Selespeed For Spider and Brera

Alfa Romeo has added Selespeed versions of the new Alfa Romeo Spider and Brera at the Geneva International Motor Show (6 March 2007) and their arrival in New Zealand later this year will complete a self-shifting revolution for the Italian car maker.

“The arrival of these cars in New Zealand is highly significant for Alfa Romeo, given the bias of our market towards self-shifting gearboxes,” says Lawrie Malatios, General Manager for Alfa Romeo in New Zealand. “They mean that we will have a self-shifting gearbox for every version of the new-generation Alfa Romeos, the 159, the 159 Sportwagon, the Brera and Spider, and, even more than that, they are all six speed state-of-the-art gearboxes, enhancing performance and fuel economy like no unit before them. This range-wide availability will transform our sales in New Zealand.”

This month sees the arrival of the Alfa Romeo 159 and 159 Sportwagon with the 1.9 JTD Turbo Diesel engine mated to the Q-Tronic six speed automatic gearbox. The same Q-Tronic unit is now available with the 2.4 JTD Turbo Diesel in 159 and Sportwagon, along with the 3.2 litre V6 JTS engine in 159, Sportwagon, Brera and Spider. The new six speed Selespeed debuts in the 159 and 159 Sportwagon before arriving in the Geneva-launched Spider and Brera in New Zealand in the third quarter of 2007, in each case matched to the 2.2 litre 136 kW JTS engine.

Selespeed provides an extremely user-friendly robotised electro-hydraulic system for manual sequential and automatic gear changes that are easy and intuitive. The driver is free to decide how he wants to drive. In manual sequential mode, he changes up by ‘pushing’ the shift in the opposite direction to the direction of the car, and he reverses the action to change down. This functioning logic is typical of sporty gear changes in which it is the inertia of the motion of the car and the driver that intuitively suggests how to use the gearbox. In automatic mode, the gearbox automatically selects the best ratio to engage, leaving the driver free to concentrate on the road, with a safe and controlled driving style, that is easy and comfortable.

It is also possible to change speed using the ‘paddles’ on the steering wheel, which are standard equipment with the Selespeed transmission.

The Selespeed gearbox also has a Sport button that can be activated with manual or automatic operation. In the first case, Sport mode reduces gear change times by about 20 per cent by compressing the torque reduction and reinstatement stages. With automatic operation, engaging Sport mode raises the gear change points to higher engine speeds.

Fitted with the Selespeed gearbox, the Alfa Romeo Brera dispatches the dash from zero to 100 kmh in 8.6 seconds, while for the Alfa Romeo Spider, the same benchmark measurement is 8.6 seconds. Top speed is 222 kmh for both cars.

Pricing and equipment specifications for the Brera and Spider Selespeed will be announced when they go on sale in New Zealand during the third quarter of 2007.

ENDS

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