Alfa MiTo GTA Gets "Auto Europa 2009 Tuner" Award

The long talked about GTA version of Alfa Romeo's MiTo got its own first award, but this time a serious one, unlike its series version. L’Unione Italiana Giornalisti dell'Automobile (UIGA) has awarded the MiTo GTA the "Auto Europa 2009 Tuner" prize, after a web based voting system revealed that 32.14 of the public voters and 28.26 of the journalists went for the MiTo in this competition.

First unveiled at the 2009 Geneva Auto Show, the MiTo GTA is hoped to be the parent of a new generation of sports cars. Designed by using the experience gained with the 8C Competizione and the Spider, the GTA is considered by Alfa Romeo a "racing worthy" vehicle, mostly thanks to its power/weight ratio, while maintaining low emission rates and reduced operating costs.

This was achieved by the use of lightweight carbon fiber (for the rear hatch spoiler, the pavilion and the caps of the mirrors) and the use of aluminum for the brakes, suspensions and parts of the chassis, which was revised but kept its torsional stiffness. The revised chassis uses an active suspension system with advanced damper control to counteract the the transfer of load under acceleration.

The Gran Turismo Alleggerito badged MiTo is powered by a new 1.8l 240 horsepower petrol engine designed by Fiat Powertrain Technologies (FPT). The powerplant uses direct injection, dual variable valve timing, turbocharging and advanced electronic management systems and is designed to be part of Alfa DNA, a system that allows the driver to select the mode best suited for the operating parameters of the various vehicle systems.