Alfa Romeo will return to the Geneva International Motor Show with an exciting stand where standard models alternate with special versions to underline, yet again, the brand’s unique position in the world automotive market.

Simple geometrical shapes define the display area where closed volumes on one side contrast with the aluminium and glass sun-screen at the front, representing elements that define the concept of the Alfa Romeo ‘villa’ by the canons of Italian rationalist architecture. Translated into shapes, colours and materials, the severely essential architectural design provides an ideal setting for the sinuous, aggressive styling of the cars, making them the absolute centre of attention: the whole stand is dominated by red and black, which have always expressed the duality of Alfa Romeo, a blend of passion and technology.

At the Geneva Motor Show, world premieres and today’s product range coexist perfectly, and represent the connotation of ‘sportiness and elegance’ as Alfa Romeo sees it, fruit of the most sophisticated technology and a heritage of cars and designers, races and engines that have written whole chapters in the history of technological progress and racing in the 20th century.

World premiere of the Alfa Brera 2.2 JTS Selespeed and 200 bhp Alfa Spider 2.4 JTDM

The spotlights of the Swiss Show are also on two cars from the new Alfa Romeo generation: the Alfa Brera, an appealing car that transforms the traditional spirit of the coupé into the more exciting spirit of ‘absolute sportiness’; and the brand new Alfa Spider, which recalls Alfa Romeo’s glorious tradition in this field: from the Giulietta Spider of the 1950s to the Duetto and the Spider launched in the 1990s.

The public in Geneva can admire two cars making their world premiere: one is the 200 bhp Alfa Spider 2.4 JTDM, the first open sports car equipped with a Diesel engine and a sporty 6-speed gearbox which guarantees excellent power and torque deliveries but low consumption. The second car making its world debut is the Alfa Brera with the new Selespeed robotised gearbox, the technological evolution of the Selespeed unit already equipping other Alfa Romeo models, which adopts an extremely user-friendly robotised electrohydraulic system for manual sequential and automatic gear changes. The new transmission is available on both the Alfa Brera and the Alfa Spider combined with the 185 bhp 2.2 JTS engine.

On the stand there is also an Alfa Spider with the powerful 3.2 V6 JTS 24 valve engine and the new 6-speed automatic transmission, a jewel of automotive engineering that delivers an amazing 191 kW (260 bhp) at 6,300 rpm, and peak torque of 322 Nm (32.8 kgm) at 4,500 rpm. Both Alfa Spiders present the top-of-the-range outfit, which includes 7 airbags, VDC, ASR, dual-zone automatic climate control, wind-stops, natural leather upholstery and 18” alloys.

The Alfa Romeo Customisation Programme

At the Geneva Motor Show, Alfa Romeo presents the new Customisation Programme that allows customers to make their cars even more refined and exclusive. It is a completely new programme from the brand that suggests even more ways to customise cars throughout the range.

Today the Alfa Romeo Customisation programme extends this range of possibilities into three different areas: the first, known as ‘Vintage’, offers exclusive colours for the bodywork and chromatic treatments for the interior that recall the brand’s great history on the roads and racing circuits of the world. The second is known as ‘Collezione’, and explores the world of fashion and elegance, both on the exteriors with multi-layer lacquered paint and alloys with a sparkling finish, and in the interiors where the materials have all been chosen to create a sensation of well-being and beauty. The third area of the Alfa Romeo Customisation programme is ‘TI’ (Turismo Internazionale), which was clearly designed for customers who are particularly demanding where performance, dynamic behaviour and sporty personality are concerned. The programme will be on the market in the coming months, gradually offering new features and extending to the entire range.

Visitors to Geneva will be able to admire a few special versions outfitted with the Alfa Romeo Customisation Programme. First of all an Alfa 147 Collezione with a Shell white body, and an Alfa GT Q2 ‘dressed’ with beautiful three-layer 8C Red paintwork, the same colour that reappears on an Alfa 159 TI and an Alfa 159 Sportwagon TI. The display concludes with an Alfa Brera 2.2 Selespeed and an Alfa Spider 2.4 JTDM. The former sports 19” alloys with a special chromatic treatment, 8C Red three-layer paintwork and upholstery in Frau hide-coloured ‘pieno fiore’ leather, including the facia and door panels. And the Spider has three-layer White paintwork, 18” spoked alloys treated in a special way, a roll-bar and chromed head-restraint trims, Frau hide-coloured ‘pieno fiore’ leather upholstery (with the same luxurious finish on the facia and panels), and interior trims with exclusive colour combinations and hand-brushed aluminium inserts on the facia, panels and steering wheel.

Alfa 8C Competizione

The undisputed star of the ‘super cars’, the Alfa 8C Competizione is displayed in Geneva with brand-new Black bodywork. This exclusive tourer, produced in a limited series, epitomises the values that have always been a hallmark of Alfa: technology and emotion. The key to Alfa’s revived fortunes, at the Geneva Show, the Alfa 8C Competizione displays the latest refinements to the project that will soon launch the car on markets all over the world, in the hands of 500 carefully selected owners. The reservation and ordering process for this limited series has now concluded, and all the cars have been assigned.

The novelties for the Alfa 159 and Alfa 159 Sportwagon

The 159 saloon and Sportwagon return to Geneva, with a number of novelties in terms of outfits, equipment and engines. To start with, the new TI (Turismo Internazionale) sports versions make their debut. This was the name that Alfa Romeo used in the Seventies to distinguish cars with particularly lavish outfits.
 

