24.11.2003 FIAT PANDA ABARTH AND ALFA ROMEO 156GTAM AUTODELTA TO DEBUT IN BOLOGNA

At the Bologna Motor Show next month Fiat will present the Abarth version of Panda with a choice of 1.4-litre petrol engine or the new 1.3 Multijet diesel. The former power plant, the 1.4-litre 16v FIRE, is drawn from the facelifted Punto range with power output raised by 15bhp to 110bhp, while the second choice, the new 1.3-litre 16v Multijet has its power boosted to 105bhp.

There will be four wheel drive versions of both. The Panda Abarth will go on sale in spring 2004.

Meanwhile in Bologna Alfa Romeo will unveil the 156 GTAm Autodelta with a 320bhp 3.5-litre V6 and four wheel drive. Developed by Fiat's competition department, N-Technology, it will be a production ready version of the prototype first shown last December at the Bologna Show.

Fitted with an increased capacity version of the 250bhp 3.2-litre V6 as used in the 147GTA and 156GTA, the 156GTAm draws on technology developed by N-Technology and used on the SuperTouring 156GTA racer, which, in Gabriele Tarquini's hands, recently won the European Touring Car Championship. This includes a crossover of significant weight saving techniques while the four wheel drive system is new, the first application as four wheel drive is progressively rolled out across the Alfa Romeo range.

The new model also gains the ledgendary 'Autodelta' tag as the limited production model will be constructed at the N-Technology facility. The Alfa Romeo 156 GTAm Autodelta will go on sale next spring. The Bologna Motor Show, Italy's leading road and motorsport show, opens to the press on 4th December and to the public two days later.