|
The already luxuriously featured Alfa Romeo 166 is now even better equipped.
From 1 February 2003 the Alfa Romeo 166 gains powerful Xenon headlights, wood grain dashboard and steering wheel and Alfa Romeo electronic suspension systems, Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) and the Anti Slip Regulator (ASR).
VDC has been designed and developed by Alfa Romeo specifically for powerful sporting cars and has been acclaimed for enhancing safety but not reducing driving pleasure. Using sensors around the car for lateral and horizontal acceleration and pitch and comparing this data with information from the engine and steering wheel, the system monitors whether the car is traveling in the direction the driver desires. If the data does not match, in other words the driver is steering in one direction but the car is sliding or slipping in another, the VDC system uses control of the throttle and the brakes to enable the driver to regain control. But it gives the driver a momentary chance to make the correction himself, therefore not acting, like some of VDC's less sophisticated competitors, as a heavy hand that takes away driving pleasure.
Like VDC, ASR is a system developed specifically for Alfa Romeo's applications, in this case as a form of traction control. But again, it is designed to maintain the driving experience while enhancing safety. For example, it will allow the Alfa 166 to spin both front wheels simultaneously for a quick departure, as this fastest way for a front wheel drive car to move off, but it will leap into action if one front wheel spins and not the other, using the brakes and the throttle to transfer the power to the wheel with the grip. Its sophistication means that not only does it work hand in hand with the ABS brakes, it also works with the VDC system as a fully integrated active safety system.
The 2003 Alfa Romeo 166 is priced at $84,950 with the legendary 3.0 litre 24V 162 kW V6 engine matched to the Sportronic automatic gearbox.
|