Today these two simple but glorious letters reappear on the Alfa 159, and offer equipment that includes a low set-up, exclusive 19” alloys, sideskirts, and sporty instrumentation and interiors. Both cars have three-layer 8C Red paintwork and black leather interiors; the first is a saloon equipped with the 260 bhp 3.2 V6 Q4 engine, while the Sportwagon is powered by the 200 bhp 2.4 JTDM.

The Geneva ‘catwalk’ will also host a 210 bhp Alfa 159 Sportwagon 2.4 JTDM with the Q4 system and a 260 bhp Alfa 159 3.2 V6 Q4 with the 6-speed ‘Q-Tronic’ gearbox, on which the sophisticated Blue&MeTM Nav system makes its debut, with new telematic services that are accessed by dedicated key: from emergency calls to requests for information of personal interest, but also the offer of insurance policies at advantageous conditions. The four cars on display obviously present the lavish equipment of the different specifications: from luxurious Poltrona Frau® ‘pieno fiore’ leather upholstery to a tri-zone climate system, electric seats and Cruise Control, 7 airbags, the VDC system with a Hill holder, parking sensors, a radio navigator with maps and a voice control telephone.

The Alfa GT ‘Black Line’ and Distinctive with the Q2 system

Two Alfa GTs will also be on the stand at the Geneva Motor Show: one equipped with the Q2 system, and the other in the special ‘Black Line’ version that really brings out the model’s unique personality. Created in collaboration with Bertone, the Alfa GT features original styling, lavish accoutrements and exciting performance, embodying a new conception of sportiness which also embraces comfort and elegance.

The Alfa GT ‘Black Line’ has ‘Carbon Black’ bodywork and an interior upholstered with two-tone (black and red) leather, and it is equipped with the powerful 165 bhp 2.0 JTS engine and the Selespeed gearbox. The second Alfa GT has ‘Red Alfa’ bodywork and is fitted with the Q2 system and powered by the 1.9 JTDM engine that delivers 150 bhp (110 kW) and peak torque of 305 Nm (31 Kgm), taking the car to a top speed of 209 km/h and accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 9.2 seconds.

Both cars target a sporty clientele, and they are both distinguished by a number of exclusive elements and features in addition to the standard outfit: 18” alloy wheels (perforated design for the Black Line and spokes for the Q2), front headlights with a black frame, satin-effect painted front grille and chrome-plated wing mirror housings. And inside, black and red leather seats for the Black Line, and black leather with red stitching and a red logo for the Q2. The carpets, mats and gearbox and parking brake gaiters are also black with red stitching. And finally, the two original Alfa GTs on show are very comprehensively equipped, with Xenon headlights, a CD Changer, an audio CD and MP3 file player, and a map radio navigator with a built-in voice control telephone complete with a subscription to info-telematic services.

The Collezione and Q2 versions of the Alfa 147

The Alfa Romeo 147 also fits into this context of styling and technology, and two versions are on show in Geneva. The Q2 version, presented with 8C Red bodywork, has a Torsen® self-locking front differential (known as the Q2) which offers all the strong points of a front-wheel-drive, increasing the entertainment and sense of control, while guaranteeing certain advantages that are typical of a four-wheel drive. The system is combined exclusively with the 150 bhp JTDM engine, a choice that takes into consideration the current technological scenario where turbodiesels are concerned, and the fact that since 1997, the year that the Alfa 156 JTD made its debut (the first car in the world to feature Common Rail technology), the amount of torque transmitted to the wheels has increased significantly even on compact cars.

To guarantee maximum control and traction in all driving conditions, Alfa Romeo has now developed the sophisticated Q2 system. Externally, the Alfa 147 Q2 stands out for satin-effect whiskers, grille and mirror housings, a rear spoiler, chrome-plated exhaust terminal, low set-up, special 17” wheels and the Q2 logo. The interior is sporty, with red-scale instrumentation and white lighting, seats in sporty black fabric with red stitching, a leather steering wheel with red stitching (like the gear lever and hand brake gaiters), anthracite grey steering wheel trims and central console, and Q2 heel-high strips. Equipment on the Alfa 147 Q2 includes radio controls on the steering wheel, Cruise Control, a trip computer, dual-zone automatic climate control, VDC and 6 airbags. The car on show also has sporty leather seats with red stitching, a Bose® audio system with subwoofer, a satellite navigator, headlight washers and xenon headlights.

The second Alfa 147 is a 5-door ‘Collezione’ version, with Shell white bodywork combined with an elegant two-tone (black/cream) leather interior and two-tone facia in the same colours. The compact Alfa is powered by a 2-litre petrol engine, and standard equipment includes the most sophisticated safety devices, from VDC to ASR, ABS with EBD and six airbags. The outfit is completed by dual-zone automatic climate control, radio controls on the steering wheel, new 17” spoked alloys, a radio-CD player, Cruise Control, a leather steering wheel and knobs, and electric rear windows. The car on display is also equipped with a map navigator with a built-in hands-free telephone, radio and telephone controls on the steering wheel, an electric sunroof, rear parking sensors, CD changer, Bose® Hi-Fi system with subwoofer, particulate filter and Xenon headlights with washers.