Autoblog: Beauty & Beast: Autodelta J4 2.2 C supercharged Alfa 159

[ahpadt]

Originally Posted by Autoblog

European reviews of Alfa Romeo's mid-range line-up invariably yield the same conclusion: the Brera, Spider and 159 are impossibly beautiful (take our word for it if you haven't seen one in the flesh), but the performance just isn't there. That's where Autodelta comes in. The British tuning house specializes in dialing up the performance quotient on Alfas, and after pumping up the Brera and Spider with its top-of-the-line J-series packages, Autodelta has turned its attention to the 159 sedan.

The result of a year and a half of development, the 159 J4 2.2 C promises to fill the dynamic void of the standard saloon. Rather than starting with the heavier 3.2-liter V6 (which is coupled to Alfa's Q4 all-wheel-drive system), Autodelta takes the 185hp 2.2-liter JTS direct-injection inline-four and bolts on a Rotrex C30-74 supercharger to boost output by 60 horses up to 245. Autodelta has also replaced the stock plastic intake manifold with a new aluminum one to cope with the extra power and fitted new NGK Iridium IX spark plugs, a new electronic limited slip differential, new springs and dampers, bigger brakes, a quad-tipped stainless exhaust, 19-inch OZ Botticelli HLT rims with custom Dunlop SP Sport Maxx GT rubber, and a full aero kit, along with trimming out some unnecessary weight and tinkering with the ECU.

Check out the press release after the jump for more details, and the images in the gallery below for all the angles.

[anti-net]

not to sure about the wheels and the aero crap at the back but everything else I approve of!

[fbc]

Fail - the last thing the 159 needed was a tacked-on bodykit, protruding exhaust and a friggin' diffuser like that. The mechanical mods sound good though.

[NooDle]

the 4 exhausts and diffuser are too much, but otherwise
A colleaugue of mine has one as his daily driver, and it's suh-weet to look at and suh-weet to drive

[otispunkmeyer]

supercharged alfa

[airmenair]

I find it hot! Got to drive a diesel 5 speed 159 station wagon in Italy, not much to drive in terms of power but it looked so good! This is even better and now it has some grunt to match!

[Vette Boss]

The revised back end reminds me of the F430 with the exhaust and diffuser, not a bad thing at all. All the mechanical upgrades should mean it has the performance to match the new looks.

[Dins]

I'd take the performance upgrades and leave the looks well alone.

[Redliner]

Styling wise, the wheels and exhaust are nice. The aero kit is not necessary.

[Buktu]

I think the stationcar version looks better. The rear of the sedan 159 is sort of clumsy. But that might just be me
But this sounds awesome. Give me one in stationcar and i'll be most pleased!

[starfox07]

I think it looks brilliant. Its not overdone like some many techart/gemballa creations. I would drive that beauty in a heartbeat!

[JCTK]

Originally Posted by Dins

I'd take the performance upgrades and leave the looks well alone.

me too...

but I ain't too sure if the original wheels will go well with the lowered ride height through... hopfully it does~

[Viper007Bond]

I dunno, I really like it -- kit and all.

[Gman333-X-ferrari]

Originally Posted by Viper007Bond

I dunno, I really like it -- kit and all.

Ditto, I reckon it looks pretty awesome.

[Ottobon]

Aeromods need not be so visible, actually all the good aero stuff should be in places you wouldn't be looking anyways, so meh. Plus their is no way a defuser with a upward angle like that would work properly, it probably jut makes the car look goofy. Wheels are HOT though!

I wish they'd just make a Q4 with a proper suspension and steering, then all this none-sense would be void. I still want a Brera nomatter how much its been smashed by the Mags, i've been studying suspension geometry just in-case a car like this came along.

[Posmo]

I really like it, even with that ugly diffuser at the back. Needs more power though, the original 3.2 jts version has around 250bhp, so why bother with buying an autodelta when you can most likely get the same results buy buying the 3.2 jts q4 version, and upgrading the suspension, shock absorbers, etc.. With ONLY 245 bhp, it just doesnt make sense.

[Polly]

They fuckin' ruined its looks.

[DTMracer]

The standard car was absolutely beautiful.

This looks like a Chavs dream.

[SL65]

I don't think it looks tacky. I like it!!

Get one in red or black with tan or red leather and a sunroof....your all set

[edkwon]

Damn, thats a handsome looking car, supercharged coupled to AWD, thats a smart move on the part of Alfa. Honestly if they made that avail in the US, i would seriously consider over its german rivals simply on style points alone...and for soul and passion, lol.