If I ever buy a vintage car it’s so going to be one of these 1990 Alfa Romeo Spiders… Every true car freak loves Alfa Romeo, and I’m no different.

Found this breathtaking photo of an Alfa Romeo Spider Serie 4 on the Alfa Romeo Blog. Excellent stuff!

That color too… WAW!

Filed under: Economy, Euro, Hatchbacks, Ford, Alfa Romeo

It's that time of year, when various agencies far and wide begin handing out awards for the new crop of cars. The '09 model-year vehicles are all known by now and the press has had plenty of time to size up the competition. Recently, The Detroit Free Press appeared to have let the EuroCOTY cat out of the bag a bit early when it reported that Alfa Romeo had managed to snag the top honors with its new MiTo subcompact. Although we'd be hard-pressed to argue otherwise, it turns out that the rumor isn't true. The real European Car of the Year award will be announced on November 17.

The MiTo did win the Auto Europa award, though, which is granted by the Italian press. Second place went to Alfa's sister company Lancia for its homely-looking Delta and the Ford Fiesta grabbed the bronze. Thankfully, we'll be able to pick up a Fiesta in the U.S. for the 2010 model-year, and after driving one in Europe, we're looking forward to the sub-compact making the trek across the pond.


[Source: The Detroit Free Press via Motor Authority]

Will the real European Car of the Year winner please stand up? originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Oct 2008 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Filed under: Euro, Hatchbacks, Alfa Romeo

Alfa's MiTo already has us excited enough, and now along come images of the upcoming 149. Auto Express has put two shots of the pleasingly-styled hatch online. The 149, a replacement for the 147, shares some familial styling cues with the MiTo, which in turn shares some lines with the 8C Competizione. The 149 is an exceedingly handsome three- or five door that would woo us on looks alone. Performance will be there to back up the racy sheetmetal, with gasoline and diesel powerplants, variously turbocharged. At the low end, the 149 packs 120 horsepower, and it can reach as high as 250. The hotrod versions will also get a trick differential, dubbed Q2, which will aid in getting that power to the ground. The car will drop in mid 2009, and is rumored to adhere to US safety regulations, boding well for this sinewy Italian making it across the Atlantic to the North American market. Please. We're begging.

[Source: Auto Express]

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Filed under: Car Buying, Sports/GTs, Euro, Supercars, Alfa Romeo, Special/Limited Editions

And with these words, the Alfisti shall rejoice: Alfa Romeo is finally back in the United States. While a full scale return by the Italian maker won't happen until 2009 or 2010, you can officially buy the Alfa 8C Competizione starting this month through one of the designated Maserati dealers tabbed to carry this rolling piece of automotive hotness. Check that, you can arrange delivery. Seems all of the 8Cs earmarked for the U.S. are already spoken for. So at least in theory, Alfa has returned. The 8C Spider open air version won't show up until 2010, but we really like the coupe enough not to be too distressed about the wait.

When the full operation ramps up, we are expecting that someone strolling into an Alfa Romeo dealership will be able to purchase not only the 8C Competizione and 8C Spider, but hopefully the hotter 8C GTA, the Brera and 159 or their replacements, the MiTo and 149, and whisperings also suggest a large rear-drive car possibly based on a Jaguar platform, along with a BMW X3 rival. Sounds a bit like Heaven. As always, we'll keep you posted.



[Source: Automotive News, sub. req.]

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Filed under: Coupes, Euro, Paris Motor Show, Alfa Romeo

Standing in front of the Alfa Romeo display in Paris, we found ourselves in a bit of a conundrum. The big news from Alfa was, of course, the official worldwide show debut of the MiTo, and the stand was rife with them. But we've already brought you galleries of photos of the MiTo, and even flew all the way over to Italy to drive it. (For you, of course.) But a European car show wouldn't be a European car show without some shots of an Alfa Romeo. Fortunately the Italians were kind enough to oblige with a new, hotter version of the impossibly gorgeous Brera.

The Brera Ti picks up some of the improvements developed by British rally and racing concern Prodrive (yes, that Prodrive, the ones who field Aston Martin in Le Mans, Subaru in the WRC and brought Honda back into F1). The Ti gets a stiffened suspension, 8C-style 19-inch anthracite alloys and Brembo brakes, pumping up the go to accompany all that show which you can check out in the gallery below.

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Filed under: Frankfurt Auto Show, Euro, Hatchbacks, Alfa Romeo, Rendered Speculation

European customers have been eagerly anticipating the replacement for the aging Alfa Romeo 147. Tentatively referred to as the 149, the new five-door hatchback, tipped to receive a new nameplate outside the three-digit numeric designation, will be positioned slightly above the three-door MiTo hatch. As with the new MiTo, styling is expected to borrow the themes laid out by the 8C Competizione, which should translate better to the increased dimensions of the 149/Giulia over the more cartoonish looks of its smaller sibling.

