Alfa Romeo 4C Sports Concept Heading to Goodwood Festival of Speed

The new Alfa Romeo 4C Sports Concept will receive its UK public debut at the rapidly approaching 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed, which takes place from July 1 to 3.

Seen for the first time at the Geneva Salon in March, Italy’s answer to the Lotus Elise boasts a lightweight chassis with power coming from a mid-mounted 1.75-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine delivering 200 ponies to the rear wheels. It can complete the 0-62mph (100km/h) sprint in less than 5 seconds and reach a top speed of 155mph (250km/h). Production is set to start in 2012.

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Alfa Romeo (1937) Mobil Terindah di Dunia

Mobil diciptakan bukan hanya untuk mempertontonkan kehebatan mesin atau kekuatan bodynya, tetapi mobil juga diciptakan sebagai sebuah karya seni yang indah.

Untuk membuat sebuah daftar mobil paling indah di dunia, majalah Forbes meminta satu kelompok ahli untuk menjadi juri dan memberikan nominasinya. Para juri tersebut diminta untuk memberikan daftar dari mobil-mobil di berbagai era dan produsen yang keindahannya tidak terbantahkan.

Dalam daftar mobil paling indah di dunia ini terdapat Alfa Romeo keluaran tahun 1937 hingga mobil Porsche 911, yang sampai saat ini masih diproduksi. Semua mobil ini memiliki penampilan yang akan mampu memukau seluruh generasi.

Dari hasil penjurian itu, mobil yang dinilai paling indah di dunia dan sepanjang sejarah adalah Alfa Romeo keluaran tahun 1937. Bahkan Rob Myers, pendiri RM Auto, rumah lelang mobil antik ternama di Kanada, menyatakan bahwa Alfa Romeo keluaran tahun 1937 merupakan salah benda terindah di dunia sepanjang sejarah.

Kendaraan dari tahun 1937 lain yang masuk dalam daftar mobil-mobil terindah di dunia adalah Delahaye 135MS Figoni et Falascgi dan Mercedes-Benz 540K Special Roadster. Sementara dari keluaran tahun 1938 yang lebih muda setahun adalah Talbot-Lago T- CSS.

Mengapa banyak mobil tahun 1930-an yang masuk ke dalam daftar ini? Produksi kendaraan bermotor ternyata mencapai poin tertingginya dari segi sumber daya dan antusiasme pada periode di antara Perang Dunia (PD) I dan PD II, yang telah membawa mobil-mobil produksi periode tersebut ke dalam tingkatan desain dan artistik yang tinggi.

Setiap model diperbarui setidaknya setiap dua tahun sekali, dan setiap tahun diproduksi dengan model yang berbeda dari tahun sebelumnya. Mobil-mobil yang diproduksi menjadi karya seni serius yang memiliki keunikan tersendiri, tidak seperti saat ini, yang dibuat dari model yang diproduksi oleh perusahaan lain.

Terinspirasi oleh Seni Ian Cameron, pimpinan desainer Rolls-Royce menyatakan bahwa musik merupakan salah satu inspirasi dari penciptaan sebuah mobil. Bagi desainer utama Rolls-Royce 200EX terbaru ini, menciptakan sebuah mobil dapat diumpamakan dengan bermain dalam band. "Kau memulainya dengan sesi jam, dan pada suatu titik tertentu akan berubah menjadi melodi," ungkapnya.

Desain memainkan peranan penting dalam masuknya mobil Porsche 911 pada daftar mobil terindah dunia kali ini. Meskipun model ini tidak semenarik model-model lain dalam daftar, tetapi fakta bahwa model ini dapat bertahan selama lima puluh tahun terakhir tanpa adanya perubahan, berarti merupakan indikator dari kejeniusan penciptanya di awal tahun 1960 lalu. Hal ini akan sangat sulit diharapkan dari mobil-mobil modern.

Menurut para ahli, para produsen mobil saat ini tidak mau bersusah payah untuk menciptakan desain yang dapat memiliki nilai mendalam dan tinggi bagi para kolektor. Minimnya keindahan artistik dari model modern merupakan salah satu akibat dari kesulitan keuangan yang dialami oleh produsen manufaktur dunia. Menurut para ahli, mobil-mobil yang diproduksi saat ini tidak lebih dari sekadar popok sekali pakai yang dapat dibuang. Menyedihkan bukan? (",)v




Sumber : siradel.blogspot.com

Alfa Romeo Rumored [Again] to be Planning a KTM X-Bow-based Sports Car

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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Find of the Day: Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Spider for $310,000

Found hidden amongst a bunch of used, older generation Alfa Romeo models in Autotrader's used car listings, is this extremely rare 8C Competizione Spider. The 450HP V8 Italian exotic has been put up for sale by Connecticut-based Miller Motorcars, with the dealer stating it is a one-owner example driven a mere 825 miles since new and that it's one of 20 cars made for the U.S. market out of a total run of 500 examples (we must note that to our knowledge, Alfa Romeo built 35 Spiders for the USA).

The dealer adds that the original sticker was $328,477, with the price of this white-colored example set at $310,000. So what do you say; is this Ferrari/ Maserati-derived, Alfa Romeo-badged exotic worth its price tag or would you look elsewhere if you were lucky enough to have this kind of cash laying around in your bank account?

