Alfa Romeo Mito Marangoni

This one-off MiTo, modified by Rome-based tyre company Marangoni and Florence-based tuning firm TRC, may look daft, but what’s underneath provides a useful taster for Alfa’s own Mito GTA that arrives later this year.

The suspension has been stiffened up and slammed 40mm, while the 1.4-litre petrol engine gets a bigger turbo, an uprated air intake system and new injectors. The results? Around 230bhp – enough for 0-62mph in 6.6 seconds and a top speed approaching 160mph. Power delivery is old-school – wait for it, wait for it…then BANG, everything arrives at once. It’s accompanied by some fearsome turbo whistle and a real rasp from the quad stainless steel exhausts too. It’s certainly exciting but the Mito’s dull throttle response doesn’t help smooth out the aggressive delivery and there’s plenty of torque steer to add to the mix too.

Factor-in composite discs that don’t provide serious stopping power until they’ve got heat in them, plus quick, light steering, and it can all feel a bit disjointed. But get used to it and it’s a lot of fun. Turn-in is instant, there’s very little body-roll and, provided you’re careful with the throttle, loads of grip. The ride is too stiff though – a Mini Cooper JCW would murder it on a bumpy B-road. Still, it all bodes well for the GTA, which will have a similar output.