New Cars Sport Sport

A "spy" video showing an Alfa Romeo 4C GTA and Spider has been circulating around the internet lately, with some screen shots even making their way on British car magazine Autoexpress which posted a story on its website the other day.

We had our doubts about its authenticity ever since we first saw the film last week, and today these suspicions were confirmed after we came in contact with Marco Procaccini from MPCARDESIGN who told us that he made the video as part of a new (independent) Alfa Romeo project he is working on. Apparently, someone got hold of Mario's video, and tried to pass it on as a scoop, duping many people in the process.

You can check both the faux spy video and a teaser from MPCARDESIGN's new Alfa Romeo 4C design study right after the jump.

Links: Mpcardesign , Autojunk & Autoexpress

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The Fiat Group will have a particularly strong presence at the Geneva Motor Show this year, as it’s planning to reveal a bevy of new models and concept cars. Alfa Romeo’s offering at the Swiss salon will be centered on the Giulietta compact and 2011MY MiTo subcompact models, with two of each scheduled to go on display. And for those of you wondering, Alfa's press release made no mention of the rumored concept sports coupe based on the underpinnings of the KTM X-Bow.

First up is the 170HP Giulietta Distinctive fitted with a 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine mated to the Alfa TCT dual-clutch automatic transmission and a Start-Stop system, which returns 5.2 lt/100 km (45.2 US mpg) on the combined cycle. The show car is customized with a Sport Pack package that includes 18-inch alloys (17” wheels also available), side skirts, seats clad in fabric-leather upholstery, aluminum inserts, metallic headlight frames and dark interior.

The standard equipment list includes the Alfa DNA dynamic vehicle control system with a Q2 electronic differential, VDC with ASR and Hill Holder, six airbags, front seatbelts with dual pre-tensioner and front anti-whiplash headrests.

The second Giulietta to go on display is the range-topping Quadrifoglio Verde 1750 TBi with a Rosso Competizione paintjob, powered by a direct-injection and turbocharged 1.8-liter four-pot with 235HP and 340 Nm (251 lb-ft) of peak torque. Only available with this engine, the Quadrifoglio Verde trim level comes with 17-inch rims (18-inch wheels are optional), more powerful brakes and a sporty interior, with fabric-leather seats.

Both Giuliettas feature the Blue&Me-TomTom system that allows owners to operate the telephone, sound system, navigation and other driving aids through one, 6.5-inch color touch-screen.

The Italian automaker’s stand will feature the 2011MY MiTo subcompact as well, which goes on sale in April. The refreshed model gets a new choice of exterior colors and interior fabrics, plus an extended list of optional equipment and a revised Quadrifoglio version powered by a 170HP four-cylinder engine.

To make it more appealing, the 2011MY MiTo Quadrifoglio comes with a new surround under the Alfa badge, modified Quadrifoglio Verde logos and chrome mirror housings, door handles and headlight/taillight frames. The optional 18-inch wheels round up the exterior changes.

Inside, the sportiest MiTo comes with the Sabelt sport seats (also an optional item) wrapped in an Alcantara-fabric combination, black color scheme and green-white seams found on the seats, steering wheel, hand brake lever and gear shifter knob.

By Csaba Daradics

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When the Nissan Versa was launched in Australia as the Tiida, many automotive watchers were excited by the prospect of blending Renault’s European flair with Nissan’s Japanese reliability. “Here,” they said, “Is a car that’ll please everyone.”

What they got was a narrow-bodied subcompact with so-so styling, a plasticy dashboard, a shocking lack of equipment and an overinflated price tag. Not to mention Kim Cattrall in the TV spots. If this sounds strangely familiar to our older readers, you’re right on the money. Twenty-three years before the crossbred Tiida hit Australian shores, another mongrel was being birthed in Europe.

It was 1983, and Alfa Romeo had just launched the Arna, an acronym for “Alfa Romeo Nissan Autoveicoli”. The Arna was essentially a N12 series Nissan Pulsar / Cherry with the engine, transmission and front suspension from Alfa’s popular if rust-prone Alfasud. Built in Alfa’s new Pratola Serra factory near Naples, the Arna had the mechanical reliability of the Alfasud and all the style and grace of the Cherry.

In other words, it was a dog.

