News June 26 2006

Alfa to introduce new auto gearbox on 159

The Alfa 159, which was launched a few weeks ago, will be getting an automatic gearbox option early in the new year - a high-tech self-shifting gearbox designed to complement the standard six speed manual gearbox available now.

The all-new six speed Q-Tronic gearbox will be available on 2.4 JTD Turbo Diesel and the 3.2 V6 JTS Q4 variants and Alfa will use the arrival of Q-Tronic to add the 1.9 JTD version of the 159 to the range in automatic-only form. At the same time the 159 2.2 JTS will offer a new six speed version of the Selespeed sequential manual gearbox.

The new Q-Tronic automatic gearbox is a fully adaptive gearbox with a host of special features that are designed to enhance the driving experience and save fuel.

For example, it has a ‘fast-off’ mode which monitors the position of the accelerator and if the driver backs off the power quickly, for example coming into a corner, the gearbox holds the chosen gear, rather than shifting up to a higher ratio. To save fuel and transmission wear and tear when the car is stationary, at traffic lights for example, and the brakes are applied, it will slip into neutral.

The driver has the choice of driving the 159 Q-Tronic in a choice of fully automatic, sport, winter or manual modes, with the last function using a Tiptronic-style gear selection.

The combination of six ratios and highly advanced electronic controls means that the Q-Tronic versions should not suffer the same blunting of performance as is normal with self-shifting gearboxes.

The 1.9 JTD Q-Tronic has a top speed of 207 kmh, and reaches 0-100 kmh in 9.6 seconds, compared to 210 kmh and 9.4 seconds for the manual version. The 159 JTD 2.4 has a top speed of 224 kmh, just four kmh down on the manual, and an identical acceleration time of 8.4 seconds to 100 kmh. In day-to-day driving, Alfa points out; the automatic would probably be quicker than the manual.

Although Alfa has not offered a wide range of automatic gearboxes in the past, the Italian car maker expects them to quickly account for the majority of Australian sales both because of the general bias for automatics in this market and the fact that the advanced, performance-orientated design of the Q-Tronic will satisfy the demands of the traditional Alfa driver.

Full details, pricing and specification for the Q-Tronic versions will be announced when it becomes available in Australia in the Alfa 159, Brera, Spider and 159 Sportwagon in early 2007.

View our FACTfile on the Alfa 159