FACTfile - Alfa Romeo 156 – Page3

Design integrity leads to sustained success

The new Alfa 156 replaces a model that has been reaping sales success and prestigious awards for five years. Suffice it to say that during this time the car has been the first choice of more than 540,000 customers throughout more than 80 countries. This makes it the current widest selling Fiat Auto model in the world.

The car now occupies an enviable position in European segment D, where it has easily tripled the Alfa Romeo share: from 0.7% in 1996 to 2.5% by the end of April 2003 with a peak of 3.6% in 2000. It also boosted overall brand sales, which rose - in Europe - from 117,500 in 1996 (0.9%) to 202,100 in 2001 (1.4%). 2002 also closed with sales of 170,000 cars (1.2%).

It is also interesting to note the sales mix of engines and specifications recorded during 2002. In Europe, for example, Alfa 156 and Sportwagon equipped with JTD engines accounted for 76% of sales while sports versions (2.0 JTS manual and Selespeed gearbox, 2.5 V6 and GTA) represent more than 11% of the total. In Australia the majority of sales have been for the JTS version with, when supply permits, the Selespeed taking up to 80 per cent of sales, making Australia one of the world's key markets for the sequential manual gearbox. European customers were equally divided between those who chose the saloon (51%) and those who prefer the Sportwagon version (49%), compared to around 10 per cent opting for the Sportwagon in Australia.

All in all, the Alfa 156 has lived up to its promise and managed to achieve major goals. The credit is definitely due to the model's solid grounding: the best of Italian design combined with state-of-the-art engineering and a wide range made up of a host of versions with different power units and gearboxes. These have been complemented by a steady flow of new features to keep the public's attention. The Alfa 156 was introduced to the international press in Lisbon on 9 October 1997. This was the turning point of Alfa's sales fortunes and image. At that moment, Alfa Romeo reclaimed its own long tradition and its rightful place within the pantheon of prestige sports car manufacturers.

Alfa Romeo did not have to wait for long to see the results. The new car won appreciation from the press, who voted it 'Car of the Year 1998' (this award was followed by another 35 more accolades). The other motor manufacturers also had to sit up and take notice. It did not take them long to follow suite and extend their ranges to include the Common Rail turbodiesel engines you first saw on the Alfa saloon. These results were already gratifying enough. But Alfa Romeo continued to improve its model. This was borne out by the Alfa Sportwagon in 2000, a car whose shape and content immediately singled it out as much more than an ordinary station wagon version of the Alfa 156.

Then came the 156 Selespeed, equipped with a 2.0 Twin Spark 16v and a robotised gearbox with steering wheel controls. These were then joined by another Alfa 156 with 2.5 V6 24v engine that offered customers Alfa Romeo's version of automatic transmission, a device created to ensure maximum comfort under all conditions but able to guarantee all the driving satisfaction of a manual device when required.

The Alfa Romeo 156 arrived in Australia 1999, following the marque's return to Australia with the Spider and GTV and providing it with a new impetus and a new respect for Alfa Romeo's abilities. In 2002, the revised Alfa 156 and Sportwagon arrived - together with the Alfa 156 GTA - another stage of the progress that saw an increase in the comfort and safety content, more creature comforts and the introduction of a brand-new petrol engine with direct injection, the 2.0 JTS. Not to mention the fact that a few months later saw the world debut of the brand new 103 kW 1.9 JTD Multijet 16v, forerunner of the second Common Rail turbodiesel generation for the European market.

Now it is the turn of the New Alfa 156 and Sportwagon to confirm the model's vitality. These two cars, reinterpreted by the famous designer Giorgetto Giugiaro, maintain the car's underlying attribute of a vivacious personality coupled with outstanding dynamism. This vitality is the secret that has turned positive, immediate acclaim into lasting success.

