Alfa aims to cash in on Mini mania

Alfa Romeo will square-up against the hot-selling Mini Cooper S with a new entry-level car known as the Junior, according to authoritative industry journal Automotive News Europe.

ANE reports that Alfa has been given the green light to build the new Mini fighter by parent company Fiat Auto.

It's believed the Junior will be an overtly sporting three-door hatchback based on the same underpinnings as the Fiat Punto (pictured), which spearheaded Fiat's recent return to the Australian passenger-car market.

However, the range-topping Junior promises stove-hot performance, thanks to a 172kW 1.8-litre direct-injection turbo engine that's being developed by Fiat Powertrain Technology.

And torque-steer shouldn't be an issue, as the prodigious grunt will be channeled to the tarmac via all four wheels, courtesy of Alfa's Q2 Haldex-based AWD system.

ANE suggests the Junior will also be available with cheaper, less powerful engines in both petrol and diesel flavours.

The pint-sized sportster is due on sale internationally in 2008 -- the same year the 147-replacing 148 is scheduled to debut. Alfa aims to sell 60,000 to 80,000 examples of the Junior annually.

Alfa Romeo hopes the addition of the Junior -- destined to slot in below the 148 and 159 -- will help boost the marque's annual global sales to 300,0000 units (a sizeable leap from the 126,000 cars it flogged last year). According to ANE, this is the number of cars the Italian brand needs to sell in order to break even.

The company's Australian sales have been on the slide of late. Alfa Romeo sold just 1572 cars here last year, compared with 1800 in 2004. Its best result in recent years came in 2002, when it sold 2513 cars.

The recent launch of the 159 and Brera should deliver a much-needed shot in the arm.