Alfa Romeo Celebrates Support of UK Athletics with New MiTo Sprint

Automakers find all kind of excuses to create special edition versions of their cars, and by special edition we actually mean better equipped models. For Alfa Romeo, the raison d'être of the new MiTo Sprint is "the continued support of UK Athletics (UKA)". Wonder what they'll think of next...

Well, in any case, the new UK market MiTo Sprint is available in UKA ‘Union Jack’ inspired colors (red, white or blue), and comes with some £1,500 worth of extras, including cruise control, leather steering wheel and gear stick, remote audio controls on the steering wheel, Blue&Me Bluetooth hands-free system with voice recognition, and media player with a USB port.

In addition, the special version also features a rear spoiler, 16-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, and unique Sprint badging.

UK buyers have a choice of two petrol engines, the 1.4 16V 95 bhp costing £13,295 OTR and the 1.4 TB MultiAir 135 bhp with ALFA TCT automatic transmission priced £16,395 OTR, and one diesel unit, the 1.3 JTDM-2 95 bhp version which starts at £14,845 OTR.

Alfa Romeo MiTo with GTA-Like Aero Kit by Lester

While Alfa Romeo enthusiasts are awaiting for the Italian company to release a punchier variant of the MiTo in the form of the production version of the 240HP GTA Concept, tuners across Europe are presenting their own proposals for the stylish sport hatch. What Lester lacks in under-the-hood performance upgrades, the Italian tuner tries to compensate with a variety of styling parts that include a front spoiler, a rear diffuser, numerous roof spoilers, beefier side skirts, 8C Competizione-like side air vents and a hood scoop.

Lester's offerings also include a uniquely styled woofer housing that essentially eliminates the trunk space while the Italian company said that the car pictured here also features 18-inch mulitspoke alloy wheels shod in Yokohama tires (215/40R18), a suspension kit from H&R and a sport exhaust system from Inoxcar.

CODE - DESCRIPTION - PRICE

• FS3410XX - FRONT SPOILER VT - €138,00
• H1032GXX - REAR ROOF SPOLER PR - €96,00
• H1035GXX - REAR ROOF SPOLER - RACING PR - €136,00
• H81543GXX - ADJUSTABLE REAR SPOILER without primer PR - €95,00
• H81543XX - ADJUSTABLE REAR SPOILER PR - €113,00
• H86243GXX - ADJUSTABLE REAR SPOILER without primer PR - €94,00
• M215XX - SIDE SKIRTS VT - €148,00
• PA315AXX - BONNET VENT VT - €98,00
• PA316MXX - AIR INTAKES 2pcs.- for front wings VT - €98,00
• RE77510XX - REAR AIR EXTRACTING DEVICE VT - €142,00
• RE77512XX - REAR AIR EXTRACTING DEVICE for double exhaust (left +right) VT - €152,00
• WH507XX - WOOFER HOUSING VT 178,00

Alfa Romeo Shows Concept Designer Bags Inspired by MiTo

In what could be seen by many as further proof that Alfa Romeo is steadily losing sight of its core values (whatever is left of them, that is...), the firm's UK division unveiled two concept designer bags for its MiTo subcompact as part of the company’s centenary year celebrations and to help support young British fashion talent. We might be wrong, but we think it would have been more appropriate for the Italian firm to show its support to young British car designers...

In any case, for the creation of the bags, Alfa Romeo UK held a special competition for students from the MA Fashion course at Central Saint Martins College, London. A total of 15 graduates submitted sketches inspired by the MiTo for initial consideration, but only two made the cut.

"After being critiqued and judged by some of the leading faces in British fashion, the bags created by CSM students William Hendry and Tamara Elliot were chosen for the limited run," said Alfa Romeo UK in a statement.

According to the Italian firm, the two bags are prototype designs for Alfa Romeo UK, which is now looking to produce a limited range of both in the near future.

Analyst Forecasts New Chrysler and Fiat Models Until 2012 Including Jeep based Alfa GTX SUV

Research firm IHS Global Insight (GI) has released a new analysis forecasting a variety of Chrysler and Fiat Group models to be built in North America between 2011 and 2012. Before we say anything else, we'd advise to pay attention to the words 'analysis' and 'forecast'. That said, don't take everything you read as a fact. The report begins with the Alfa Romeo 169, a BMW 5-Series rival that is said to be built at Chrysler's Ontario factory in Canada with the first models rolling off the assembly line as early as November 2011.

The analyst predicts that the 169 will be based on Chrysler's LX platform which underpins the Chrysler 300 and Dodge Charger models. While it makes sense for the Italians to use the LX platform, unless Fiat is planning to simply re-skin / re-mask the next-generation Chrysler 300 into an Alfa, in which case, we're talking about a mistake from Fiat's behalf, saying that that the Alfa Romeo 169 will be ready to enter production in about two years time, is quite optimistic. Plus, as you can see in one of Fiat's previous product plans, Alfa was supposedly scheduling to introduce a self-developed 169 in 2009 - what happened to that?