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The Alfa 156's Awards

1. CAR OF THE YEAR 1998 - (Chosen by a panel of 56 journalists from 21 European countries)
2. CAR OF THE YEAR IN DENMARK 1998
3. TECHNICAL INNOVATION AWARD - COMMON RAIL 1998 - (Autocar - Great Britain)
4. VOITURE D'ESSAI DE L'ANNEE 1998 - (Auto 2 - Magyar Hirlap - Hungary)
5. AUTO EUROPA 1998 - (U.I.G.A.- Italy)
6. AUTO PIU' BELLA DEL MONDO 1998 - (Automobilia - Italy)
7. TROPHEE DU DESIGN 1998 - (Automobile Magazine - France)=COCHE DEL ANO 1998 - (ABC - Panel of 104 journalists - Spain)
8. COCHE DEL ANO 1998 - (Motor Mundial - Spain)
9. COCHE INNOVADOR 1998 - (Car and Driver - Spain)
10. COCHE DEL ANO 1998 IN CATALUNA - (Radiomotor and Telemotor - Spain)
11. COCHE DEL ANO COMO INNOVATION TECNICA 1998 - (Malaga Motoring Journalist Association - Spain)
12. EUROPEAN AWARD OF AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN 1998 - (Panel of Belgian journalists sponsored by Dominique Fontignies - Belgium)
13. THE BEST PERFORMANCE IN STYLING - THE MOST BEAUTIFUL STYLING DETAIL, THE MOST BEAUTIFUL INTERIOR 1998 (Autovisie - Holland)
14. CAR OF THE YEAR 1998 - (Auto - Yugoslavia)
15. CAR OF THE YEAR 1998 - (Huan - Association of Motoring Journalists - Croatia) =CAR OF THE YEAR 1998 - (Autoklub - Croatia)
16. CAR OF THE YEAR 1998 - (Auto Magazin - Slovenia)
17. DIE BESTEN AUTOS 1998, PAUL PIETSCH PREIS - (Innovation prize for Common Rail, (Auto Motor und Sport - Germany)
18. DREAM CAR OF THE YEAR 1998 - (Auto Moto - Poland)
19. CERCHIONE ARGENTEO 1998 - (Auto Moto - Poland)
20. BEST COMPACT EXECUTIVE 1998 - (What Car - UK)
21. CARRO DO ANO / TROFEU VOLANTE DE CRISTAL - CARRO EXECUTIVO DO ANO / TROFEU DO AUTOMOVEL 1998 (Autosport Volante - Portugal)
22. AUTO 1 1998 - Chosen by readers of trade press in 8 European countries including the eleven that take part in electing 'Auto 1 1998' (organised by their partner magazine Auto Bild): Auto Oggi (Italy) - Auto Week (Holland) - Auto Plus (France) - Auto Tip (Czech Republic) - Auto Show (Turkey) - Auto Swiat (Poland) - Auto Blic (Croatia) - Auto Nea (Greece)
23. AUTO 1 EUROPA 1998 - (Panel of engineers, drivers and journalists from the 11 European magazines headed by Auto Bild)
24. AUTO ROKU '98 V CESKE REPUBLICE - (Panel of 25 journalists from motoring magazine - Czech Republic)
25. FAVOURITE CAR 1998 - (chosen by 125,000 readers of Auto Roku - Czech Republic)
26. MEILLEURE VOITURE DE L'ANNEE 1998 - (Steering Committee of A.F.P.A - France)
27. PRIX DE L'INNOVATION TECHNIQUE POUR LE COMMON RAIL 1998 - (A.F.P.A. - France)
28. THE BEST 1998 CARS - MEDIUMS FAMILIARS SEGMENT' - (Auto-Hoje readers panel - Portugal)
29. VOITURE DE L'ANNEE 1998 - (chosen by readers of 'Auto Moto' - Luxembourg)
30. TOWCAR OF THE YEAR 1998 - ('Kampeer en Caravan Kampioen' - Holland)
31. AUTO TROPHY 1998 - (Auto Zeitung - Germany)
32. BEST COMPACT EXECUTIVE CAR 1998- (Autoexpress - UK)=CAR OF THE YEAR 1999 - (South African Guild of Motoring Journalists)
33. Le Auto che preferisco 2000 (medium-categories) - (Italy - Quattroruote)

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