Alfa Romeo launches Superbike inspired MiTo SBK

Fans of Alfa Romeo and the Superbike World Championship rejoice, for it looks like all of your dreams have come true. Alfa Romeo has just announced a limited edition of its MiTo supermini – the Quadrifoglio Verde SBK Limited Edition.

Alfa Romeo is entering its seventh year as a main sponsor of the Superbike World Championship, providing the official safety car for the 2013 championship. The limited edition celebrates this fact, with just 28 destined for UK shores.

Alfa Romeo MiTo TwinAir review (2012 onwards)

Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 MultiAir Distinctive review (2011 onwards)

The MiTo SBK (for the sake of time, we’ll stick with this shorter name) is powered by the same 1.4-litre MultiAir turbocharged engine you’ll find in the Quadrifoglio. This means 170bhp, a 0-62mph time of a little over 7 seconds and a combined MPG figure of 47.1

All of the changes are cosmetic and whether you’ll approve of them is purely a matter of taste. One thing is for certain, you’ll have to like black and red as the MiTo SBK is only available in Solid Black with an Alfa Red roof.

You’ll also find SBK decals, a racing bodykit, 18-inch alloy wheels and red Brembo brake callipers. On the inside the same theme continues, meaning red-stitched Sabelt Alcantara sports seats with carbon fibre backs, sports pedals and red-stitched leather steering wheel and gearstick.

Oh and as the MiTo SBK is a limited edition, each car comes with an individually numbers SBK Limited Edition badge on the dashboard. You’ll naturally get the standard Quadrifoglio Verde features such as dual-zone air conditioning, active suspension and cruise control.

If you fancy being one of the 28 people to own a MiTo SBK you’ll need to part with £21,595. However, we don’t recommend pulling the same stunt carried out by Paul Swift and British Superbike rider Chris Walker.

To mark the MiTo SBK’s arrival, Paul took the car around Silverstone’s Brooklands Corner on two wheels and invited Chris to take the inside line and go under the chassis of the Alfa Romeo.

Superbike fans will no doubt argue that it’s the closest a car will ever get to a bike on a race track…

The MiTO SBK looks undeniably distinctive, but we can’t help thinking the colour combination and decals hide the MiTo’s clean and elegant lines. Our money would be on the cheeky and significantly cheaper MiTo TwinAir.

On Bing: see photos of the Alfa Romeo MiTo

See how much a used Alfa Romeo MiTO costs on Auto Trader