Alfa Romeo "Holds" MiTo GTA

Sighs Thanks, economy! Looks like the production Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA that debuted in concept form at the Geneva Auto Show has been put on ice.

To me, Alfa Romeo is all about high performance. The MiTo is no doubt good looking but a dose of more sportiness would be much welcomed. I can see the positive press now, magazines fawning over the new MiTo GTA. But alas, according to Alfa Romeo it is not to be.

The GTA model would have vaulted the MiTo to the top of the hot hatch class. Styling was to be much more aggressive, along with the suspension tightened and handling improved. Where the action really was though was under the hood. The GTA was to have a 1.6 liter 4-cylinder engine producing 240 HP, besting the Mini Cooper JCW.

British magazine iMotor has reported today of the hold (seemingly a cancellation) and quoted an Alfa Romeo spokeswoman as saying: “The MiTo GTA has been put on hold. It’s hard to justify building such as high performance car at this present time as the financial crisis means that its not economically viable. And, sadly, it may never be."

I guess aftermarket will have to do, like Novitec with it's tuning package for the MiTo. This news is too bad, I normally see how producing expensive halo vehicles and the like right now isn't viable but this case is different. Why? Because the GTA is just a different trim level of an existing vehicle. How much more would it really cost to produce? Not a whole lot. Something tells me there is more to this - I do think we will eventually get a MiTo GTA.