italiaspeed.com

Alfa Romeo's sales in Australia during April rose by 51.5 percent according to official VFACTS figures released today driven by the success of a limited edition version of the Alfa Romeo 159, the Italian car maker’s best selling model in Australia.

“We have always known that the Alfa 159 Ti was going to be a success, but until last month we had a limited supply,” explains Edward Butler, General Manager for Alfa Romeo in Australia. “In April we received a fresh supply of the Ti versions across all variants and this is reflected in our figures for April, which is in sharp contrast to the market as a whole. The strong sales of the 159 Ti have been bolstered by the Alfa 147 which saw its sales rise by 25 per cent in April, and the Brera and GT, both of which enjoyed a good month in April.”

“The strength of the sales for the 159 Ti are driven by the value that it represents, with its additional equipment and features, added to the traditional Alfa attractions of style, passion and performance,” says Mr Butler. “This has enabled customers to make a decision to buy an Alfa Romeo 159 that is supported by both the heart and which can also be rationalised as a value driven choice.”

First seen in 1950, the Ti badge, which stands for Tourism International, has been used to denote an Alfa Romeo version that has been equipped to meet the needs and desires of driving enthusiasts to produce a car that offers more driving excitement and a more sports-orientated image, but also at a value for money price. The most significant under the skin change is the fitment of sports suspension that lowers the 159 by 20 mm and which provides the 159 with a sharper turn-in response from the steering and less body roll, but without the harsh ride that afflicts some sports suspension systems. This more able chassis is further enhanced by the standard fitment of 19 inch alloy wheels with 235/40 x 19 low profile tyres to provide additional road holding performance. So that 159 Ti stops as well as it goes, Brembo brakes are standard and they are painted in Alfa Romeo red to highlight their presence and performance. To further enhance the hunkered down stance of the 159 Ti provided by the sports suspension, the Ti is fitted with subtle yet effective body kit, with burnished aluminium finish door mirrors completing the exterior transformation into a 159 Ti.

The inside of the 159 is transformed by the Ti package into a driver focused cockpit of black leather and dark finish materials highlighted by red stitching for the leather and red highlights for the instruments. The sports seats, which are electrically operated and heated, are upholstered in hand-crafted soft Italian leather with the legendary Alfa Romeo logo stitched in red on both the front and rear seats. The same leather and red stitching is used on the steering wheel and the six speed manual gearbox’s gear lever.

The dashboard is trimmed in a unique burnished aluminium that has been darkened so as to show off the red-ringed instruments that are unique to the Alfa Romeo 159 Ti. Aluminium is further used for the drilled sports pedals – an essential icon of Italian sports cars – and the unique Alfa Romeo 159 Ti door sill trim strips which, like the exterior, carry the classic Ti insignia. For technical aficionados, the 159 Ti also offers the Bluetooth mobile phone connection with finger tip controls on the steering wheel and a USB connection point in the glovebox for MP3 music players.

The Alfa Romeo 159 Ti is available with a choice of two engines and three different gearboxes. Fitted with the 2.2 litre 136 kW JTS engine and mated to a six speed manual gearbox, the 159 Ti has a top speed of 222 km/h and dispatches the run from zero to 100 km/h in 8.8 seconds, yet on the open road is capable of achieving 7.3 litres per 100 kmh. With the six speed Selespeed gearbox, the 159 Ti 2.2 JTS offers the same top speed and acceleration, yet, thanks to the fuel saving abilities of the gearbox, uses less fuel and cuts C0² emissions.

The Ti package is also available with the most powerful Turbo Diesel available in an Alfa Romeo, the 2.4 litre 147 kW JTD power unit. On one hand this unique engine thrusts the 159 Ti to 100 km/h in 8.4 seconds for both the manual and automatic variants and on to a maximum speed of 228 km/h (224 for the auto) yet on the other hand the manual has an open road fuel figure of 5.4 litres/100 km and a combined figure of 6.8 l/100 km.

Topping the Ti range is the 159 Ti with the 3.2 litre JTS V6 that produces 191 kW and 322 Nm of torque that is delivered to the road via a six speed manual gearbox and the Q4 constant four wheel drive system. This provides the top 159 Ti with a top speed of 240 km and, thanks to the four wheel drive system and advanced electronics, a wheelspin free dash to 100 km/h in 7.0 seconds. Yet, thanks to that advanced engine, it is still capable of 8.4 litres per 100 km/h on the open road.

As an alternative to the six speed manual the Q-Tronic six speed automatic gearbox not only offers Tiptronic-style gear shifting using the gear stick, but is also equipped with steering wheel mounted paddles for finger tipped gear changing. The efficiency of this gearbox is demonstrated by its identical top speed to the manual version and, at 7.2 seconds, an only fractionally show 0-100 time, while open road fuel consumption remains a very creditable 8.6 litres/100 km.

The Ti package is also allied to the versatile 159 Sportwagon, with the 159 Sportwagon Ti now available with the same triple engine choice as the sedan in a body that is every bit as stylish as its sedan counterpart. The 159 Sportwagon offers 445 litres of loadspace below the retractable luggage cover. The 60:40 split/folding rear seat features an integral armrest and ski hatch, and allows for the rapid expansion of the luggage compartment into a robust, practical, flat-floored load platform offering 850 litres of stowage below the window line, and an impressive 1235 litres overall.