 sports saloon (following its Goodwood appearance); a car which is poised change the British public’s perception and attitudes towards the sporty Italian brand.

Meanwhile, Alfa Romeo will also be at the Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard Show at Olympia as part of Alfa Romeo’s on-going commitment to sponsoring the Italian Ski Racing Team in the build-up to the XX Winter Olympics, which takes place in Turin next year. “The Alfa Romeo brand is really at home in these environments,” adds Roland. “The Ski & Snowboard Show amply demonstrates the values of the Alfa Romeo driver, as it’s a fashionable outdoor pursuit that requires active participation, while Viva Italia is a important exhibition that promotes the essence of Italian living, style and design – all values that can be attributed to Alfa Romeo, one of the most historic and evocative of all automotive brand names.”

Alfa Romeo UK, Diary - Biggin Hill Air Fair (3-4 Sep); Southport Air Show (10-11 Sep); Royal Berkshire Show, Newbury Racecourse (17-18 Sep); Viva Italia, Earls Court (23-25 Sep); Daily Mail Ski & Snowboard Show, Olympia (12-16 Oct)