AutoExpress has published two images of Alfa Romeo’s upcoming 149, the replacement to the 147 model. Featuring strong styling cues from the MiTo and 8C Competizione the little Alfa has, again, sucked in plenty of admirers. Personally, I will reserve my judgement as, like the 8C, while there is definitely plenty to like about the styling, I’m not so sure the front end is as successful as it could be. One thing is certain, the Golf-sized hatch will stand out from its rivals, and that is often half the battle when trying to win customers from other brands.
Power will come from usual petrol and diesel variations, with entry level models expected to have around 90kW (120bhp) up to 186kW (250bhp) for the range topping hot hatch. The higher powered 149s are also expected to have an electronic Q2 diff to try and reign in all that power on a front wheel drive chassis. The 149 will be available for European sales in mid 2009.
Source: AutoExpress
7 replies on “Alfa Romeo 149 shows its face”
186kW! I’ll take one, even if it’ll be in the garage more often than not.
I do admit the lower photo from the rear quarter does look pretty damn good. I think this will look better in person than the 8C.
Photoshop…
The clue is underneath the image – photos by Poblete. He’s done other speculative stuff before. And this is Auto Express magazine after all…
From the back it looks reasonable but it looks a bit too hairdresserish from the front for my liking. Actually, come to think of it, it looks like Alfa has taken a leaf out of Subaru’s design book (after Subaru took a leaf out of Alfa’s). Either way, I’ve always thought this implementation of the Alfa DNA (156, 147 etc) looks too forced and trite and as a consequence, fails to actually look any good.
…which is just as well it’s a fake 😉
[…] Romeo have released images of its 147 successor ahead of the car’s debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March. Alfa enthusiasts will be […]
[…] Romeo have released images of its 147 successor ahead of the car’s debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show in March. Alfa enthusiasts will be […]