The black Enzo, one of the two that were shown at the model's official world premiere in Paris at the end of September, sits on its own dedicated stand, and with Ferrari choosing to skip the show, it is the only representative of the marque here.

The Ferrari Enzo, which commences deliveries in January, is expected in the UK later next year, around 20 examples already having been pre-sold to British buyers.

Somewhat suprisingly only one Stilo MP is being shown in Birmingham, and this sole metallic grey model is mounted on a large revolving stand, rendering it unavailable for detailed public examination.

Also arriving in the UK next spring will be the new Ulysse MPV, which received its world premier at the Geneva Motor Show earlier this year. Two Ulysses are on show, one mounted on a large revolving stand and a second static model being opened for close up viewing.

The 147 GTA goes on sale in Italy in December, but visitors to the Birmingham show will have to wait until next July before a limited batch of around 300-400 of this performance model start to arrive in the UK.

The side swages, reminicent of the current GTV/Spider may well be faded out on the production version. The Coupe, often referred to as the "Sprint" is based on the Alfa 156 floorpan and mechanicals, while the interior and front styling will be drawn from the 147. Initially it will be offered with the new 2.0 JTS petrol powerplant, while a hot range-topping GTA model is also expected.

The Fiat Stilo beat off competition from the Ford Focus, GM Meriva, Toyota Corolla and VW Polo to win the prize. The Italian model went head to head with its rivals in terms of: technological innovation, mechanical parts such as the engine and transmission, fuel consumption, dynamic behaviour, safety, style, comfort and cost. 

The Fiat Stilo's success with the motoring press has also been borne out by market acclaim. Suffice it to say that the first month's sales target of 2000 was achieved in 15 days and more than 7000 test drives were carried out during the same period. 

The British International Motor Show, held at the NEC Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England, runs daily until 4th November. Although not of quite the same prestige as the Geneva, Frankfurt or Paris Motor Shows, this year's event is significant with several important new models making their world premiers, while the Ferrari Enzo is expected to be one of the show stoppers.

The Italians are represented by Fiat and Alfa Romeo. Ferrari and Maserati have skipped the event, although a black Ferrari Enzo has been loaned to the organisers to display, while Lancia, no longer selling in the UK also are not present.

The flowing lines of the scale model first unveiled by Maserati at the "Artedinamica" exbibition in Tokyo earlier this year are clearly visible on this prototype. The swoops of the front and rear doors are easily traceable, but the front end is boxed off and gives few clues.

The brand-new 1.9 JTD offers various benefits. Firstly, lower noise levels as the engine warms up. The reduction ranges from 3 to 6 decibels according to rpm and environmental temperature. Then, greater power ( 103 kW at 4000 rpm ) and incresed torque ( 31 kgm at 2000 rpm ). Enhanced performance but low fuel consumption. As well as the new power unit reducing emissions without sophisticated exhaust gas treatment devices. 

Alfa claim a maximum speed of 246 km/h, a 0-60 km/h time of 6.3 seconds and 26.1 seconds to cover the standing kilometre, catapulting the 147 GTA to the top of the hot hatch market. The 250 bhp producing GTA comes with a sophisticated VDC ( Vehicle Dynamic Control ) system fitted as standard, along with an advanced ABS function, as well as EBD, MSR TCS and ASR.