Although it was available with either of Alfa’s 1.2L or 1.5L flat-four boxer engines, the fact remains that it was a dull Japanese hatchback built by the same uncaring, unionized Italian labour force that had built the Alfasud. In one final irony, the Arna was deported exported to Japan as the Nissan Pulsar Milano, probably giving the Japanese peoples their first (and last) taste of ‘80s Italian engineering.

The Arna died a quiet death in 1987, replaced with the Pininfarina-designed Alfa Romeo 33. The 33 was by no means a great car, though after the Arna, many Alfaistas would have welcomed an yearly rail pass with open arms. Nissan continued to sell the Cherry / Pulsar in Europe, though never met great success in Europe’s highly competitive subcompact car market until the launch of the K11 Micra in 1992. For both manufacturers, the Arna was a miserable failure, remembered only by auto watchers such as yours truly.

By Tristan Hankins

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Speaking at the J.D. Power and Associates International Automotive Round-table in San Francisco, Fiat Group and Chrysler LLC CEO Sergio Marchionne bluntly reiterated that the Italians won’t sell Alfa Romeo to the Volkswagen Group, or anyone else for that matter.

“As long as I am CEO of Chrysler and Fiat, Mr. Piech will never have Alfa Romeo. It's hands-off. I told him. I will call him and I will email him”, Marchionne said.

According to Automotive News Europe, Marchionne also took a shot at VW, saying that the group's Chairman Ferdinand Piech should try to turn around Seat, its struggling Spanish brand, instead of eyeing Alfa.

“I'm not the one who bought Seat. He's the one who bought it. I don't know if he can [fix it], but he needs to try”, the Italian official commented.

We’ll remind you that selling Alfa Romeo has been a hot topic for the past year or so, but Fiat never confirmed the rumors, periodically stating that it prefers to revitalize the Milanese company. Prior to Marchionne’s latest remark, it was Fiat Chairman John Elkann who also said that Alfa is not for sale.

“We would not sell Alfa even if we were offered tons of money”, Elkann told reporters on the sidelines of last month’s Detroit Auto Show, adding that the brand will be relaunched in the U.S. in 2012.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: ANE (Sub. required)

Automakers find all kind of excuses to create special edition versions of their cars, and by special edition we actually mean better equipped models. For Alfa Romeo, the raison d'être of the new MiTo Sprint is "the continued support of UK Athletics (UKA)". Wonder what they'll think of next...

Well, in any case, the new UK market MiTo Sprint is available in UKA ‘Union Jack’ inspired colors (red, white or blue), and comes with some £1,500 worth of extras, including cruise control, leather steering wheel and gear stick, remote audio controls on the steering wheel, Blue&Me Bluetooth hands-free system with voice recognition, and media player with a USB port.

In addition, the special version also features a rear spoiler, 16-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, and unique Sprint badging.

UK buyers have a choice of two petrol engines, the 1.4 16V 95 bhp costing £13,295 OTR and the 1.4 TB MultiAir 135 bhp with ALFA TCT automatic transmission priced £16,395 OTR, and one diesel unit, the 1.3 JTDM-2 95 bhp version which starts at £14,845 OTR.

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A newly developed 2.0-liter JTDM engine has made its way under the hood of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta in the UK. The four-cylinder turbocharged diesel unit, which delivers 140HP at 4,000 rpm and 320Nm of peak torque in 'Normal' mode and 350Nm in 'Dynamic' mode, gets the latest generation JTDM-2 MultiJet Common Rail system that is already present on the 105HP 1.6 JTDM-2 and the 170HP 2.0 JTDM-2 engines.

Alfa Romeo says that with this diesel engine, the Giulietta can accelerate from 0 to 62 mph (100 km/h) in 9 seconds en route to a top speed of 127 mph (204 km/h), while returning a combined fuel consumption of 62.8 mpg UK (52.3 mpg US or 4.5 lt/100km) with CO2 emissions of 119g/km.

The new engine is Euro 5 compliant and is equipped with DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) and Start&Stop as standard.

On-the-road prices for the Giulietta 2.0 JTDM-2 in the UK are set at £20,144.47 for the Lusso model and £21,444.47 for the better equipped Veloce.

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At this year’s Geneva Motor Show, Alfa Romeo may take the audience by surprise with a lightweight, mid-engine and rear-wheel drive coupe concept that will eventually become the Italian maker’s next affordable halo car, reportedly named 4C GTA.

