'Keen price' promise on Alfa's hot GT coupe

AUSTRALIAN Alfa Romeo importer Ateco Automotive has announced its new GT coupe will go on sale here at a "remarkably keen" price on July 1.

An all-new coupe rather than a two-door version of an existing sedan, the Alfa Romeo GT first appeared here at the 2003 Sydney motor show following its Frankfurt motor show world premiere.

Packing a 176kW/300Nm 3.2-litre V6 similar to that found in GTA versions of the 147 hatch and 156 sedan (which it will effectively replace), the six-speed Alfa GT completes the 0-100km/h dash in a claimed 6.7 seconds and has a 243km/h top speed.

"The Alfa Romeo GT could not be a more fitting figurehead for the Alfa Romeo range," said the general manager for Alfa Romeo in Australia Kevin Wall.

"It brings together everything that is expected of an Alfa Romeo - traffic-stopping style, awesome performance, an extraordinary level of practicality, with sumptuous levels of equipment - and all at a price that will surprise all when we announce it on 1 July, 2004."