paddy

Yes Sakis, if you look who wrote the article on Italiaspeed you will notice my name....

yes i know...this is the connectable 4wd....a revolution cause is the first 4wd scheme with transaxle gearbox...the f139 will be rwd but that doesn't exclude a future use of this system by the GT Ferrari like F139 and 612 scaglietti as well as maserati and future alfa models...

Can you tell me anything else about the 4x4 system, like how far the development is, and whether it has been tested yet? It is a very interesting technical topic! When are we likely to see the system available?

Do Alfa fit K&N sports filters to their Demo cars??

OMG - that must sound fantastic!!! I also have a 33.

Thanks. I just came across an interesting patent that was applied for in February this year - it was published last month - and it looks like it could be related to the F139. See the picture below that is on the front page - it is a new four-wheel-drive system.

What is the weight distribution of F139 again? Something like 47% F 53% rear?

I sat in a few Grande Punto's on Wednesday. My main criticism on the car must be on the plastics that are used for the interior. They are far too hard and industrial looking - in particular the door covers. Apart from that, the car looks and gives off a sense of physical strength (especially around the A-post). It looks bigger in the pictures though.

I think this car will have a lot in common with the Rossa - it might even be called Testarossa!

cosi' era previsto ed infatti ci sono 2 vettura backstage in Francoforte una Spider ed una Sportwagon ma hanno deciso all'ultimo di non presentarle al pubblico per non spostare l'interesse dai modelli prossimi al alncio Punto 159 e Brera...per questo hanno posticipato anche il lancio di Sedici e Panda Monster...per concentrarsi su Punto nello stand Fiat....Bologna sara' l'ora di 16 Panda Monster 159 Sportwagon e Spider...il momento che tutte e tre sia Punto che 159 che Brera saranno gia' lanciate...

The cars were not backstage.

The Spider and SW are not at Frankfurt... Probably a wise decision.

ehi paddy, che palazzo è quello nella tua firma?

Il palazzo nel mio firma è Chateau de Chantilly, a Francia.

Il concours d'elegance è stato tenuto in Apeldoorn (Olanda), al palazzo 'Het Loo'.

How much bigger will the Stilo actually be compared to the Grande Punto? It seems like the two products will completely clash with each other, and people will simply buy the Punto instead?

Some photo galleries: More up later

http://www.italiaspeed.com/2005/events/apeldoorn_concours/gallery_1.html

http://www.italiaspeed.com/2005/events/apeldoorn_concours/gallery_2.html

http://www.italiaspeed.com/2005/events/apeldoorn_concours/italdesign_gallery.html

http://www.italiaspeed.com/2005/events/apeldoorn_concours/alfa159_gallery.html

It's the pin stripe that is white is it? If so, thats a nice touch.

Its like this......but not quite as nice!

I think this is fantastic. I also think that Fiat should use their serial twin turbo technology though - maybe on the 3.0 V6 JTDm. Now that would make a nice engine.

A small selection of some relevant links.....

http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=DE60200669T&F=0

http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=ES2235818T&F=0

http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=DE60200965T&F=0

http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=EP1555398&F=0

http://v3.espacenet.com/textdoc?DB=EPODOC&IDX=DE60200525T&F=0

.....

What an exciting car...

3.0V624v Biturbo 400cv

A parallel biturbo setup like on the Ghibli?

Punto parteciperà al concorso per lAuto dell'Anno 2006???

bé sarebbe bello...

Car of the year 2005: Alfa Romeo 159!

Car of the year 2006: Fiat Punto!

Car of the year 2007: Lancia Delta!

Car of the year 2005: Toyota Prius

Car of the year 2006: Might be the Alfa Romeo 159 or even the Croma...

http://www.caroftheyear.org/

The sketch was not a serious one...it took him about 5 seconds to draw and is clearly over retro. If he put some effort into it, he could create a far better design.

Chateau de Chantilly, vicino a Parigi / Senlis.

www.chateaudechantilly.com/

That 1750 prototype is owned by Corrado Lopresto if I am not mistaken. I saw him a few years ago at the Concours D'Elegance at SpaItalia, where I also had a car on display. He had his 1947 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Extra Lusso Stabilimenti Farina with him, and he won the event (Best of Show)!

This year he won the event as well, with his magnificent 1951 6C 2500 Cabriolet "Villa d'Este". He is a nice guy, very friendly.

Infact he also won the event in 2003 with his Golden Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider Bertone, but I didn't attend SpaItalia that year.

OK. From a marketing point of view, I think that either a larger capacity V6, or a forced induction (supercharger) 3.2 V6 would be the way to go. I can not imagine a four-cylinder turbo being popular. For progetto 940 it might be interesting however.

Although maybe not the most cost efficient option, it might even be interesting to offer a detuned Maserati V8?* I suppose it depends on the type of character you want the car to have - a 2.2 Turbo would be fierce, whereas a understressed V8 would be refined yet effortless. I think the latter suits the 159 better?

OT: In a perfect world, Alfa should also offer a competitor to BMW's new Twin Turbo 535 Diesel.

*Maybe the original 370 bhp 3217cc V8 engine can be of use?