For more than 50 years the most sort-after Alfa Romeo models have been those that have worn the ‘Ti’ badge which indicates an Alfa Romeo with an even more sharply defined sporting edge and with the arrival of the Alfa Romeo 159 Ti the Italian car maker is offering a Ti variant with more features and equipment than ever before.

First seen in 1950, the Ti badge, which stands for Tourism International, has been used to denote an Alfa Romeo version that has been equipped to meet the needs and desires of driving enthusiasts to produce a car that offers more driving excitement and a more sports-orientated image, but also at a value for money price. Now the Alfa 159 Ti has arrived in Australia.

“The Alfa Romeo 159 Ti has a long heritage to live up to and that’s why we have decided to take the changes and additional equipment to a new level,” says David Stone, General Manager for Alfa Romeo in Australia. “This means that there is a wealth of new equipment and some significant changes under the skin that will enable the Alfa Romeo 159 Ti to provide an even more exciting and involving driving experience for the lucky few who will own this limited edition model.”

The most significant under the skin change is the fitment of sports suspension that lowers the 159 by 20 mm and which provides the 159 with a sharper turn-in response from the steering and less body roll, but without the harsh ride that afflicts some sports suspension systems. This more able chassis is further enhanced by the standard fitment of 19 inch alloy wheels with 235/40 x 19 low profile tyres to provide additional roadholding performance. So that 159 Ti stops as well as it goes, Brembo brakes are standard and they are painted in Alfa Romeo red to highlight their presence and performance. To further enhance the hunkered down stance of the 159 Ti provided by the sports suspension, the new model is fitted with subtle yet effective body kit, with burnished aluminium finish door mirrors completing the exterior transformation into a 159 Ti.

The inside of the 159 is transformed by the Ti package into a driver focused cockpit of black leather and dark finish materials highlighted by red stitching for the leather and red highlights for the instruments. The sports seats, which are electrically operated and heated, are upholstered in hand-crafted soft Italian leather with the legendary Alfa Romeo logo stitched in red on both the front and rear seats. The same leather and red stitching is used on the steering wheel and the six speed manual gearbox’s gear lever. The dashboard is trimmed in a unique burnished aluminium that has been darkened so as to show off the red-ringed instruments that are unique to the Alfa Romeo 159 Ti.
 

Aluminium is further used for the drilled sports pedals – an essential icon of Italian sports cars, and the unique Alfa Romeo 159 Ti door sill trim strips which, like the exterior, carry the classic Ti insignia. For technical aficionados, the 159 Ti also offers the Bluetooth mobile phone connection with finger tip controls on the steering wheel and a USB connection point in the glovebox for MP3 music players.

The Alfa Romeo 159 Ti is available in Australia with a choice of two engines and three different gearboxes. Fitted with the 2.2 litre 136 kW JTS engine and mated to a six speed manual gearbox, the 159 Ti has a top speed of 222 km/h and dispatches the run from zero to 100 km/h in 8.8 seconds, yet on the open road is capable of achieving 7.3 litres per 100 km/h. With the six speed Selespeed gearbox, the 159 Ti 2.2 JTS offers the same top speed and acceleration, yet, thanks to the fuel saving abilities of the gearbox, uses less fuel and cuts C0² emissions. It is priced at $54,990 in manual form, while the Selespeed has a recommended retail price of $57,990.For the first time in Australia the Ti package is also available with a range-topping drivetrain, providing the 159 Ti with the 3.2 litre JTS V6 that produces 191 kW and 322 Nm of torque that is delivered to the road via a six speed manual gearbox and the Q4 constant four wheel drive system. This provides the top 159 Ti with a top speed of 240 km and, thanks to the four wheel drive system and advanced electronics, a wheelspin free dash to 100 km/h in 7.0 seconds. Yet, thanks to that advanced engine, it is still capable of 8.4 litres per 100 km/h on the open road.

Topping the 159 Ti range in Australia is the model equipped with the Q-Tronic six speed automatic gearbox. This advanced gearbox not only offers Tiptronic-style gear shifting using the gear stick, but is also equipped with steering wheel mounted paddles for finger tipped gear changing. The efficiency of this gearbox is demonstrated by its identical top speed to the manual version and, at 7.2 seconds, an only fractionally show 0-100 time, while open road fuel consumption remains a very creditable 8.6 litres/100 km. The recommended retail price for the six speed manual 159 Ti 3.2 V6 is A$76,990 and the Q-Tronic variant is A$79,990.

“If the package of equipment that combines to produce the Ti was available separately, it would add approximately A$10,000 to the cost of the 159,” says David Stone. “But the price difference is just A$2000 for the V6 version and A$5,000 for 2.2 JTS equipped 159 Ti, making providing the latest limited edition Alfa Romeo to carry the Ti badge also the best-ever value for money.”