Alfa Romeo Vittorio Jano Sport Wagon by Marco Procaccini

A few months back we showed you Marco Procaccini's Vittorio Jano design study for an Alfa Romeo 159 replacement (see here). The slinky fastback notably featured an aggressive front end treatment and a C-Column / rear glasshouse design somewhat reminiscent of the Lotus Evora.

Now Marco is back with a more practical Sport Wagon variant of the Vittorio Jano which -in theory- is 50 mm longer and 10 mm taller than its saloon sibling.

The Sport Wagon features a face lifted front bumper with LED running lights a la the HSV E2 series and a rear end profile possibly inspired by the Peugeot 308 SW wagon.

You can see more pictures and video of the Vittorio Jano Sport Wagon below.

By Tristan Hankins

Source: Marco Procaccini

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Alfa Romeo at the Paris Show: New Engine Options for Giulietta and Pretty Much Nothing Else

Unless Alfa Romeo has a very big surprise up its sleeves (which we certainly hope so given that the brand is celebrating its 100th birthday this year...), the only new models capable of capturing our attention at the Milanese firm's Paris Motor Show booth will be the usual 'female fatales' standing alongside their automobiles.

According to the company's press release, "the stars" of the Alfa Romeo stand will be the brand-new 140 HP 2.0 JTDM and the 170 HP 1.4 MultiAir turbo petrol with "Alfa TCT" automatic transmission versions of the Giulietta.

When equipped with the new 140-horsepower 2.0-liter turbo diesel, the Giulietta hatchback returns an average fuel consumption of just 4.5lt/10km (equal to 52.3mpg US) with corresponding CO2 emissions of 119g/km.

The second new product for the Giulietta range is the introduction of a dry twin clutch automatic transmission (TCT) combined with the 170 HP 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine. The same transmission will also be offered with Alfa's 170HP 2.0-liter turbo diesel.

The brand-new Alfa TCT, which was first shown on the Mito supermini, is combined with start/stop tech that helps reduce CO2 emissions to 121g/km on the gasoline model.

On an even far less interesting note, Alfa Romeo will also show a couple of MiTo sport hatches and the 2011MY versions of the 159 sedan and Sportwagon (unveiled back in May), including one dressed in "Rosso Competizione" livery and equipped with the new 136-horsepower variant of the 2.0-liter JTDM diesel engine (Euro 5).

Alfa Romeo Debuts 2011MY 159 Sedan and Sportwagon

If the Fiat Group remains committed to its 2010-2014 product plan, then the successor to today's Alfa Romeo 159, the new Giulia, will make its appearance on both sides of the Atlantic in 2012. Until then, Alfa will keep tweaking the current 159 with incremental improvements to sustain sales in Europe.

Following the recent introduction of the new 200HP 1.75-liter turbocharged petrol and 170HP 2.0-liter JTDM diesel into the range, Alfa Romeo has now announced the release of a 2011MY 159 that will be marketed in most European countries beginning from next month.

For the new model year, the 159 saloon and Sportwagon models benefit from some subtle updates that include new upholstery and trim options, and the introduction of four new equipment packages similar to those offered on the Giulietta and MiTo hatchbacks - Comfort Pack, Sport Pack, Comfort Plus Pack and TI Plus Pack.

Iconic Alfa Romeo 158 F1 Racer Meets MiTo QV

Alfa Romeo appears to be on a celebration spree this year. Aside from the year-long festivities to commemorate the firm's 100th birthday, the Italian automaker is now celebrating the 60th anniversary of its historic 1-2-3 finish at the first ever F1 European Championship race, which was held at Silverstone motor racing circuit sixty years ago this week (13th May).

To celebrate, the company photographed one of the rare 158s which competed in this historic race alongside the latest Alfa to bear the motorsport inspired Cloverleaf badge, the MiTo QV sport hatch.

The company said that the image of the 158 and the MiTo will join others from owners past and present at the dedicated site "alfacentenary.co.uk" in a "visual celebration" of Alfa's 100th anniversary.

And a little bit of history on the 158. The F1 racer's name was derived from its engine -"15" for the displacement of 1.5-liters and "8" for 8-cylinders. It made its racing debut in 1937 but because of the war, it spent several years dismantled and hidden in various places including, legend has it, an Italian cheese factory.

After the war, the 158 returned to the racing track managing to secure victory in every Formula One race in which it competed during the inaugural 1950 session. All in all, the Alfa 158 and its derivative, the 159, dominated the Formula One calendar over the next few years, with 47 wins from 54 Grand Prix entered.

2010MY Alfa Romeo 159 with New Turbo Engines hits UK Shores

The fairest compact executive car of them all, Alfa Romeo's gorgeous 159 Saloon and Sport Wagon have arrived in Great Britain. The 2010 model year 159 that was presented at the Geneva Show in March benefits from the introduction of two brand new Euro 5-compliant turbocharged engines, the 1750 TBi petrol and 2.0 JTDM diesel, as well as a revised range structure for the UK market.

The new 159 1750 TBi gets a 1.75-liter direct injection turbocharged engine that makes 200 horsepower along with 320 Nm of torque launching the saloon from rest to 100km/h (62mph) in 7.7 seconds before topping out at 147mph or 236km/h. The sedan returns a combined fuel consumption of 34.9 mpg UK or 8.1 lt / 100km.

Alfa's new 2.0 JTDM diesel powerplant produces an output of 170 horsepower at 4,000 rpm and a maximum torque of 360 Nm available between 1,750 rpm and 2,500 rpm. With this engine, the 159 covers the 0–62 mph (100 km/h) sprint in 8.8 seconds and achieves a top speed of 136mph or 219km/h while returning a combined fuel economy of 52.3mpg UK (5.4 lt / 100km)

For the 2010MY 159, Alfa has introduced a new range structure which now features five trim levels: Turismo, Turismo Sport (new), Elegante (new), Lusso and TI.

The new Turismo Sport trim features several sporty upgrades over the base model including 17-inch alloy wheels, Blue&Me, sports seat cloth, sports leather steering wheel with remote audio controls and gear knob, and sports dials.

The new Elegante trim also adds new features to the Turismo, including rear parking sensors, visibility pack and specififc seat and door panel upholstery.

UK pricing for both the 159 1750 TBI and 2.0 JTDM Saloon start from £21,800 (see comprehensive price list in the image above).