Expect a range of gasoline and diesel engines, which could be topped by a 265-horsepower GTA version. Sources now suggest the 149 will be unveiled in a bit over a year from now at the Frankfurt show for market roll-out anticipated in late summer 2009, and will spearhead the new "C-Evo" platform based on the underpinnings from the Fiat Bravo and Lancia Delta.

[Source: OmniAuto.it]

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Filed under: Coupes, Sports/GTs, Euro, Alfa Romeo, Rendered Speculation

We already know that Alfa Romeo intends to use the lauded design of the 8C Competizione as the new template for its range-wide styling language. The MiTo was the first to receive the treatment, with project 149 coming next and renderings of the 159 replacement showing the same. The next to follow in the 8C's footsteps could be the GT, but the rendering you see above doesn't come from the factory. It was done by an enthusiast forecasting what a revised GT could look like. We don't know yet if the GT will continue for another generation or if it will be replaced by something else entirely, but if the compact 2+2 (positioned above the new MiTo and below the current Brera) does see another incarnation, it could look something like this.

[Source: Autoblog.it via CarScoop]

 

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Filed under: Spy Photos, Euro, Hatchbacks, Alfa Romeo, Rendered Speculation

As Alfa Romeo prepares to launch its next all-new model, dubbed the 149, test mules have been spotted, details have come into focus and speculations have been rendered.

The five-door hatchback will join the MiTo in replacing the aging 147. Sources suggest that the 149 moniker could be dropped before the car is unveiled next year, only a few telling months after the Volkswagen Golf VI is due for its debut. Borrowing styling cues from the 8C Competizione and MiTo, the Alfa 149 is expected it to include a new three-arm rear suspension and Alfa's trick Q2 differential, with the eventual availability of Q4 all-wheel-drive remaining a question mark. Diesel and gasoline engines are anticipated to range between 120 and 250 horsepower, and the 149 is tipped to be complying with the upcoming six-star EuroNCAP safety rating, and more tellingly, new U.S. crash requirements as well.

Some still maintain that the Alfa hatch will be based on the same platform that underpins the Fiat Bravo and Lancia Delta, although Alfa representatives have asserted that the 149 will spearhead its own unique platform. Either way, the platform could underpin the replacement for the 159 sedan and wagon, as well as the replacements for the Brera and Spider, while Alfa executives continue to deliberate over the possibility of a crossover model as well.

[Sources: Autocar and Projetto 940]

 

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Filed under: Concept Cars, Sedans/Saloons, Euro, Alfa Romeo

Click to view the SPD Alfa 169 design proposals

Alfa Romeo is hard at work on a replacement for the 166, the flagship sedan which debuted in 1998 and was discontinued last year. The students at the Scuola Politecnica di Design in Milan, however, seem to have gotten fed up of waiting around for Alfa Romeo to unveil the new car, so they've come up with a few proposals of their own.

Well, not exactly. The transportation design course was carried out under the auspices of the Centro Stile Alfa Romeo and the watchful eye of Fiat Group design chief Lorenzo Ramaciotti. So they had a good chance of getting the automaker's attention. (Next year's masters program at the SPD, meanwhile, is being conducted in conjunction with Lamborghini.) Nine projects - carried out by students from Korea, Slovakia, Romania, Turkey, South Africa, Russia, Brazil, the United States and Italy - were presented, but we'll have to see which elements find their way into the final product. In the meantime, you can check out a few of the choice models in the gallery below.

[Source: Italiaspeed]

 

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Filed under: Ferrari, Alfa Romeo

Click for hi-res gallery of the Alfa 8C Competizione

When Alfa Romeo announced it was actually building the 8C Competizione, we had but to applaud. The automaker slashed its own marketing budget to finance the car's manufacturing, justifying that the halo supercar would do more for the brand's image than any television ad ever could. (Then they did it again with the Spider version.) Right they were, and we wish more automakers would think that way. The latest reports indicate that Alfa Romeo is following its own example, so while CEO Luca de Meo campaigns within the Fiat hierarchy for an even more hard-core version to wear the vaunted GTA badge, some of his subordinates are thinking a step ahead towards the 8C's successor.

The current 8C is based on an aging Maserati platform - not unlike the resuscitating Aston Martin DB7 that was based on old Jaguar underpinnings. However, strategists within Alfa Romeo want to see its successor based on the new Ferrari California, trading in the input of one sister company for another. While they realize it will be an uphill battle - one which could come down to Fiat chairman and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo's decision - to get Ferrari to agree to the proposal, Alfa Romeo is reportedly keen to get the project off the ground and get the second-generation sportscar ready within the next two years to celebrate Alfa's centennial in 2010.

[Source: Autocar]

 

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