First look: Alfa's 159 morphs into Sportwagon

THE Genvea motor show will see the introduction of the 159 Sportwagon which also comes to Australia in 2007 alongside the all-new Spider convertible.

The same length (4660mm) as the 159 sedan due on sale here this year, the Sportwagon is claimed to have excellent load space as well as sedan-car looks and aerodynamics, assisted by a roof spoiler.

The Sportwagon offers a range of engines including three new JTS powerplants with double continuous variable valve timing (195kW 3.2 V6, 138kW 2.2 and 120kW 1.9) and three turbo-diesel Multijet engines (150kW 2.4 JTDM 20v, 112kW 1.9 JTDM 16v and 90kW 1.9 JTDM 8v).

All are fitted with new manual six-speed gearboxes, while automatic transmission and six-speed Selespeed are offered as optional on certain variants.