FirstDrive/Alfa Romeo Brera: It's a new sports coupé from Alfa Romeo and, almost predictably, we are first into enthusing about its stunning looks.
The Italians have a knack for giving automotive metal an alluring appearance and it seems best done when Alfa Romeo is involved.
In this case, the work has been done by styling maestro Giorgetto Giugiaro. Brera was actually presented as a prototype at the Geneva Motor Show, winning not just attention but a clutch of awards as well. More on the handsome profile anon.
Alfa Romeo people see Brera as their flagship car, appealing to an affluent class who want the greater exclusivity of a stylish coupé along with high performance, but with no compromise on comfort or luggage space. It's a fast-growing niche segment: in Europe sales of such machines have doubled in the past 10 years.
Brera will make its Irish debut in the spring of next year, attracting between 30 and 40 customers in 2006. It will be coming in initially in petrol form, either as a front-wheel-drive 2.2 litre with 185bhp or a 260bhp four-wheel-drive 3.2 litre V6. A sophisticated 200bhp diesel will follow along with a Spider or cabriolet design. In 2007 yet another derivative is expected, the GTA.
In its homeland, the Brera coupé will cost from around €34,000 - with a tag of €45,000 for the V6 - which probably means an Irish starting price of over €40,000.
Stepping into Brera last week, we found a welcoming, well-lit and opulent environment that matched the external smartness.
The driving position was sporty but comfortable and there was a wide range of adjustment. Alfa boasts "generous" dimensions that are 183cm wide, 441cm long and 137cm high with a wheelbase of 252cm - that's 18cm shorter than the 159 saloon on which Brera is based.
Sadly their generosity doesn't add up to much space for rear seat passengers and headroom and legroom are hugely restricted. At best, rear persons could only endure a short journey.
The good news is that there's plenty of space for two with all their paraphernalia: the boot promises 300 litres in normal shape and 600 litres with the rear seats folded.
Be it two or one that's upfront, the Brera will not be found wanting in its power delivery and they or he or she will be rewarded with the kind of vroom that comes with grown-up and thoroughly modern Alfas these days.
We first took the 2.2 front-wheel-drive model on a one-hour run through some of northern Italy's back roads, getting near (we think) the official zero to 100km/h time of 8.6 seconds, but naturally not attempting the top speed of 222km/h (or almost 140mph).
As with most cars today, Alfas included, it's really the torque distribution that counts and here the Brera showed that its lively nature is democratically spread. With the latest variable timing, power response kicks in below 2,000rpm and while the delightfully slick six-speed gearbox encourages robust gearchanging, it isn't really necessary all the time to maintain vigorous pace. In other departments like ride and handling, the car behaved competently: there was little body roll and a positive steering feel.
The four-wheel-drive 3.2 V6 was available only for driving on Fiat's Balocco test track, a concoction of hairpins, S bends, sweeping curves and of course, long straights. It was the perfect environment for the bigger-engined model and we got much closer to realising its top speed of 240km/h (149mph) and zero to 100kph time of 6.8 seconds.
It felt significantly different from the four-cylinder, no doubt because of the four-wheel-drive weight distribution. Actually two-thirds of the weight is over the front wheels.
Whereas the 2.2 was very fast, the 3.2 was thrusting and lusting with an insatiable appetite for gutsy speed. The fun in the driving was all the greater because there were electronic stability and traction controls and when turned off, they made the whole piloting experience just a little more challenging.
Amazingly, two Japanese journalists who were attending the international launch and who apparently hadn't turned anything off, managed prangs - two of them in two cars.
Brera is gorgeous, beautiful, elegant with a shape and style that loudly proclaim peformance, sportiness and agility. It will wow people in the showroom, in the street and wherever cars are driven.
Let's hope then that the experience of an Irish journalist at the test last week was an isolated one. The Brera's electric window mechanism packed up.