Autoblog

Following earlier speculation, reports now confirm that Alfa Romeo will produce a high-performance version of its new MiTo hatchback that will wear the vaunted GTA badge. The nameplate was historically used on top-of-the-line performance-oriented Alfas, and will make a comeback with the range-topping MiTo.

Pictured above is a rendering of what the GTA could look like. Power will come from the company's 1750cc 230hp turbo four, with variable valve timing and direct injection. Little else is known at this point, but with 230hp, the MiTo GTA promises to leave the less powerful turbocharged 175hp MINI Cooper S behind in its tracks.

[Source: 4Car]

The Mini is so 2006. VW's new Polo has yet to launch. Neither of those cars matter once you set eyes on the forthcoming hotness from Alfa Romeo. Alfa is coming back to the U.S. market, and while everyone's been ga-ga about the 8C Competizione, supercars just don't support the type of sales volume that Alfa is looking for. Dubbed the MiTo, Alfa's B-car might be the starter kit for the more aspirational supercars that the brand has to offer, but it's no less kickass when taken on its own. Alfa's styling will be new and fresh in the U.S., the brand having been absent from North American shores since the 1990s. There's a little retro in the nose as seen in these renderings from Winding Road, but it's not anywhere near the total homage to the 1960s that the Mini is.

What's underneath the sheetmetal that's alternately voluptuous and crisply creased is a versatile chassis developed before GM took their wad of cash home from Fiat. The MiTo actually shares its platform with the Opel Corsa and the Fiat Grande Punto, both of which have left favorable impressions with reviewers. Power units could run the gamut from a fire breathing turbocharged 1.4-liter gas unit to a 1.9-liter diesel, and a 2.0-liter that kicks out 280 horsepower is also a possibility if a Delta version comes to fruition. As excited as this news makes us, it's going to be a long wait until 2010.

[Source: Winding Road]