The Alfa Romeo 147 Blackline is immediately identifiable thanks to its unique 17 inch alloy wheels, chrome door mirrors and stylish Alfa Romeo grille has been provided with a new burnished aluminium finish. From the rear, the view most other motorists get of the Alfa Romeo 147, a deep drawn spoiler crowns the rear window and the more observant will note the small circles on the bumper that reveal that the 147 Blackline is fitted with rear parking sensors for low speed safety.

The Alfa Romeo 147, already acclaimed for its style and performance, is now available in New Zealand a new special edition, the 147 Blackline, that hones both the 147’s style and performance with unique additional equipment and features, but without any detriment to Alfa’s value for money reputation, because the additional features also represent a cost saving of more than NZ$1500.

The Alfa Romeo 147 Blackline which has just arrived in New Zealand is immediately identifiable thanks to its unique 17 inch alloy wheels, chrome door mirrors and stylish Alfa Romeo grille has been provided with a new burnished aluminium finish. From the rear, the view most other motorists get of the Alfa Romeo 147, a deep drawn spoiler crowns the rear window and the more observant will note the small circles on the bumper that reveal that the 147 Blackline is fitted with rear parking sensors for low speed safety. The exterior is completed by a special chrome-tipped exhaust pipe.

Inside Alfa Romeo’s sporting heritage is represented by sports seats that enable the 147 Blackline driver to exploit its potential and for the passengers to travel in comfort. The seats are coated in soft, supple handcrafted black leather with red stitching, including the classic Alfa Romeo logo. Ahead of the driver is a new set of instruments, with their lettering in red on white so that they quickly and easily impart their information and darkened interior trim further focuses cockpit on the driving experience, while the burnished aluminium used to such great affect on the door mirrors is also applied to the centre console.

The Alfa Romeo 147 Blackline is now offered in New Zealand with a choice of three different drivetrains. Opening its account is the legendary 110 kW Twin Spark engine with a manual gearbox that can boast a 0-100 km/h time of just 9.3 seconds. The same power unit is used in the 147 Blackline Selespeed, but it is mated to the sequential manual Selespeed gearbox that can trace its technology straight back to Formula One. It maintains the performance, economy and emissions of the manual, but allies it to super swift robotized gearshifts, either from the steering mounted paddles or by flicking the gearlever. Alternatively it has the added convenience of City mode, in which the car takes over all gear shifting responsibilities.

Topping the New Zealand range is the Alfa Romeo 147 Blackline JTD. Its sophisticated Multijet Turbo Diesel, the benchmark in diesel performance, also delivers 110 kW, like the petrol, but also offers the emphatic pull of 305 Nm of torque, for in-gear performance that can only described as startling and a 0-100 km/h time of 8.8 seconds that is actually quicker than the petrol version. At the same time it also offers an open road fuel consumption figure of just 4.8 l/100 km. This performance and economy is fully exploitable via a six speed manual gearbox.

The Alfa Romeo 147 Blackline Twin Spark has a recommended retail price in New Zealand of NZ$44,990, the Alfa Romeo 147 Blackline Selespeed has an RRP of NZ$47,990 and topping the range is the Alfa Romeo 147 Blackline JTD with an RRP of NZ$48,990.