MELBOURNE INTERNATIONAL MOTOR SHOW 20062006 Melbourne International Motor Show

17.02.2006 This year promises to be an important one for Alfa Romeo in Australia, with the arrival of the Alfa 159, Brera and, last month, the 147 Multijet, all of which are in attendance at the Melbourne Motor Show

2006 promises to be a big year for Alfa Romeo in Australia, with the arrival of the Alfa 159, Brera and, last month, the 147 Multijet, all of which are in attendance at the Melbourne Motor Show. With the Alfa 159 taking pride of place at the front of the stand, and the Brera and new Alfa 147 Multijet flanking it on either side, Alfa Australia are quite clear about their priorities for the first half of 2006. Furthermore, in addition to this trio, Alfa have brought a variety of cars, encompassing their entire present line-up, presented on a large, well-laid-out display.

Although a pre-production 'showcar' previewed the Brera to Australian audiences at the Sydney show last year, Melbourne is the first opportunity for Australians to see the car in full production specification. Decked out in stunning Misano Blue, with 18” ‘horseshoe’ alloys, the 3.2 V6 example on display features the ‘Sky Window’ glass roof and a blue/orange two-tone interior. As with the Alfa 159, the Brera is due to arrive in showrooms mid-year, with prices kicking off at around AUS$75-80,000 for the 2.2 JTS.

The Alfa 147 Multijet, on the other hand, is already well and truly on sale, with the first batch being delivered to customers in December last year. Alfa Romeo Australia are very enthusiastic about the arrival of this particular model, given the booming popularity of diesels in general – a combination of higher petrol prices and the ever-increasing refinement and performance of the latest generation of common-rail units.
 

ALFA 147 JTD

Alfa Romeo Australian are very enthusiastic about the arrival of the Alfa 147 JTD, given the booming popularity of diesels in general – a combination of higher petrol prices and the ever-increasing refinement and performance of the latest generation of common-rail units.

ALFA BRERA Q4

Although a pre-production 'showcar' previewed the Alfa Brera to Australian audiences at the Sydney show last year, Melbourne is the first opportunity for Australians to see the car in full production specification. Decked out in stunning Misano Blue, with 18” ‘horseshoe’ alloys, the 3.2 V6 example on display features the ‘Sky Window’ glass roof and a blue/orange two-tone interior.


Painted in metallic ‘Grigio Stromboli’ and sporting 16-spoke 17” alloys, the 150bhp Alfa 147 M-Jet 16V featured on the stand is important in terms of attracting new customers to the brand. Alfa Romeo Australia has made a big show about promoting the Fiat Group’s Multijet technology in particular, and it sees the Alfa 147 Multijet as an important part of expanding the marque’s appeal to customers who may previously not have considered an Alfa Romeo. With the rapidly-rising popularity of oil-burners across a wide range of manufacturers, the importance of having a competitive diesel-powered contender cannot be underestimated. With the arrival of the 159 Multijet only months away as well, Alfa’s hand is poised only to strengthen in this segment of the market.

Finally, covering the rest of the line-up, the rest of the stand is occupied by a Alfa 166 3.0 V6 Comfortronic, a 156 2.0 JTS and a Sportwagon JTS fitted with Selespeed transmission, as well as an Alfa GT 3.2 and an Alfa 147 Ti.

by Shant Fabricatorian in Melbourne
 

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Fresh from its rollout across Europe, the Alfa Romeo 159 has made its Australian debut in Melbourne, in anticipation of a mid-year market launch

Photos: Shant Fabricatorian / © 2006 Interfuture Media/Italiaspeed