23.11.2004 Alfa Romeo will present a youthful stand in Bologna, decorated in shades of red and metallic grey, the colours that have always been used to convey their sportiness and sophisticated technology

Alfa Romeo will present a strikingly youthful stand in Bologna, decorated in shades of red and metallic grey, the colours that have always been used to convey the sportiness and sophisticated technology of Alfa Romeo cars.

The message embodied in the slogan 'Beauty is not enough', is the underlying concept of Alfa Romeo's new advertising campaign, and expresses the importance of 'content over form'. Customers love Alfa Romeo cars for their renowned Italian styling and good looks, but also come to appreciate their handling and engineering when they try them for themselves.

They also recognise the driving satisfaction that typifies an Alfa car over any type of road under any situation and in any weather. And all the cars on show at the 29th Bologna Motor Show are ambassadors of this philosophy.

The place of honour is naturally reserved for the latest arrival: the New Alfa 147. With its well-proportioned yet muscular lines, the look of the new car has changed inside and out: heir to a winning model, today it is bigger, more powerful and with more personality.

It introduces a number of new products in the field of mechanicals and equipment, including the spirited 150 bhp 1.9 JTD 16v M-Jet engine, a brand new robotised gearbox, a new Comfort suspension and the most sophisticated safety devices: including VDC, ASR, ABS with EBD and curtain-bags. Good looking, sporty and stylish: the New Alfa 147 stimulates your driving instincts and thrills you to the core. Four cars are on show in Bologna: three are equipped with the powerful 150 bhp 1.9 JTD 16v M-Jet, one with the sparkling 115 bhp 1.9 JTD. Two Alfa 147s displayed in Bologna sport the Exclusive outfit which features leather upholstery, a Bose Hi-Fi, new 17" alloy wheels and parking sensors in addition to the equipment on the Distinctive version.

So far we have focused on the New 147, but Alfa Romeo also offers more new treats at the Bologna Motor Show all characterised by the sporting heart and great temperament typical of all Alfa prototypes and production models. An example? The Alfa Crosswagon Q4, a new model that marks Alfa Romeo's return to the world of four wheel drive vehicles. The Alfa Crosswagon transmission features 4 permanently engaged drive wheels, three differentials and torque distribution preferentially to the rear. The Torsen C differential continuously modulates torque distribution between front and rear axles according to grip.

This feature makes for a sporty drive that in turn increases active safety. Both Crosswagon versions on show are equipped with the vivacious 150 bhp (110 kW) 1.9 JTD 16v M-Jet and offer a very distinctive interpretation of an all road vehicle as far as style and design are concerned.

One of the two versions on display at the Bologna Motor Show stands out for its Racing features, because it is this car that will accompany the Italian Alpine skiing team in the World Cup, the World Skiing Championships and the Winter Olympics. The brand, which is already represented on the uniforms of both the men's and women's Alpine skiing teams, has, as part of a more ambitious project, created the Alfa Romeo Ski Racing Team, consisting of 8 athletes and 3 trainers. The team will also endorse a number of press and outdoor advertising campaigns for the Crosswagon Q4, with the claim 'Alfa Romeo Ski Racing Team makes its Olympic challenge with four wheel drive.'

The same 'competitive spirit' is evoked in the Racing area of the stand which is outfitted with plasma screens that project spectacular film clips. Even without its direct involvement in motor racing, the most obvious form of motor sport - such as the European Touring Championships and the Alfa European Challenge - Alfa Romeo has always shown huge interest in sports as a whole, sponsoring a number of different disciplines. One example is the maxi yacht, the Alfa Romeo, which is sailing through the most arduous tests with excellent results. In the same area visitors can try their hand at the driving simulator of the De Adamich Safe Driving Centre, competing in interactive races with the Alfa 156 ETTC.

To gain admission to the trial (organised in conjunction with the Andrea De Adamich International Safe Driving Centre), all you have to do is pass a preliminary heat based on a set of computer exercises designed to test the speed of your reflexes. The game is easy to play. You can choose whether to compete against an adversary or against the computer. Each car is connected to a computerised simulator. Once on board, you must follow the race route on a screen (this year the chosen track is Imola). Every so often you will be called upon to tackle emergency situations designed to test your alertness, reflexes and skill.

From the motor racing world to our every roads. The Bologna show also spotlights the New Alfa 156 and Sportwagon, good looking cars packed with innovative ideas and engineering features. As reworked by the prestigious hand of Giorgetto Giugiaro himself, the two models represent an ideal marriage between sportiness and elegance, performance and formal balance. All the hallmarks of the brand, in other words.

Two versions are on show: a 156 2.0 JTS Selespeed and a Sportwagon 2.4 JTD 20v M-Jet in the TI (Turismo Internazionale) sports version. During the Seventies, Alfa Romeo assigned this code only to its best equipped cars. Nowadays those two simple yet glorious letters reappear on a special range that may be requested on Alfa Romeo models.

These cars, which are the epitome of styling and technology as seen by Alfa Romeo, would not be complete without the Alfa GT. Created jointly with Bertone, this model embodies original styling and exciting performance, and represents an all-new concept of sportiness, in which comfort and elegance converge.

Visitors to the stand can also admire an Alfa 166 the Alfa Romeo flagship that expresses harmony of form and content while combining the sophistication of a great saloon with the sporting traits of a coupé. The Alfa 166 complements these successful features on the inside and outside with aesthetic motifs of great visual impact and colour schemes of great appeal and sophistication.

Another focal point of the stand is the 8c Competizione, the fascinating concept car that has been such a success at recent international motor shows. This car, designed and produced by the Alfa Romeo Style Centre, stands as an icon of the brand, its very name evocative of Alfa's great motorsports tradition.

This is borne out by the code '8c' used to identify cars (racing and on-road) of the Thirties and Forties equipped with the revolutionary eight-cylinder engine produced by the famous designer Vittorio Jano. The second term 'Competizione' is intended as a homage to the 6C 2500 Competizione, a sports coupé driven in 1950 by the team of Fangio - Zanardi in the famous Mille Miglia race.

Alfa Romeo can boast plenty more memorable pages of motoring history, and one of these is the Giulietta. Fifty years have passed since it was launched and the Bologna Motor Show is the last in a long programme of events, rallies and celebrations organised to mark this anniversary. Visitors can admire a Giulietta on the stand, and relive an important part of Alfa Romeo's technological and professional heritage in an exhibition of spectacular photographs.

The true heart and the true strength of every Alfa Romeo model is its engine. The Alfa cars' attractive, personality-packed looks conceal a diverse range of outstanding high-tech power units that offer generous performance.

To allow visitors to examine them in detail, Alfa has prepared two glass showcases for Bologna housing two engines. Firstly, the brand new 150 bhp 1.9 JTD 16v M-Jet, to represent the latest generation of Common Rail power units, multivalve JTD engines featuring Multijet technology. On display next to this turbodiesel is the 24 valve 3.2 V6, a gem of automotive engineering that develops a power output of 184 kW (250 bhp) at 6200 rpm with a maximum torque of 300 Nm (30.6 kgm) at 4800 rpm.