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WORLD SUPERBIKE CHAMPIONSHIP 2010 - ALFA MITO MULTIAIR

Motorbike fans attending this weekend’s opening round of the Superbike World Championship at Victoria’s Philip Island will have an opportunity to see the latest and most powerful version of the Alfa Romeo Mito, the 170 bhp 1.4 litre turbocharged Quadrifoglio Verde.

As part of its sponsorship of the SBK Superbike World Championship Alfa Romeo provides safety cars and for the Philip Island event Alfa Romeo has flown to Australia two of its latest models, the Alfa Romeo Mito fitted with the MultiAir engine in the range-topping 170 bhp Quadrifoglio Verde version.

And, if the fans want to see what makes this version of the MiTo so special, they only have to have a look at the bonnet because, unlike the normal production version, the cars supporting the Philip Island event have see through bonnets. This enables fans to see one of the most sophisticated engines of its type in the world. Not only does it produce 170 bhp from a compact 1.4 litres, it also combines a 7.1 second to 100 kmh time with a parsimonious fuel consumption of just 4.8 litres/100km and it can show rivals a clean set of heals with a CO2 emission level of just 139 g/km. Indeed at 124 bhp/litre, this new engine has the best power to capacity ratio ever achieved by Alfa Romeo during its 100 year history.

But the Alfa Romeo Mito Quadrifoglio Verde is much more than its unique engine. To help cope with the famously difficult corners and dips and dives of the Philip Island track, the drivers of the Alfa Romeo MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde, like all MiTo owners, only have to reach for the DNA button. Set to Dynamic mode, the shock absorbers, steering, electronics and engine are all set to their most aggressive modes, using data developed from long hours of testing on the infamous Nürburgring track. If Australian Superbike fans like what they see, they will be able to buy the first MultiAir powered Alfa Romeo Mito when it arrives in Australia in the third quarter of 2010.