One date in Alfa Romeo's recent history was responsible for bringing about a revolution in Brand sales and image. The auspicious date, October 9 1997, was the day when the international press got its first glimpse of the Alfa Romeo 156 in Lisbon. At that moment, Alfa Romeo stepped up to reclaim its own tradition and also its place in the tight circle of prestige sports car manufacturers. Later models were to build on this success: from the flagship Alfa Romeo 166 to the effervescent Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon and the newer, highly acclaimed compact Alfa Romeo 147. Yet the event that set Alfa Romeo on its new path was the appearance of the 156, a medium-sized car that encloses all Alfa's proud sporting and engineering heritage within one clean, stylish Italian-looking package. We did not have to wait for long to see the results. The new car won acclaim from the press, who voted it 'Car of the Year 1998' and motorists themselves, who ordered 90,000 units. The other motor manufacturers also had to sit up and take notice. It did not take long for them to follow suite and extend their ranges to include the common rail turbodiesel engines you first saw on the Alfa saloon.
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Friday, July 17, 2009
Alfa Romeo 156 2.4 JTD 2003
One date in Alfa Romeo's recent history was responsible for bringing about a revolution in Brand sales and image. The auspicious date, October 9 1997, was the day when the international press got its first glimpse of the Alfa Romeo 156 in Lisbon. At that moment, Alfa Romeo stepped up to reclaim its own tradition and also its place in the tight circle of prestige sports car manufacturers. Later models were to build on this success: from the flagship Alfa Romeo 166 to the effervescent Alfa Romeo 156 Sportwagon and the newer, highly acclaimed compact Alfa Romeo 147. Yet the event that set Alfa Romeo on its new path was the appearance of the 156, a medium-sized car that encloses all Alfa's proud sporting and engineering heritage within one clean, stylish Italian-looking package. We did not have to wait for long to see the results. The new car won acclaim from the press, who voted it 'Car of the Year 1998' and motorists themselves, who ordered 90,000 units. The other motor manufacturers also had to sit up and take notice. It did not take long for them to follow suite and extend their ranges to include the common rail turbodiesel engines you first saw on the Alfa saloon.
