Chrysler? Some goss on what FIAT and Alfa are planning...

Oh dear. Maybe this Chrysler deal is for real.

Testing of the Milano is in its final stages ahead of a launch at Geneva in 2010. This prototype, snapped recently, appears to have a stubby gearlever. It carries an AMT designation on a window sticker, which refers to a dual-clutch transmission that Alfa is developing. Documentation released recently by Chrysler to support its claim for funds from the US government lists dual-clutch transmissions as one of the technologies it is hoping to ‘borrow’ from the Fiat Group. The Milano is also understood to be based on an all-new platform, rather than a highly modified Bravo chassis. Alfa’s replacement for the 159, the Giulia, will be built on a long-wheelbase version of the platform. It is due in late 2011. Chrysler’s planning document suggests that Alfa’s 166 flagship will make a comeback as a platform variant of the rear-drive 300C, a car based on the mid-1990s Mercedes W210 E-Class.

OK, so Milano replaces the 147, the Giulia replaces the 159 and the 166 comes back from the dead based on the ugliest block of metal on the planet (OK, maybe the Nitro is worse) the 300C. I'm definitely not in that market, anyway!

New from Alfa - "multair" electro-hydraulic valves for "Milano"

Well it may not be totally new in concept, but at least FIAT is trying to pack as much efficiency into its petrol engines as it can... Alfa Romeo will pave the way for a major overhaul of its range in 2010 and 2011 by revealing its Multiair direct-injection petrol engines at the Geneva show. The Multiair units will be seen first in next year’s replacement for the 147 hatch, due to take on the name Milano.

So the new 147 will be called "Milano"? As in an Alfa 75-replacement? We shall see.