Alfa Romeo presented their brand-new Alfa 159 sports luxury sedan to the motoring press, at a ‘ride and drive’ event this week at Schloss Nymphenburg in Munich, Germany.

Construction of Nymphenburg Palace started in 1664 as a summer residence for the Bavarian Electors and Kings. The original Palace’s simple architecture was designed by Italian architect Agostino Barelli following the brief to develop an Italian ‘villa suburbana’. Alfa Romeo chose this Italian gem in Bavaria as a fitting backdrop to present the well-heeled lines and sharp handling of their new Alfa 159.

Alfa Romeo’s statement to one particular German auto manufacturer was clear: the summer has arrived, and the new king is in town.

Journalists feedback

An impressive array of Alfa 159’s gave international motoring press a chance to drive the new cars on the road officially for the first time. Journalists waxed lyrical about the Italdesign-Giugiaro and Alfa Romeo Centro Stile designed Alfa 156 successor, stating that it is, “without doubt the best Alfa of all time.” The Alfa 159 is a serious prestige car with 900 million euros worth of investment and 300 project developers being implemented during its 50 months of development time. This is impressive compared to BMW’s average 3 years of development time for their latest models.

The media instantly noted the Alfa 159’s refinement, being obviously more practical and quieter than the Alfa 156. The latter is due to thick 5mm window glass instead of the 3mm glass offered on the 156. The body has class-leading rigidity, measuring over 180.000 daNm/rad. The car is substantially larger than the Alfa 156 and the BMW 3 Series. It is also a ‘planted’ car, being wider than the BMW 5 Series (1,578 mm against 1,558 mm).

Journalists liked the new range of petrol engines, not only for their sublime performance, but also for the direct steering. The steering, measuring 2.2 turns lock-to-lock, is even more direct and pleasant to that of the Alfa 156. The Alfa 159’s generous tyres, Xenon headlights and powerful brakes guarantee the highest levels of active and preventive safety.

A 'golden future' was predicted by most journalists, especially so as the Alfa 159 will be sold with a three year warranty and a free service deal for the first 120.000 km, with filters and oil included.
 

Together with a predictably higher residual value, the Alfa 159 is an exceptionally interesting prospective for the lease market.

Showroom launch plans

The car will go on sale in Italy on 23rd September, with other European countries following shortly afterwards. Events and selected dealerships will preview the Alfa 159 across Europe during the summer period. The Alfa 159 will have a number of engines available from the start of its dealer launch, all of which ensure optimal performance in terms of power and torque. There will be three aluminium-block petrol engines using the latest JTS direct injection and Twin Phaser technology. These engines are the 1.9 JTS, the 2.2 JTS and the 3.2 JTS. The 3.2 JTS will only be available with integral four-wheel-drive, with a 57%/43% front/rear drive split through a central Torsen-C differential.

Alongside the petrol engines, there will also be three diesel engines available with Multi-Jet Common Rail technology, variable turbo geometry and Diesel Particulate Filters (DPF). These diesel engines come in the form of the proven 1.9 8V / 16V and 2.4 20V units. The 2.4 Multi-Jet 20V will be available with both two- and four-wheel drive. All of these engines meet EURO 4 standards, but even more impressive are the diesel engines which go far beyond these standards due to their DPF technology. Each of the above Alfa 159’s come standard with 6-speed manual gearboxes, and from the outset only these will be offered. The interesting option of 6-speed automatic gearboxes will be offered from June 2006 (March 2006 for the 2.4 JTDM). This automatic option will be available on all cars except the 1.9 JTD 8V. An entry-level 1.8 MPI version with 5-speed manual gearbox only will be offered from March 2006.

Prices of the Alfa 159 have not yet officially been released, although these will be at around 7% higher than the Alfa 156 predecessor. Despite this, the price will stay below that of the BMW 3 Series, Mercedes C-Class and Audi A4. The price increase comprises a larger and safer vehicle, with more comfort and an impressive list of standard features.

Alfa 159 Sportwagon

September will see the launch of the Alfa 159 Sportwagon at the Frankfurt IAA, and Alfa Romeo assures the press that this car will be in Alfa Romeo dealerships before the end of 2005.

Website and further information

Alfa Romeo will shortly launch www.alfa159.com presenting the new Alfa 159 in detail. This will include informative films about the car’s technology and impressive safety features. For further information on the Alfa 159, check out our 'New Models' section where all aspects of the new car, including technical specifications as well as standard equipment and available options are listed in full detail.