Alfa Romeo's compact new 147 sports hatchback makes its UK public debut at the British International Motor Show in October before it goes on sale here early next year, writes David Duffy.

Designed by Alfa Romeo Centro Stile, the 147 is a natural successor to recent Alfa Romeos, and its styling cues develop themes familiar with these cars, as well as older classic Alfas.

The new 147 will be available here with 120 horsepower and 150 horsepower Twin Spark 16-valve engines, together with a chassis and suspension developed from the 156 saloon.

Elsewhere on the Alfa Romeo stand will be three versions of the award-winning 156 saloon, together with two versions of the recently introduced Sportwagon range. The Sportwagon has already proved to be a runaway success in the UK following its summer introduction, and UK production has recently been increased to cope with the high demand.

Sportwagon versions on show will include the 2.4 JTD, and the 2.0 Selespeed which features a sophisticated Grand Prix-style manually operated electro-hydraulic gearbox with an automatically-activated clutch mechanism.

Also present will be 2.0-litre and 3.0-litre versions of Alfa Romeo's 166 sports saloon range, along with the familiar GTV and Spider sportscars.

Alfa Romeo recently posted its highest monthly market share of the year a healthy 35 per cent increase over April sales which comes as a direct result of Alfa Romeo's 20 per cent reduction of list prices just before Easter.

Meanwhile, Alfa's stylish sportscars, the GTV and Spider convertible, which have been in great demand in the UK since their introduction, will acquire another strong feature a significantly lower price from September 1.

The Alfa GTV and Spider's 15 per cent price reduction completes the car manufacturer's recent range restructure. Alfa Romeo has cut, on average, about 20 per cent price on all its sports saloons and hatchbacks since April.

More than 7,000 versions of the GTV and Spider have been sold in the UK since 1996.

An extensive revision to the range, together with the introduction of a GTV 3.0-litre V6 24-valve version, have sustained their presence in the exclusive sportscar niche market.