well history has taught me to expect the car that gets released will be no where near as good as those pics, and there's little point getting my hopes up, but thats life.
i always get excited a year before a car is realeased because the concept is so great and it looks amazing and promises so much, then its the dissapointment with the final release model that makes me hate so many new cars.
at the end of the day its just a grande punto with alfa body panels and interior. so it'll be as crap as a GP but a bit better looking (not hard) and a lot more expensive (to buy, run and fix). not my idea of a successful car but its funny watching them try.
lets be honest, if alfa did release the car in the second pic, they would sell loads of them and it would be a hit, especially if it has the 1.4 turbo lump with at least 150bhp. i know i'd buy one. even if the engine blows up at 20k and the electrics randomly fail in traditonal alfa style i'd still buy one and love it.