Alfa Romeo has announced technical specifications of the new MiTo 1.4 FIRE and 1.4 Turbo petrol engines fitted with MultiAir, the new induction technology developed Fiat Powertrain Technologies, ahead of their debut at next week's Frankfurt IAA.

Alfa Romeo has announced technical specifications of the new MiTo 1.4 FIRE and 1.4 Turbo petrol engines fitted with MultiAir, the new induction technology developed Fiat Powertrain Technologies, ahead of their debut at next week's Frankfurt IAA.

The head of the new family is the MultiAir 1.4-litre 16v unit in turbocharged and naturally aspirated format which on the Alfa Romeo MiTo model from later this month will be available with three different power levels (105 bhp, 135 bhp and 170 bhp) and combined with 5- or 6-speed manual gearboxes. The 'entry-level' 105 bhp MultiAir version will be priced at 15,800 on the Italian market.

The 1.4-litre (1368 cc) naturally aspirated engine gets a power boost to 105 bhp (77 kW) at 6,500 rpm at 130 Mn (13.2 kgm) at 4,000 rpm. The 1.4 turbo version will have 135 bhp (99 kW) at 5,000 rpm in "Normal" mode or have its maximum power delivered 250 rpm higher at 5,250 rpm when the "Sport" button is activated while it will offer torque of 180 Nm (18.3 kgm) at 1,750 rpm in "Normal" mode or boosted to 206 Nm (21 kgm) at 1,750 rpm when running in "Sport" mode. The second, and top specification, version of the turbo engine boasts 170 bhp (125 kW) at 5,500 rpm in both models and peak torque of 230 Nm (23.4 kgm) at 2,500 rpm running in "Normal" model or 250 bhp (25.5 kgm) at 2,500 rpm when the "Sport" button is pressed.

The 1.4 naturally aspirated engine with 105 bhp will reach a top speed of 187 km/h and accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 10.7 seconds. The turbo engine with 135 bhp achieves a tops peed of 207 km/h and 0-100 in 8.4 seconds while the 170 bhp option hits 219 km/h and covers 0-100 km/h in 7.5 seconds. For fuel consumption the 105 bhp unit uses 7.6 litres/100km during the urban cycle, 4.6//100km in the extraurban cycle and 5.8l/100km for the combined cycle. The 135 and 170 bhp turbo engines offer figures of 7.4/4.5/5.6 and 8.1/4.8/6.3 respectively.

The new engines are an important step from the current petrol engines, just as was the case for the diesel Common Rail technology which saw its debut on the Alfa Romeo 156 in 1997. Compared to a traditional petrol engine with the same displacement, MultiAir engines ensure an increase in power (up to 10 percent) and torque (up to 15 percent), as well as a considerable reduction in consumption levels (up to 10 percent) and CO2 emissions (up to 10 percent), of particulates (up to 40 percent) and NOx (up to 60 percent).

The heart of the MultiAir is the new electro-hydraulic valve control system which makes it possible to reduce consumption levels (thanks to direct air control via the engine suction valves, without the use of the throttle) and polluting emissions (thanks to the combustion control). An emblem of the concept of “downsizing”, the Multiair is a versatile technology, easily applied to all petrol engines, with a future potential development on diesel engines, too. While the first two naturally-aspirated and turbocharged engines will be offered across all versions of the MiTo range from the launch this month, Alfa Romeo will also introduce the evocative “Quadrifoglio Verde” name tag to the MiTo on a special version that will debut later.

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