Alfa Romeo sent its lightweight 4C sportscar out for a spin around the Balocco proving ground and took some cameras along to catch all the action. The result is this promo video which doesn’t say much other than: Look at me!
A quick reminder, too, that the 4C will make its dynamic debut at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in a couple of weeks.
Here’s a great behind the scenes look at the ever so sexy Alfa Romeo 4C being built. Like the 8C Competizione before it the good folk at Maserati have been given the job of building the 4C.
They start with a carbon fibre tub and carefully bond it all together to finally form one of the most highly anticipated cars of 2013. Tipping the scales at just 895kg (dry weight) the 179kW on tap from the all-aluminium 1750cc turbocharged four cylinder is sure to make this sportscar a real treat.
In fact the engine and 6-speed dual clutch combo weigh in at only 135kg combined, some 24kg lighter than the Giulietta.
[Source: sicurauto.it | Thanks to Craig for the tip]
Here’s a brief video showing the Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale by Zagato. The clip starts off in Zagato’s factory near Milan and ends up with some tame driving footage. Looks like they may have been taking photos and capturing video for promotional puposes.
There’s only going to be nine of these cars built, so while it would have been great to see the driver push the limits of the Dodge Viper ACR running gear in the TZ3 Stradale, we may have to wait until the customer gets their car first.
[Source: Motor Authority]
The Alfa Romeo 4C Concept was one of the clear stars of the 2011 Geneva Motor Show. So most readers will be pleased to see this short film released by Alfa showing the preparation of the 4C prior to the show.
To refresh your memory the 4C has the madness of a KTM X-Bow under the skin, enveloped by a series of stunning Behind the driver’s seat rests 150kW of turbocharged power, which sounds modest until you realise there’s just 850kg of weight to shift.
What’s not to like?
In late August news emerged that Volkswagen insiders had confirmed a keen interest in buying Alfa Romeo. Back then people were willing to talk, but they weren’t prepared to give their names. Now, word has come straight from the top with Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen Group CEO, admitting, “Alfa is a very emotional brand. If Fiat considers selling, we’d be interested.”
Winterkorn went further, offering a critique of the Alfa brand and highlighting where improvements could be made, “It’s a beautiful brand but there are quality issues with the engines and suspension systems for example. I’m quite sure we could make a beautiful brand out of Alfa again.”
According to the Volkswagen CEO they no interest in making a bid for Alfa and would only be willing to deal if Fiat expresses an interest to sell.
[Source: Autocar]
Alfa Romeo has made 70 models in their 100 year history. 2010 just happens to be the centenary year of the famous Italian marque, so what better time to work out which car Alfa fans (that’s Alfisti to you and I) think is the best Alfa made to date. As the article title suggests the Giulia GTAm won the poll, with a narrow margin over the 8C Competizione. Voting was conducted via the Alfa Centenary website.
The Giulia GTAm, based on the 1750 GT Veloce, achieved notoriety in 1970 when it won the European Touring Car championship.
There’s more from Alfa after the break, including wallpaper sized pics of the first two cars and a list of the top nine cars.
The cute Alfa Romeo Giulietta has recently been awarded a 5 star crash rating by Euro NCAP. With an overall score of 87 points from a maximum of 100 the Giulietta ranks as the safest car in the compact class.
In 2009 Euro NCAP raised the bar on what is required to achieve a 5 star rating and the testing is still on a upward sliding scale. By 2012 the testing regime will have reached its toughest measure. The good news for Alfa is the Giulietta just tested has achieved a high enough score that will ensure its maximum rating will still be achieved.
Crash testing rates four main criteria: Adult Occupant, Child Occupant, Pedestrian Protection and Safety Assist. In those categories the Giulietta scored an almost perfect 97% for Adult Occupant protection and a very high 85% for Child Occupant safety. Pedestrian Protection was rated at 63% and a score of 86% for Safety Assist shows the car’s on board electronic safety systems are very effective.
More from Alfa Romeo and Euro NCAP after the break.
It was a perfect autumn day in Canberra today. Ideal weather for the annual Auto Italia car show, then. Every year Italian car owners and enthusiasts gather in the nation’s capital to show off their shining metal and this year the lawns adjacent to the National Library of Australia provided the ideal setting.
Of course, cars are much more than shiny metal, and the perfect example of this are marques like Alfa Romeo, de Tomaso, Fiat, Ferrari, Lancia, Lamborghini and Maserati. All were represented at Auto Italia 2010 today. Indeed, this year the featured marque for the Italian show was Alfa Romeo in honour of Alfa’s 100th anniversary. Alfa owners obliged by showcasing some truly beautiful cars, some incredibly rare, all incredibly cherished.
You can catch a glimpse of today’s show by checking out the photos after the jump. More info on Auto Italia in Canberra can be found at their official website.
AutoExpress has published two images of Alfa Romeo’s upcoming 149, the replacement to the 147 model. Featuring strong styling cues from the MiTo and 8C Competizione the little Alfa has, again, sucked in plenty of admirers. Personally, I will reserve my judgement as, like the 8C, while there is definitely plenty to like about the styling, I’m not so sure the front end is as successful as it could be. One thing is certain, the Golf-sized hatch will stand out from its rivals, and that is often half the battle when trying to win customers from other brands.
Power will come from usual petrol and diesel variations, with entry level models expected to have around 90kW (120bhp) up to 186kW (250bhp) for the range topping hot hatch. The higher powered 149s are also expected to have an electronic Q2 diff to try and reign in all that power on a front wheel drive chassis. The 149 will be available for European sales in mid 2009.
Source: AutoExpress
This week’s episode of Top Gear saw Jeremy Clarkson make a bold claim. He reckons the Alfa Romeo 8C is “the best looking car ever made”. I disagree. Sure, the side profile is stunning, but I just can’t see much to like about that front end. It’s all a bit of a mish mash. Enjoy the YouTube clip above and judge for yourself. A couple of pretty tidy newsreaders from the BBC were this week’s Stars in a Reasonably Priced Car. Fiona Bruce fared quite well, but Kate Silverton’s time, in such shocking weather, was actually damn impressive. Of course, the main feature of this episode was the first big Top Gear race since the Veyron first appeared in Series 7. This time the crew was off to Japan and it was Jeremy in the Nürburgring taming Nissan GT-R taking on Richard and James aboard a 200mph bullet train. Exectuve Producer Andy Wilman claimed in his blog that the Veyron race was “too big and overblown” and that the GT-R provided an opportunity to bring the big races back to our screens. Well, I’m disagreeing with another TG heavy as I reckon the Veyron film was one of their best. The cinematography was superb. The GT-R film is very enjoyable, of course, but, for mine, not one of their best. Still can’t wait for Episode 5!
In this week’s episode of Top Gear the lads set out on a £1000 Alfa Romeo Challenge. Jeremy buys a 75, May gets himself a four-cylinder GTV and the Hamster rolls up in a 2-litre Spider. Well, not literally rolls up, at first, anyway. BAFTA winner James Corden joins Rob Brydon on the couch for a fang in the Lacetti. If you’re a die hard TG fan then you’ve probably already seen the Alfa Challenge, and if you haven’t you will before week’s end. So, featured in this week’s wrap is the opening clip from the show, Jeremy Clarkson testing the six and three quarter litre Bentley Brooklands. Can you call such a car brutal and savage? Given that sixteen cows were used to fit out the car’s interior I guess you can, and that’s even before the tyre bursting performance!