Alfa Romeo's new mini is anything but a "Me Too" small car


Click for high-res images of the Mi.To

If there is one thing most Italian cars have, it's style. The latest small car from Alfa Romeo is no exception. Thankfully, it appears that as more of us start to make the migration to smaller cars in the next few years, we can at least have a cool looking ride while doing it. The Alfa Romeo Mi.To is targeted to the same market as premium compacts like the MINI and the Audi A1 that's coming in a year or so. The name is actually a contraction of Milano and Torino, the design and manufacturing centers of Northern Italy. The design of the Mi.To is evocative of the magnificent 8C Competizione with a range of four cylinder turbocharged gas and diesel engines ranging from 90-155hp. Hopefully this hot little hatch will be part of the Alfa Romeo lineup that returns to the U.S. market in 2010. With small cars this gorgeous, who needs big old SUVs?


[Source: Alfa Romeo]


Alfa Mi.To: World Premiere



With the Mi.To, Alfa Romeo wishes to offer a new generation of Alfa aficionados the most compact sports car ever.

An up-to-date and innovative car, a name redolent of history. The name Mi.To has great evocative resonance for Alfa Romeo, since it was chosen as a sign of a deep-seated link between the past and future of the brand: between Milan, the city of design that brought the car's style into being, and Turin, which will be responsible for its industrial production. A decision that highlights the brand's strong desire to consolidate its Milanese roots.

The Mi.To is the first car to be built since the 8C Competizione, Alfa Romeo's icon of style and technology, from which it borrows certain characteristic traits: the particular shape of the unframed side windows, the three-lobed motif that distinguishes the front bumper, the shape of the headlights and the LED tail lights. The headlights and tail lights represent a distinctive personalised feature: a frame featuring different forms of material processing and colours to create an ultra-stylish eye-liner effect that underscores the car's style and aggression.

The highly personal dashboard and seats ensure that the interior represents the ultimate expression of Italian style, welcoming yet sporty, with top-quality materials and the closest attention to detail.

The greatest thought has also gone into defining the dimensions, which add up to a compact and dynamic shape: the Mi.To is 4.06 metres long, 1.44 metres high and 1.72 metres wide.

Style, design, and more: performance and technology must always be top-of-the-range in an Alfa Romeo. As all the brand's models, the Mi.To is able to appeal to the most demanding customers with its exciting driveability, determined partly to the Alfa DNA system. This control acts on the engine, brakes, steering, suspension and gearbox, allowing three different vehicle behaviour modes based on the driving style best suited to the situation or the customer's wishes: supersporting (Dynamic), town driving (Normal), maximum safety even in difficult grip conditions (All-Weather). Mi.To is the first car in its segment to offer such innovative technological content.

Great performances are guaranteed by a range of 4 engines, all Turbo (petrol and diesel), that currently range from 90 hp up to 155 hp, with the range due to be extended by even higher power ratings.

Performance and handling have been developed and optimised to offer maximum driving satisfaction in complete safety. The Mi.To offers true Alfa Romeo sporting ride, featuring contractive suspensions – standard on all specifications and engines – that considerably reduce roll and maximum active, passive and preventive safety: VDC stability system as standard and a vehicle structure that is already designed to obtain the top EuroNCAP rating in the future.

The Alfa Mi.To will be introduced to the international press during June and will then be gradually introduced from July in all the major markets.


Turin, 14 March 2008

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