Talking about the LX platform, the forecaster said that due to the bankruptcy of Chrysler LLC and the plant closures, the start of production of the new 2011 Dodge Charger and Chrysler 300 have been delayed to November 2010 and January 2011 respectively.

Continuing with the North American-built Fiat models, Global Insight said that the highly successful in Europe, 500 mini, will be made in Toluca, Mexico with U.S. sales starting in July 2011.

The MINI-rivaling 500 will be the only Fiat-badged model to be sold in the States. Since the 500 is based on Fiat's 169 platform, the Toluca plant will also produce the Jeep Panda 4x4, again from July 2011. We're guessing that the Jeep variant will most likely be a remasked version of the European market Panda 4x4.

Next up we have an array of models based on the Fiat Group's C-EVO platform that underpins C-segment cars like the Lancia Delta and Fiat Bravo. The report says that the C-EVO will be used on the next-generation Dodge Journey crossover, Dodge Caliber crossover and Chrysler Sebring sedan. Production is slated to begin for the Journey and Caliber in July 2012 at the Belvidere Assembly Plant, and for the Sebring, in June 2011 at the Toluca assembly plant.

In addition to the above models, the C-EVO platform is also reported to form the base for an Alfa Romeo compact SUV (no date) and weirdly enough, for the successor of the Jeep Liberty (July 2012) with both SUVs said to be produced at the Toledo plant in Ohio.

But the report gets even better as it is predicted that Fiat will produce a larger Alfa Romeo SUV model called the GTX at Chrysler's Jefferson North Assembly Plant beginning in July 2011. The GTX is said to be based on Jeep's WL platform that underpins the 2011 Grand Cherokee. However, bear in mind that the Grand Cherokee's WL platform is derived from Mercedes-Benz (it was developed during Daimler's reign over the company) so we're not entirely sure if Fiat has the rights to use the platform for one of its own models.

The paper ends with two subcompact hatches, the Dodge Hornet and Alfa Romeo MiTo that will share the same hardware- aka Fiat's 199 B-segment platform. Both cars are reported to be built for the American market at Chrysler's Belvidere assembly plant in Illinois with production slated to begin in March 2011 for the Hornet and July 2011 for the MiTo.

Call us skeptics, but if you want our opinion, we find the forecast extremely optimistic in the sense that Fiat will not only have to develop, design, engineer and test a whole bunch of new cars but also revamp Chrysler's North American factories to build the vehicles and all this in just two years from now.

Fiat Takes TV Show to Court for Defamatory Statements on Alfa Romeo MiTo

The Fiat Group has decided to take legal actions against the producers of the AnnoZero television show, which is hosted on the Italian state owned public service broadcaster, RAI, for statements made on an episode that aired on December 2.

The company alleges that the show's hosts made comments that were "highly defamatory and damaging to the image and reputation of the company, its products and its employees and based on a fabricated comparison."

Always according to the Turin-based automaker, the broadcasters referred to an article from Italian car magazine Quattroruote, which compared the Alfa Romeo MiTo QV with the Citroën DS3 THP and Mini Cooper S, to state that the MiTo was "technically inferior".

Fiat claims that not only was the magazine's overall evaluation in favor of the Alfa Romeo, but the producers mislead viewers by connecting their assumptions to an earlier test with different vehicles - or so we understood from the slightly confusing press release, which you can read for yourselves below.

Since we haven't seen the TV show, we can't take sides or form an opinion on the matter, but something tells us that Fiat would have accomplished much more if it had issued a simple statement leaving the lawyers out of this.

FIAT PRESS RELEASE:

Fiat to seek damages from the producers of AnnoZero

Fiat Group Automobiles announces that it has instructed its lawyers to initiate legal action against the producers of the television show AnnoZero for statements made on air on December 2nd that were highly defamatory and damaging to the image and reputation of the company, its products and its employees and based on a fabricated comparison.

In particular, Fiat Group Automobiles takes issue with the manner in which AnnoZero portrayed the performance of three cars, one of which was an Alfa Romeo MiTo, claiming that the "test", apparently conducted in the Autumn, demonstrated the overall technical inferiority of the Alfa Romeo MiTo, on the basis of speed alone.

The broadcast sought to give the appearance that it was connected to a test actually conducted in the Spring, using different vehicles, by the monthly publication Quattroruote – the results of which were published in the magazine’s June issue.

Incredibly, what the broadcast did not state is that Quattroruote's overall evaluation of the Alfa Romeo MiTo (1,368 cc Quadrifoglio version) – based on a comparison of technical performance, safety and comfort – was higher than for both the Citroën DS3 THP (1,598 cc) and the Mini Cooper S (1,598 cc).

Fiat therefore intends, motivated also by its desire to protect the thousands of employees that contribute daily to producing safe, technologically-advanced products, to seek damages (to be donated entirely to charity) as a defense against conduct which is both unwarranted and prejudicial to the truth.