On 1st January 2005 it will become a whole lot easier to own one of the world's most attractive coupés, the Alfa Romeo GT, with the launch of the JTS Selespeed version.

"Everything that has made the Alfa GT so special stays the same," says Kevin Wall, General Manager for Alfa Romeo in Australia. "The stunning looks, the lavish equipment, the hand crafted leather the race track bred chassis and, with a 0-100 time of 8.7 seconds, the new JTS version of the Alfa Romeo GT still has the performance to match the looks. But with a price of $64,950 it will be more than $15,000 easier to get into an Alfa GT from 1 January 2005 and, with Selespeed as standard ....."

As with the Alfa GT 3.2 litre, which was on sale in Australia before Europe, this market is the first to get the Alfa Romeo GT with the combination of the JTS engine and the Selespeed gearbox, thanks to the fact that 80 per cent of Alfa Romeos sold in Australia are equipped with the sequential manual gearbox that owes its origins to the Ferrari Formula One team.

The 2.0 litre 121 kW engine is the same lean burn, direct petrol injection engine seen in the Alfa Romeo 156 and like that car, this powerful, light weight unit use its supreme efficiency to provide the Alfa Romeo GT with strong performance, excellent economy and low emissions. Top speed with the JTS engine is 216 kmh and it despatches the dash to 100 kmh in 8.7 seconds and to a kilometre in 29.2 seconds. In the European combined fuel consumption test it achieves 6.8 litres per 100 km, a remarkably low figure for such a stylish performance car.

With its best of both worlds offering the Selespeed gearbox combines the excitement of changing gears manually in the same fashion as a racing, via paddles on the steering wheel, or the convenience of letting the system change the gears itself. But, unlike a conventional automatic, because the Selespeed is based on the manual gearbox, it offers the performance, economy and emissions of manual gearbox even when changing its own gears.

The Alfa Romeo GT JTS is, like its V6 brother, spectacularly well equipped. Naturally there is the equipment you would expect in this market position, such as power windows, remote central locking with remote boot opening, full leather interior and a powerful sound system, trip computer, cruise control and heated front seats.

But each of these items has been honed to match Alfa Romeo's requirements. Hand crafted, fine Italian leather is used on the elegantly shaped and styled seats that offer both comfort and the lateral grip required in a sports car; the powerful stereo system is fitted with a Bose power amplipher and speakers, as well as a Bosch stacker CD unit and the ability to play MP3; the central locking includes auto-lock to ensure security; the readout on the trip computer to be changed to suit individual requirements.

Performance is nothing without safety and security and here, once again the Alfa Romeo GT has all the features expected of a car in the exacting class. Active safety features include the full range of electronic safety features, such as electronic stability controls (VDC, ASR and MSR) tuned to provide safety but without dampening down the driving experience, as well as the latest generation of ABS anti-lock brakes. Naturally, a responsive chassis aids accident avoidance, as well. Passive safety features are led by six air bags, crumple zones and an occupant safety cell.

Styled by Bertone, the legendary Italian styling house, the Alfa Romeo GT takes all the Alfa Romeo elements that have lead to the Alfa Romeo sports cars, the 147, the 156 and the 166 be lauded for their unique elegance, style and eye-catching beauty and added their own unique additions to produce a car that is, quite simply a new byword for beauty.

No less of an achievement is the interior and, like Alfa Romeo's existing range, it can be expected that this interior will, too, become a palette from which other car makers draw their inspiration. But few will match the clarity of view that Alfa Romeo provides to produce an interior that is both snug like a sports car and spacious like a sedan; stylish to the to ultimate level, but easy to use and ergonomic, in summation an interior that is always an occasion in which to sit, whether in traffic jam or on a favourite stretch of road.

But practicality has not been sacrificed. This is a coupé that is also remarkably practical. There is comfort for four people, space and seat belts for five, matched by a spacious boot of 320 litres, which may be enlarged by folding down the split rear seats and a through loading device adds to the load carrying options. But there are also excellent detail features, such as the lockers on either side of the boot, the 12 volt power point located on one side of the boot and the polished chrome - who says practicality can't be beautiful - tie luggage down points.

"When the Alfa Romeo GT was introduced in mid-2004, it was clear that it offered a remarkable combination of style, performance and value for money," says Kevin Wall. "With the launch of the JTS Selespeed, we have enhanced ease of driving, boosted value for money and improved the cost of ownership without having any affect on the beauty of this fabulous car....."

The Alfa Romeo GT JTS Selespeed will have a recommended retail price of $64,950 when it goes on sale in Australia on 1st January 2005.