New car news

03 March 2009 - 11:00

Geneva show: Alfa Mito GTA

Alfa unveiled the MiTo GTA today, and it's a little cracker. Officially it's still only a concept, so some of its bits and pieces might go by the time it fizzles into reality. But if it looks anything like this, we'll be happy.

Everything you see is functional - from the rear diffuser to the carbon fibre roof and wing mirrors. And those twin-exit exhausts look like a couple of ballistic weapons, which is great news for people who like noise.

Official power figures have been announced, too. It will make 178kW from its little 1.75-litre turbocharged engine, the same one that's in the MiTo already, only tuned up to squeeze out more performance.

No sign of a special front diff to filter that power to the road surface, though. We always suspected the GTA might be a little torque steery and now those suspicions have been confirmed.

Instead, Alfa is relying on a new active damping system to make sure things don't get too lairy. It will work with the MiTo's ‘DNA' system, which alters steering and throttle severity depending on road conditions and your driving mood.

So if you got out of the hooligan side of bed this morning, you're in luck - this one's for you. Let's just hope the production version is as cool as this.