To take the 2001 title, the new Alfa Romeo beat some of the most advanced cars ever seen in the world, including the Audi A2, the Toyota Prius, the Mercedes C Class, the new GM/Holden Corsa, the Volvo S60/V70 and the Citroën Picasso.

For the Alfa Romeo and the Fiat Group, it adds to their status as one of the most successful award winning companies in the world. The Alfa 147 brings the Fiat Group's total wins to ten, with seven for Fiat, two for Alfa Romeo and one for Lancia. This is, in total, nearly double the number of awards won by the second and third placed companies. The Alfa 147 victory is the second win for Alfa Romeo in three years, following hard on the heals of Alfa 156's victory in 1998.

The Alfa Romeo 147 was introduced to the international media in October and it immediately aroused great interest and very favourable comments from more than 860 journalists from 62 countries who gathered in Monte Carlo for the new Alfa's début.

This critical acclaim was immediately confirmed by customer enthusiasm. Alfa Romeo dealers gathered more than 20,000 orders in Europe during the first week following the launch (October 28 - November 4).

These traits are joined by traditional Alfa styling cues; examples include the three-part pattern formed from the two horizontal air intakes and vertical badge - and a V-shaped bonnet that blends in below the headlamps and is reminiscent of the fabulous 6C 2500 Villa d'Este of 1949.

The new Alfa Romeo is equipped for the European market with three Twin Spark 16v engines; a 77 kW 1.6 unit, a higher-powered 88 kW 1.6 unit and a 110 kW 2.0 unit. The latter comes with a manual gearbox or a Selespeed automatic transmission with robotised gearshifts and clutch control.

These power units are joined by a common rail diesel engine with a variable geometry turbine, the 81 kW 1.9 JTD. This is due to go on sale in spring of 2001 together with the 2.0 manual gearbox and five door versions.

These four power units all share one common feature, i.e. the ability to ensure outstanding performance; a high top speed and excellent flexibility in all gears and in all situations.

The chassis is right up to the standard of the car's decidedly sporty performance and personality. The chassis is derived from the acclaimed Alfa 156. The 147's torsional rigidity is the same as that of its big sister, as is its suspension layout, double wishbones at the front and MacPherson struts at the rear.

The Alfa 147 also offers maximum active and passive safety. A powerful, easily-modulated braking system is complemented by an ABS and also sophisticated electronic devices that distribute brake force between front and rear wheels (EBD), regulate wheel slip during acceleration (ASR), modulate braking torque while changing down through the gears (MSR) and control dynamic stability on corners (VDC).

The car is also equipped with all the systems currently available on Alfa Romeo cars to protect passengers in case of impact. These include six airbags fitted as standard, two at the front, two at the sides and two window bags.

The new compact Alfa also comes with a comprehensive array of on-board equipment. It offers an automatic dual zone climate control system that allows the driver and front passenger to adjust air temperature to different settings. It is fitted with sensors that detect solar radiation, the sensation of heat experienced by the occupants and pollution. All this, plus a combination air filter with particulate capture and activated carbon to stop odours.

The control panel comes with a multifunctional display that provides a host of information; time, date, outdoor temperature, check control, speed limit warning, fault indicator and trip computer.

The standard sound system comes with eight speakers. The car can also be optionally fitted with a sophisticated Bose® hi-fi system with a six-channel amplifier and active subwoofer specially designed for the Alfa 147.