Source: Autotrader via VWvortex

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Fiat’s Future in Italy Could be at Stake Due to Disagreements with Unions

As previously reported, Fiat hasn’t been able to secure agreements with all Italian unions regarding a key productivity deal to help the automaker to keep its turnaround strategy on track. With a hard-line union planning a strike later this month, the country’s Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi claims Fiat will have a good reason to quit Italy if the deal falls through.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne agreed with Mr. Berlusconi saying that the future of the company in Italy could be at stake and he might be forced to move all production to lower-cost countries.

The dispute with the FIOM union, which represents workers employed at Fiat’s historic Mirafiori plant, concerns the introduction of more shifts and reduced benefits. The automaker supports that implementing these changes is crucial if the company is to make further investments and build new models in Italy.

Talking with reporters in Berlin after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Silvio Berlusconi commented: “We think that what has been happening in this case is absolutely positive, with the possibility of an accord between the unions and the company, in the direction of greater flexibility”.

“It's obvious that if this didn't happen, clearly the company and business people would have a good reason to move to other countries. Let us hope this has a positive outcome”, Berlusconi added.

By Csaba Daradics

Source: Reuters

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Alfa Romeo Shows Concept Designer Bags Inspired by MiTo

In what could be seen by many as further proof that Alfa Romeo is steadily losing sight of its core values (whatever is left of them, that is...), the firm's UK division unveiled two concept designer bags for its MiTo subcompact as part of the company’s centenary year celebrations and to help support young British fashion talent. We might be wrong, but we think it would have been more appropriate for the Italian firm to show its support to young British car designers...

In any case, for the creation of the bags, Alfa Romeo UK held a special competition for students from the MA Fashion course at Central Saint Martins College, London. A total of 15 graduates submitted sketches inspired by the MiTo for initial consideration, but only two made the cut.

"After being critiqued and judged by some of the leading faces in British fashion, the bags created by CSM students William Hendry and Tamara Elliot were chosen for the limited run," said Alfa Romeo UK in a statement.

According to the Italian firm, the two bags are prototype designs for Alfa Romeo UK, which is now looking to produce a limited range of both in the near future.

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Alfa Romeo Giuseppe Merosi Design Study for a RWD Sports Coupe

From the creator of the Alfa Romeo Vittorio Jano Sedan and Sport Wagon concepts comes this new design study for a classy-looking GT. Named after Giuseppe Merosi, a famous Italian automobile engineer Giuseppe Merosi who worked for Alfa Romeo (then named A.L.F.A.) in the beginning of the previous century, the prototype presented by Marco Procaccini from MPcardesign is a four-seater sports coupe designed to feature a much missed by Alfa Romeo fans, rear-wheel drive layout.

The styling of the Giuseppe Merosi has a similar feel to Marco's previous work, the Vittorio Jano, combining hard edges with curved surfaces and a pronounced Alfa Romeo grille. According to the designer, the car would measure around 4,300mm in length, 1,810mm in width and 1,320mm in height.

Source: MPCardesign

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Poll: Should Fiat Cut Loose Alfa Romeo and/or Sell it to Volkswagen?

Like Saab and countless other brands before, Alfa Romeo is at a tipping point. The famed Italian automaker, which once stunned the world with its gorgeous styling and motorsport victories, is now losing an estimate €200 million (US$265 million) per annum. It’s hard to believe that the company that brought us cars like the GTA, the Spider and the 158/159 Alfetta could be reduced to such a sad state of affairs.

Sergio Marchionne, the unwavering CEO of Fiat and its subsidiaries, is determined to turn the ailing automaker around. Meanwhile, Volkswagen is sniffing around for more brands and smells a potential winner in the Milanese company.

There are many arguments for and against selling Alfa Romeo to ze Germans. Here are the ones we’ve covered in our previous article:

The Case For Selling Alfa Romeo

• Alfa Romeo is valued at €1.5 to 2 billion. By selling what equates to their biggest loser, Fiat would emerge virtually debt free.
• The brand’s dismissal would save Fiat a further €1.5 billion that it would of spent product R&D over the next four years.
• Fiat would also save €200 million a year in losses.
• Alfa’s departure could potentially allow for Dodge to return to Europe as Fiat’s sporty brand, with Fiat remaining the first choice for entry level buyers and Lancia / Chrysler for those seeking something a little more upmarket.
• Volkswagen has worked wonders with Bentley, Seat and Bugatti. Can you think of a better mother hen for one of Italy’s finest?

The Case Against Selling Alfa Romeo

• If Fiat can survive until 2014, analysts predict it will emerge with no debt and fatter profit margins. And that’s with Alfa Romeo.
• Fiat could net the same amount of lira by selling three of its OEM suppliers: Magneti Marelli, Comau and Teksid.
• After Fiat’s expected 2014 recovery, the Milanese automaker is expected to account for 10% of Fiat’s sales.
• Fiat has plans to share platforms between Alfa Romeo, Chrysler and Jeep, helping all three brands. Without the platform sharing, Chrysler and Jeep will continue struggle and Fiat’s push into the Chinese and Russian markets will be delayed.
• With Fiat focusing primarily on small cars, it would have to develop new mid-sized and large car models to fill the gap left by the departing Alfa.

So there you have it: five points for and five points against. All that’s left now is to cast your vote, so get voting!

By Tristan Hankins

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Should Fiat Sell Alfa Romeo to the VW Group?