by Vijay Pattni

Alfa Romeo has unveiled the UK’s most powerful supermini at the 2009 Geneva Motor Show – the new MiTo GTA.

The MiTo GTA is the mini hot-hatch edition of the Ford Fiesta-rivalling Alfa MiTo supermini, and packs a 1.8-litre turbocharged engine.

And the MiTo’s trump card is its prodigious 240bhp power output which outguns cars from the class above, including the Honda Civic Type-R, Ford Focus ST, Volkswagen Golf GTi and Vauxhall Astra VXR.

View the Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA:

Alfa has reworked the MiTo’s chassis to handle the massive power – the GTA gets new springs and dampers which are said to react almost instantly to driving conditions.

This revised chassis also holds less weight than the standard MiTo.

The GTA badge translates as lightweight grand tourer, and the MiTo’s brakes, suspension and chassis are made using aluminium, instead of heavier steel.

The new MiTo gets a carbon fibre roof in a bid to keep the weight to a minimum, and Alfa reckons the air flows smoothly around the MiTo at high speeds – giving more stability in the bends.