Alfa Romeo is bringing
back the "Blackline Collection" name tag as it adds a
new package to its MiTo hatchback that will offer
greater standard equipment as well as some new aesthetic
details in an effort to boost its sliding sales in Italy.
The B-segment MiTo was
a big winner from the long running state-sanctioned
"scrappage" scheme but it has seen its sales slow down
since the incentives were wound down in Italy in the
spring. Last month the MiTo's sales slowed to 1,204
units in Italy which left it languishing well outside
the B-segment top ten. The new Blackline package, which
is expected to be competitively-priced, should boost the
hatchback's value and the new cosmetic detailing
enhancements help to let it stand out. The new Blackline
package will debut at the Bologna Motor Show this week.
The MiTo "Blackline
Collection" brings together together functional contents
(climate control and MP3 CD radio), innovative
technological systems (VDC with Electronic Q2 and Alfa
Romeo DNA selector) and new aesthetic details including
a glossy black roof, alloy rims, and fairings of the
rear view mirrors painted glossy black or satinised
chrome. It is in fact the only car on the market to also
offer the frames of the front headlights and rear lights
painted glossy black or satinised chrome.
A commercial starring French DJ Bob Sinclar and the
"Energy Machine" has been made to present these new
features to the public at large. "Energy Machine" is a
campaign that highlights the model's character and
spirit, that energy transforms matter into excitement.
It is the same concept also voiced in the final slogan:
"Breathing life into matter means turning it into
excitement".
In detail, the commercial is built on the similarities
that the MiTo's features, spirit and technology share
with the DJ's gestural expressiveness. In the console is
a symbol of international dance music, Bob Sinclar, who
for more than ten years has been making young people
dance with his hits at the most famous clubs around the
world. The shots pay particular attention to the DJ's
instruments, the "matter" with which he creates his
music. "The music starts here... Turntables, mixer,
vinyls...Soulless matter," explains the off-screen
voice, while the Alfa Romeo compact goes down the
streets of a city at sunset until it skirts a steep
cliff.
"Matter" which turns into technological innovation for
the Alfa MiTo, as the hand of the girl at the wheel
turning the Alfa DNA selector demonstrates. This new
system intervenes on the main driving parameters (engine
response, stability control and steering assistance) to
adapt the car's personality to the driver's needs and to
different road conditions. The music continues to rise
as the brilliant 135 HP 1.4 MultiAir Turbo petrol engine
gives excitement even behind the wheel.
Now the sunset makes room for the artificial lights of
the city, which on the one hand highlight the slender
line of the car and on the other emphasise the
attractive colour combination of the dark blue body and
the black roof, a peculiarity of the new "Blackline
Collection" version. In a continuous crescendo of music
and lights, DJ Bob Sinclar's fingers move rapidly and
surely over the mixer as the girl's hand activates the
innovative Alfa TCT automatic transmission with twin dry
clutch using the steering wheel levers.
By this time the car has left the city and is rounding
the last bends, running along a steep cliff to reach the
club where thousands of young people are dancing to the
beat of the French DJ's latest hit, "Rainbow of Love".
In the meantime the off-screen voice explains that
"there is electricity, a growing energy in that small
cutting edge... Breathing life into matter means turning
it into excitement". And that is exactly what Bob
Sinclar with his music and the Alfa Romeo MiTo with its
character and technology are able to do. It is not by
chance that the uniqueness of the MiTo with "Alfa TCT"
gearbox lies in combining four advanced technologies in
just one version: the "Alfa TCT" twin dry clutch
automatic transmission, the powerful 135 HP 1.4 MultiAir
Turbo petrol engine, the exclusive "Alfa DNA" system and
the "Start&Stop" device that temporarily turns off the
engine when the car is stopped.
