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The concept of the Alfa Romeo stand at the
Paris Motor Show arises out of the perfect
marriage between design and technology and
the model line-up will be dominated by the
new MiTo with no less than five examples
being on display. |
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Essential
style capable of conveying strong emotions, engineering
that is always at the cutting edge – plus superlative
road holding and driving satisfaction: these are the
qualities that have always set Alfa Romeo apart in the
world motoring scenario. The same values lie behind the
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, a veritable piece of poetry
in motion that is remarkable for the sculpted and finely
modelled surfaces that provide ideal attire for the
engineering and mechanical excellence of this
extraordinary car. The Alfa 8C Competizione is also the
technical and stylistic template that will be used to
create all the Alfa Romeo cars of the future, beginning
with the Alfa Romeo MiTo, ‘the sportiest mini’ that
packs sensual style, agility and technical excellence
made for driving satisfaction into a length of just 4
metres.
The concept of the Alfa Romeo stand at the 2008 Paris
International Show arises out of this perfect marriage
between design and technology. The exhibition area is
dominated by a huge sculpted structure that reflects the
taut lines and smooth, sparse lineaments of the Alfa 8C
Competizione. This work of architecture is enhanced by
an enormous Led Wall projecting evocative images of the
brand, all set off to perfection by an imposing wall in
Racing Red that provides an ideal backdrop to the lithe,
unique design of the cars, making them the
unquestionable stars of the show. All the cars on show
are also in Racing Red, except for the Alfa 8C Spider,
which appears in the attractive Mother of Pearl White
shade. Another exhibit on the stand is a 33 Daytona
(1968), a gorgeous car that renders homage to the
brand’s glorious sporting tradition while also
emphasising the values of engineering and emotion shared
by all Alfa Romeo cars of the past, present and future.
The scene-stealing exhibition area also perfectly
expresses Alfa Romeo's main mission: industrial design
of vehicles with state-of-the-art mechanics and
engineering, featuring contemporary lines and shapes,
that embody the concept of design in motion and
emphasise the qualities of comfort, sportiness, elegance
and power intrinsic to the Brand.
All the spotlights will naturally be turned on the
latest addition to the family: the Alfa Romeo MiTo. With
this car, Alfa Romeo wishes to offer a new generation of
Alfa aficionados ‘the sportiest mini’. Their new baby is
an up-to-date, innovative car that evokes, by its name
alone, the glorious past of a brand that has written
some of the most important pages of motoring history.
The name MiTo has great evocative resonance and was
chosen to mark the deep-seated link between the past and
future of the brand: between Milan, the city of design
that brought to the car’s style into being, and Turin,
which will be responsible for its industrial production.
A decision that highlights the brand’s strong desire to
consolidate its Milanese roots. The site deliberately
chosen for the car’s presentation this June was the
fairytale Castello Sforzesco in Milan where it is said
that nearly 100 years ago a young designer found the
inspiration for the Alfa Romeo logo when he saw a
serpent carved onto the Filarete tower. Five Alfa Romeo
MiTo cars are present at the Paris show, all in the
Selective specification: three come with a Sport Pack
and are powered by the spirited 155 bhp 1.4 Turbopetrol
engine while the other two are equipped with a 120 bhp
1.6 JTDM unit. All are equipped with the Confort Pack.
A second focus of the stand is an area dedicated to the
exclusive Limited Edition Alfa Romeo supercars: Alfa 8C
Competizione (introduced at the Paris Motor Show in
2006) and the Alfa 8C Spider, two sports cars that have
had collectors and fans swooning with desire throughout
the world and falling over themselves to place thousands
of orders for both cars in just a few days. Five hundred
of the cars have been produced by the Alfa Romeo Style
Centre and are remarkable for their moulded surfaces
that provide ideal attire for Alfa Romeo’s engineering
and mechanical excellence: a slender line that expresses
all the beauty of a veritable piece of poetry in motion
that harks back to the brand's glorious past while also
carrying forward its attributes of engineering and
emotion into the future.
The Alfa 8C Competizione and Alfa 8C Spider are equipped
with a mighty 4.7 litre 8 cylinder engine that develops
450 bhp, teamed with a 6-speed robotised gearbox, and
immediately turn heads due to their unmistakeable
Italian elegance, an absolutely unique and unrepeatable
style that promises the satisfaction of a sporty drive
with full respect for Brand traditions.
The French motor show will also see the debut of the
sporty TI version of the Alfa Brera that is due to go on
sale in autumn 2008. TI stands for Turismo
Internazionale, a name that Alfa Romeo gave only to the
best equipped cars with the most sophisticated
engineering.
The Paris show also welcomes the return of the Alfa 159
– saloon and Sportwagon – with a new 2008 range that
offers some new additions in terms of style,
specifications and equipment. The spirit of the two cars
naturally remains unchanged: the Alfa 159 MY 08 is a
prestige saloon that combines sophisticated Italian
styling with the elegant sportiness typical of Alfa
Romeo. Meanwhile, the Alfa 159 Sportwagon MY 08 revisits
and reinterprets the concepts of Italian style,
performance and handling typical of a true sports car,
adding flexibility of use and the versatile use of space
typical of prestige station wagons. Two cars are on show
in Paris: the 159 MY 08 in a TI specification with the
powerful 260 bhp 3.2 V6 engine and front wheel drive
with a 6-speed manual gearbox and an Alfa 159 Sportwagon
MY 08 in the Selective specification and equipped with a
200 bhp 2.4 JTDM 20v and Q-Tronic gearbox. It should be
remembered that the Alfa 159 MY 08 models (saloon and
Sportwagon) – and also the new Brera and Spider range –
were the first to introduce the Electronic Q2 system
that offers all the attributes of a front wheel drive
and a 4x4 drive with significantly increased road
holding, traction and stability during over-run. At the
same time, it lessens understeer during acceleration and
steering wheel interference.
Visitors to the show can also pick up information
material to find out about products on offer from Fiat
Group Automobiles Financial Services, a captive finance
company created as a joint venture partnership between
Fiat Group Automobiles and Crédit Agricole. The company
backs Fiat Group Automobiles, in Italy and Europe, with
a single mission: to support the sales of Fiat, Alfa
Romeo, Lancia, Fiat Professional and Abarth branded cars
by offering innovative financial products incorporating
high added value services that are aimed at the dealer
network and also private and fleet customers.
PARIS DEBUT FOR BRERA IN TI
SPECIFICATION
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