One of Alfa Romeo’s major announcements at the Geneva Motor Show was the introduction of the Alfa Romeo Customisation Programme, referred to on the stand by officials as “Alfa Unica”, highlighted the new 'Vintage' and 'Collezione' packs which recalls and superbly reinterprets some of the brand's most famous and instantly-identifiable traditions.

The Programme will provide customers with the chance to order their cars with more personalised options, colours and trims. According to a high-positioned Alfa Romeo spokesman, the Customisation Programme will be available on European markets by September, with a full programme in place for the Frankfurt IAA Motor Show across the entire model range.

The Alfa Romeo Customisation Programme consists of three collections, all of which were presented in Geneva. First though is the new “Vintage”, reinterpreting Alfa Romeo’s tradition with elegance and modernity through the use of intriguing colours, chromatic treatments and carefully trimmed interiors. The Vintage package was illustrated with a stunning Alfa Spider 2.4 JTDm, resplendent in an iridescent white three-layer paintjob, with dark brown Frau leather interior (with the same luxurious finish on the facia and door panels) and 18” cross-spoke alloy wheels.

The powerful 200 bhp 2.4 JTDm diesel engine was also making its debut in the Spider at the show. The highly economical yet performance-oriented solution of fitting a high-powered diesel in a two-seater roadster is unique to the sports car market.
 

Second in the new Alfa Romeo Customisation Programme is the fashionable and elegant “Collezione” selection. Here the car's interiors are designed to recreate a sensation of well-being and beauty, underlined by the materials chosen to give a feeling of sensory involvement. The Collezione package will also include the option of a selection of multi-layer lacquered colours. On display in Geneva is an Alfa Brera 2.2 JTS Selespeed in three-layer 8C Red, trimmed in natural Frau Pieno Fiore leather with a stitched leather dashboard and door trims, and fitted with 19-inch TI alloy wheels. Here, the Selespeed gearbox is also making its international debut in the Brera model as well a market launch set to follow for the 159.

The interior on this particular Brera “Collezione” is sure to fulfil the desires of many Alfa Romeo enthusiasts. The attention to detail in this interior, in particular on the dashboard, provides a feeling of elevated exclusiveness and quality, normally only reserved to the leagues of exotic machinery. The “Vintage” and “Collezione” collections available on the Brera and Spider, both share the same general seat shape with horizontal ribbing recalling classic Italian thoroughbreds. 

By James Granger