New car news

20 February 2009 - 12:00

Gentle Throttle Adjustment?

The Alfa Mito GTA – the hotted-up version of the bug-eyed Italian hatch-coupe – is heading to Geneva in early March, and we’ve got the first image of it.

It looks a hell of a lot harder. There’s a new front end with deeper, wider air intakes – with, we have to admit, more than a hint of the Alfa 8C Competizione about it – which helps to add some much-needed breadth to the Mito’s face. The GTA also gets a wider stance and a set of excellent anthracite wheels, which add an excellent sharper edge to the Mito’s cutesy styling.

We’re still a bit worried about the Mito GTA, though. Though Alfa hasn’t released any firm technical details, we’re told it’ll be powered by a turbocharged 1.8-litre engine with direct injection, putting out between 170 and 180kW. In a front-wheel drive car the same size as a Mini. Words like ‘torque’ and ‘steer’ spring rapidly to mind.

But if the GTA can reign in the desire to scrabble itself off the road every time you nail the throttle, it should be a proper flier.

Is this proof that Alfa’s finally hit form? We’ll find out in Geneva.