production line – AUSmotive.com

Alfa Romeo 4C production line

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]

Even though the R56 MINI has been on sale for some time, the R52 Cabriolet models currently on sale were still based on the first gen MINI platform. In readiness for the all new R57 model, Cabrio production has come to a temporary close after 164,000 R52s rolled off the line at MINI’s Plant Oxford. The MINI Cooper Cabrio accounted for 79,500 of the total sales with the MINI Cooper S Cabrio (and John Cooper Works versions) selling around 56,500 units. The remaining 28,000 were MINI One Cabrio models, not sold in Australia. The very last R52 Cabrio rolled off the line last week. It was a MINI Cooper S Cabrio Sidewalk finished in metallic White Silver, sold to a keen MINI fan from the USA.

News of the last R52 Cabrio came just days before MINI announced its one millionth MINI for export. Oliver Zipse, Managing Director MINI Plant Oxford said, â€œExport is a key factor for the success and stability of our MINI Plant in Oxford. Since MINI was launched we have seen a significant increase in export from less than 60 per cent in 2001 to over 80 per cent this year. The high customer demand in almost 80 countries around the world, from Chile to China, has driven MINIâ€™s success over the last seven years.â€