Auto Sportiva, the official distributor of Alfa Romeo products in Hong Kong, recently launched the new MiTo at the company's showroom in Wan Chai.

Guests of honor included Romano Baruzzi, Italian trade commissioner for Hong Kong, Richard Lee, chairman of Auto Sportiva, managing director Herbert Adamczyk and deputy managing director John Newman.

Officiating at the unveiling, Lee said that, with the MiTo, Alfa Romeo wishes to offer a new generation of Alfa aficionados the most compact sports car ever. Lee said the name, MiTo, has great evocative resonance for Alfa Romeo, since it was chosen as a sign of a deep- seated link between the past and future of the brand, between Milano, the city of design that brought the car's style into being, and Torino, which will be responsible for its industrial production. He said Milan and Turin are cities similar to Hong Kong.

Notably, one unit of Alfa's amazing 8C Competizione was in the showroom for the debut of the MiTo.

Reporters were told the MiTo is the first new model since the 8C Competizione, Alfa Romeo's icon of style and technology, from which it borrows certain characteristic traits: the particular shape of the unframed side windows, Alfa Romeo three-lobed motif that distinguishes the front bumper, the shape of the headlights, the LED tail lights and Alfa Romeo's traditional semi-circular alloy wheel design represent a distinctive classic Italian sports car style.

The highly personal dashboard and seats of the MiTo ensure that the interior represents the ultimate expression of Italian style, welcoming yet sporty, with top-quality materials and the closest attention to detail.

Much thought has also gone into defining the dimensions, which add up to a compact and dynamic shape: 4.063 meters long, 1.72 meters wide and 1.446 meters high.

Alfa DNA

As with all Alfas, the MiTo is able to appeal to the most demanding customers with its exciting drivability and true Alfa Romeo sporting ride, partly due to the Alfa "DNA System." The DNA system acts on the engine, brakes and steering, allowing three different vehicle behavior modes, based on the customer's wishes: super-sporting (Dynamic), town driving (Normal), low grip conditions (All-Weather).

MiTo is the first car in its segment to offer such innovative technological content.

1.4-litre Turbo

Great performance is guaranteed by a 1,368cc petrol turbo engine, which can deliver up to 155 hp at 5,500 rpm and 201 Nm at 5,000 rpm. In the Dynamic mode engine torque can also be boosted from 201 Nm to 230 Nm by using a six-speed manual gearbox to transfer the power to the front wheels.

Safety

Performance and handling have been developed and optimized to offer maximum driving satisfaction in complete safety. MiTo obtained the top rating (five stars) during the EuroNCAP crash test as the vehicle structure is designed to offer the maximum safety during a collision.

Also, the effect of passive safety equipment cannot be ignored, including seven airbags, front seat belts with pre- tensioners and load limiters, three-point safety seat belts and front seats with anti-whiplash head rests.