News

Alfa Romeo Adds Automatics And A New Diesel To The 159 Sedan Range

Alfa Romeo has added self shifting gearboxes right across its 159 range and introduced a new entry-level 1.9 JTD diesel model to meet the rapidly growing demand for diesel-powered cars in Australia.

The Q-Tronic gearbox is an all-new design and is available on 1.9 litre and 2.4 litre JTD Turbo Diesel engines and the range-topping 3.2 litre JTS V6 engine. It enables the 159 to be driven in automatic mode or in Tiptronic-style sequential mode.

The all new 4 cylinder 1.9 JTD Q-Tronic diesel delivers outstanding power with abundant torque, the basis of its magnificent performance and remarkable fuel economy. Its 320Nm of torque combined with 110kW of power delivers an outstanding 7.1 litres per 100km combined cycle yet still providing high performance levels expected of an Alfa Romeo; with a 0-100km/h acceleration of just 9.6 seconds.

The Alfa Romeo 159 2.2 JTS is now available with an option Selespeed sequential manual gearbox, providing drivers with the choice of letting the gearbox change the gears or doing it manual via steering wheel-mounted paddles or with the gearshift leaver. The new-generation Selespeed allows the driver to select 'Sport' mode in both manual shifting and automatic operating, as well as using new soft and hardware for quicker, smoother and more responsive operation.

"Although the sales of the Alfa Romeo 159 have more than met our expectations since its launch in Australia in June last year, we have always known that, given the Australian market's skew to automatics, it would not achieve its full potential until the Q-Tronic and Selespeed versions arrived," says David Stone, General Manager for Alfa Romeo in Australia. "The Q-Tronic new gearbox marks a significant market shift for Alfa Romeo. Not only do we now have a state-of-the-art gearbox, with six gears, fuzzy-logic operation and Tiptronic-style gear selection, it is also available across most of the range and to further enhance this position we have added an extra diesel model to the range, with the acclaimed 1.9 litre JTD power unit. The Selespeed version was the most popular 156 variant and we expect the 159 Selespeed to account for the majority of 2.2 JTS sales."

"We ended 2006 on a high note, lifting Alfa Romeo sales in a shrinking market and we fully expect the arrival of the Q-Tronic equipped versions of the 159 and all new 1.9 JTD diesel range to maintain this growth through 2007," says Mr Stone

Back Home
Read more articles