Alfa Romeo's sporty subcompact MiTo model has been voted European Car of the Year 2009 by a panel of sector journalists, a statement from the Fiat Group said on Monday.
The car was chosen for its level of technology, price and design for which it received 462 points compared to 348 for the second-placed Lancia Delta, also from the Fiat group, and 295 points for the Ford Fiesta, which placed third.
''We are very pleased that such an authoritative jury recognised the strength and modernity of our concept to place the great attributes of Alfa Romeo into a compact car,'' said Alfa Romeo CEO Luca De Meo, who is also the Fiat group's marketing director.
''This prestigious award represents for us an encouragement for our project to relaunch our marque to which we are dedicating great passion,'' De Meo added.
A statement from the Fiat group said that the MiTo was the first time that Alfa Romeo has produced a subcompact sports car and that this project was ''aimed at recruiting a new generation of Alfa-lovers''.
The name is an acronym for Milano (Milan) - Alfa Romeo's home city - and Torino (Turin) - the home of parent company Fiat - which in Italian also means legend.
Fiat and BMW are reported to be putting the final touches on an accord to produce common platforms and components for their respective Alfa Romeo and Mini marques by the end of the year.
The Italian and Italian automakers last July signed a memorandum of intent to develop a common platform for the Alfa Romeo MiTo and the latest evolution of the Mini.
