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10.08.2006 Autodelta will be present at this Saturday’s Forza Auto Italia event at Santa Pod with a line-up of its high-performance bespoke model range

Autodelta will be present this Saturday (12th August) during Forza Auto Italia, a new event dedicated to Italian cars which is being held at the Santa Pod Raceway, the well-known “drag racing strip” located near Northants in England, with a line-up of its exclusive high-performance bespoke model range joined especially for the occasion by an Alfa Brera 3.2 Q4 which - with the Tour’s scheduled London start now just over five weeks away - will be displaying the “Autodelta European Tour 2006” livery for the very first time.

Forza Auto Italia is a brand new event concept being organized by the world’s leading Italian car magazine, Auto Italia, and the Santa Pod Raceway; it has been especially created for all Italian car owners. Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Fiat, Lamborghini, Lancia, and Maserati will all be represented in their own dedicated sections as will the smaller, rarer brand names. Under the title of “Run What Ya Brung” owners will be able to race against the clock - and each other - down the drag strip, with highlights of this feature also including demonstration run from the ground-shaking 1,500bhp “Top Fuel Topolino” and the spectacular 270mph “Jet Car” flame-thrower.

The Santa Pod Raceway is the UK home of European Drag Racing and host to the televised FIA European Drag Racing Championships. It claims to be the fastest and loudest motorsport on earth with sensational race action from dragsters and doorslammers to beetles and bikes. Santa Pod is host to over 50 different events during the race season from January to November. These include national drag race meetings, classic car events, modified car festivals (such as Redline Rumble, The Fast Show and USC), VW Beetle shows (Bug Jam and Big Bang), Japanese performance cars (The JapShow) and specialist events (including the Performance Vauxhall Show, Classic Ford show and French Car Clubs Day). This weekend however will see Italian cars exclusively in action during Forza Auto Italia in what promises to be a truly unique new event.

Autodelta will present their current exclusive high-performance model range at Santa Pod, the line-up led out by the latest version of the Alfa Romeo GT Coupé: the edgier 340bhp Autodelta GT Super Evo, which boasts even more power and more torque than the slightly more refined Autodelta GT Super model. Also in the line-up will be the Autodelta 156 JTS Super, the first forced induction version of Alfa Romeo’s efficient direct-injection JTS engine.

”Forza Auto Italia looks set to be an exciting new event on the calendar, Auto Italia and Santa Pod have put a lot of effort in to making it a success and we’re pleased to be attending,” comments Autodelta’s Jano Djelalian. “It also gives us a great opportunity to announce more details of the Autodelta European Tour 2006 as we build up towards it, and with everything rapidly falling into place.”

With the “Autodelta European Tour 2006” in fact now less than six weeks away further announcements will be made during Forza Auto Italia, the event also set to see an Alfa Brera 3.2 Q4 being presented in this year’s edition livery. The Tour will feature 25 cars traveling through seven countries over six days, starting in London on 15th September and ending in Monte Carlo six days later.

AUTODELTA EUROPEAN TOUR 2006 PRESENTED IN MONTE CARLO

On Monday (7th August) the Autodelta European Tour 2006 was officially presented at the stylish and glamorous Hotel Metropole, in Monte Carlo. This luxurious five-star hotel will play host to the culmination of the Tour next month. The Metropole Hotel looks out over the famous Monte Carlo Grand Prix circuit, and the new Autodelta model will be unveiled at Casino Square, a location which has reverberated to the sound of F1 exhausts for countless decades. Tour participants will be pampered for the final two nights at the world-famous hotel.
 
During the presentation in Monte Carlo on Monday, Jano Djelalian and Autodelta Events Manager Andrew Smith were joined by the Hotel Metropole's Convention and Banqueting coordinator, Olivia Slous, and the Chief Concierge, Serge Mandina. "We're delighted that the Tour will conclude at the Hotel Metropole and I’m certain that it will provide the perfect setting and required ambience for the première of our new model," commented Jano Djelalian. "This is a truly superb and very exclusive hotel, located in a beautiful setting, which fits exactly with the core values that the Autodelta brand sets out to achieve. I am also confident that the participants in the Tour this year will find this to be an excellent location at which to conclude the event."

FIRST TOUR PARTICIPANTS ANNOUNCED

Meanwhile the first ten Tour participating cars have been announced. The Tour is open to all cars. Several Autodelta bespoke models will feature in the line-up including the breathtaking 400bhp Autodelta 147 GTA AM 3.7 Super “hot hatch”, the car – even before it was supercharged – which was dubbed “the world’s hottest hatch – ever” by BBC TV TopGear presenter Jeremy Clarkson; along with the latest addition to the exclusive road range: the supercharged Autodelta 156 2.0 JTS Super – the first forced induction, direct injection Alfa Romeo JTS engine in the world; the phenomenal 400bhp 156 GTA AM 3.7 Super; the GT Coupé 3.7; GT Super and also a Spider J10 Evo. Also confirmed already to take part is an Alfa Romeo 159; while non-Milanese entries include a Ferrari 348 TB and Audi RS4.

”We have had a really great response to the Tour,” says Jano, “there are some superb cars coming, some of course we know very well, but there will be plenty of new faces who we are very excited to get to know. It certainly looks as if this second edition will build on the runaway success of last year’s inaugural Tour.

”There are still a few places remaining on the Tour so anyone interested in participating should please contact us or call in and see us at our display during Forza Auto Italia on Saturday,” adds Jano.