Alfa Romeo 166 Debut at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show

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Friday August 29, 2003

The new Alfa Romeo 166 will make its world debut at the Frankfurt International Motor Show before arriving in Australia at the end of the year. The production version of the Alfa Romeo GT, the new Alfa Romeo 156 and a racing diesel Alfa 147 that dominated its class in the 24-hour race at the Nurburgring will join the 166 when the Show opens on Tuesday 9 September.

The top of the range Alfa Romeo 166 combines sporting prowess with luxury to produce an understated design that is quintessentially Italian.

The updated the 166 has a new frontal appearance while retaining the overall shape of the 166. The grille is now more upright and forms the traditional three-part Alfa motif together with the two side air intakes.

The front is dominated by the new 'shield' whose upper edge follows the bonnet round and then plunges down to break the bumper line.

The new Alfa Romeo 166 is offered in Europe with four petrol engines, the 150 bhp 2.0 TS, the 188 bhp 2.5 V6 24v, the 220 bhp 3.0 V6 and the 240 bhp 3.2 V6 24v, in addition to two turbodiesels are the 150 bhp 2.4 JTD 10v and the 175 bhp 2.4 Multijet 20v.

These units are all combined with a six speed manual gearbox, with the exception of the 220 bhp 3.0 V6 that is only available with an automatic transmission. The lively 175 bhp 2.4 Multijet 20v may also be paired with a sophisticated new generation 5-speed automatic transmission.

The new Alfa GT that will be accessible to the public for the first time. Three of the versions on show in Frankfurt are equipped with a 2.0 JTS 16v with Selespeed gearbox while a fourth car is fitted with the 1.9 16v Multijet.

The Alfa Romeo stand will also host an Alfa 147 prototype with a 150 bhp 2.4 JTD engine paired with a six speed manual gearbox. This racing car took part in the Nurburgring '24 Hour' race on 1 June, where it was placed 19th overall and first in its category, coming in six laps before the second placed diesel car.

Full specification and pricing of the new Alfa Romeo 166 for the Australian
market will be released when it goes on sale at the end of 2003.