According to an Automotive News Europe [ANE] report, a Fiat spokesman has confirmed that development is underway, however the Geneva debut is uncertain due to “delays in the concept model construction”.

The brand’s last affordable rear-wheel drive model was the “Classic Spider”, which was discontinued in 1994, leaving a gap that was never filled by Alfa Romeo. True, the limited run 8C Competizione, built between 2007 and 2008, was an impressive car, but with a price tag of over €200,000 (US $276,160) it was simply too expensive for the average Alfa buyer.

The new model is said to go on sale in Europe by late 2012 with a base price of €40,000 (or about US $55,244). According to inside sources, Alfa plans to build up to 25,000 units by the end of 2017. If true, the 4C GTA could also make it to the States, but nothing’s final yet.

The role of the 4C GTA is clear: it’s expected to attract customers to the firm's showrooms, where the upcoming 159 replacement and the brand’s first SUV model should convince them to sign on the dotted line.

Sources stated it will be styled by Alfa’s own design center in Turin and that the “rakish, very compact and extremely low two-seat coupe” will make use of modified version of the KTM X-Bow platform, originally engineered by Italy’s Dallara Automobili for the Austrian motorcycle maker. Power is said to come from the Giulietta’s 1.8-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine, expected to deliver over 250HP.

Let’s that just hope that if the 4C GTA rumors turn out to be real, the sports car will be instantly recognizable as a true Alfa Romeo and not a rebadged X-Bow.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: ANE

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Concept car that is often exhibited by a manufacturer-car manufacturers often appear extremely futuristic. It is not only happening in the present course.

Because the cars epoch can also find out he has a futuristic ideas though made in the old days when technology was not as sophisticated as this.

Innovation concept cars that was both design and technology also deserves thumbs up. Below we present seven older but the concept car concept futuristic:

1. B.A.T. 7

The car that was launched in Turin in 1954 uses three Alfa Romeo cars as a base Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica designed by Franco Scaglione of the famous design house Bertone.

With half-closed and the wheels on the rear wing, BAT 7 looks like a car from another planet. Even so, Bertone claims to make design a car like this long-needed study aerodynamics.


2. Sting Ray

Cars made by GM design chief Bill Mitchell is made to show courage in the world GM is racing. Evidenced by the participation of this car in 1959 and 1960.

Armed with the chassis of the Corvette SS picked then wrapped with a new body, Sting Ray cool present and those who see it.


Three. Ford Mustang I

Progenitor legendary Ford Mustang muscle car was originally built in 1962 upon the idea of Roy Lunn and Frank Theyleg to rival sports car owned by MG and Alfa Romeo. This car initially apply only a small Ford Taunus V4 engine with four-speed manual transmission that can only produce 109 hp.

4. Cadillac Cyclone

Futuristic cars made in 1959 so this seemed like an airplane. Outside the body of this car is already equipped with fins at the stern with a front bumper with exhaust-style fighters who are now in the front section near the front wheels.

Moreover, thanks to the cabin door and transparent application, this car can give up the sensation of climbing a fighter plane. Moreover, this car is also equipped with communication devices that can make this car passengers to communicate with people outside the car without having to open canopy of the car.


5. GM Firebird III
This car is a car that is very special with the leading specifications that have been made. And just like the Cadillac Cyclone, a car made in 1959 was also very inspired by fighter aircraft. That's why this car looks more like a jet fighter than a car.

A side car until the fin on the back and the cabin is designed in the style of fighter jets. To control this car, we are not necessary to use a steering wheel but simply use the joystick like on the plane with all the attributes that have been computerized.


6. Ferrari Modulo

Designed in Pininfarina design house and is shown at the Geneva Auto Show 1970, Ferrari Modulo looks like a space module and not like a Ferrari in general. But if you see a powerful 550 hp V12 engine, the doubt on this car would disappear immediately.


7. Aero-Vette

Looking at the long history of Corvette, this car could be said as one of the best concept cars from American manufacturers. Armed with fantastic body and gullwing doors, Aero-Vette look very exotic.

GM design boss affairs, Bill Mitchell even had prepared a car who first shown in 1977 was to be mass produced by machine applications small-block V-8 to cut the selling price in the future. But unfortunately the program in cencel for a reason.