All four of you... You know who you are... It would seem that after testing the prototype of the upcoming Alfa Romeo 4C, Harald Wester (Chief Technology Officer - FIAT, CEO - Alfa Romeo, Maserati) was unimpressed by the preliminary results and demanded a do-over. The result of that do-over is a completely new engine (not a development of the current 1.75-litre), 1.8 litres in displacement, full-aluminium construction. It features a slightly improved version of the MultiAir variable timing system, direct injection and a variable geometry turbocharger. Power is reputed to be around 300 hp (compared to the current 235 of the 1.75). http://www.autonews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20111003/ANE/111009992/1193 http://www.autoguide.com/auto-news/...es-new-300-hp-1-8-liter-4-cyliner-engine.html http://www.cartechnica.co.uk/blog/Alfa-squeezes-300hp-from-1-8-litre-petrol-engine-
They've been talking about it for what, 5 years now? I can't believe FIAT made it back to the states before Alfa Romeo.
I thought the 4C was key to their getting back in to the US strategy... Anyway, 300HP... in this: :drool
As they say in England...that's dead sexy... I worked for Alfa Romeo for a long time in Australia and worked in conjunction with Alfa Australia when the GTV-6 came out and had a bunch of oil leaks (go figure), I have always thought that Alfa has produced some of the sexiest vehicles to come off the assembly line..
Always loved Alfas but never owned one. My buddies dad was the local sales manager for them back in the 1970s and he always came home in a cool one. I remember the Alfetta GT he brought home once was SOOO modern looking and had a Turbo!
Had a '61 Giulietta Spider which I really liked, but it needed a full resto & I don't have that kind of patience. A buddy of mine had a Berlina, an Alfetta, and was given a total basket case '59 Giulietta Veloce. All fun cars, all good memories, which is why I would love to have this: What a great looking car.
All three top gear blokes say that is one of the prettiest cars ever designed, but all agree it is way too slow.
as a long time alfa driver, i finally gave up using them as a daily driver a coupla years ago - it's simply too hard to now find parts for these lovely cars. i still have one left - an 85.5 gtv6 w/3.0, tweaked ecu/headers/suspension/etc. but, no more daily driving. i put ~130k in 10 years on my last '86 gtv6 as a daily ride (shared w/my bikes), and pretty-much destroyed it - tinworm and too many misc little things wrong w/parts that are basically unobtanium now. this one deserves a better fate - it's basically a straight rust-free donor body w/all the performance goodies from the one i trashed. besides the gtv6's, i had three milano's and two 164's. nice rides. some day, alfa may be back in the usa. hahahaha! doug s.
Want! I've had a '71 GTV, '75 GTV and a '75 Veloce parts car. Never had a sedan, a Berlina would be nice too.
+1! (tho i have had a few sedans - milano's and 164's. milano's - especially the werdes - are killer fun, and the 164's are amazingly solid high-speed cruisers.) and i also want a '71-'74 wintage gtv - to die for looks, imo. the 1st alfa i ever drove was a '73 berlina way back in 1976; i was gonna buy it, but it had that nasty 2nd gear crunch. the seller refused to lower his price, saying "they all do that", so i passed... years later, i understand what he meant. doug s.
Hmm, now that you mentioned it, 2nd gear was a little "notchy". My '71 was really reliable though always started and pretty quick for a 1750 with the Spica FI. Driving position actually is more suited to those with a "simian" profile, short legs, long arms. Although I've been classified as a knuckle dragger, I had to drive it "italian" style.
Every Italian car I've ever driven has been like that. My '79 Alfetta GT was exactly the same as my dads Fiat 850 Coupe brand new. The worst problem I had with the GT ergos was that I couldn't extend my right foot fully at cruising speed. Having to keep my toes lifted gave me shin splints/charliehorses after 30 min or so. Luckily, like a lot if Italian cars, it had a "throttle lock." Kind of a poor man's cruise control. OTOH, that piece of fine Italian leather furniture called the drivers seat I could sit in for 10-12 hours without complaint.
I've had a thing for Alfa's since my dad brought home a 1960 Guilietta roadster when I was 14 - I think it was his mid-life crisis car and it was the first car I ever drove. We call it "Alfa Disease" - you know its bad for you and will cost you money and drive you crazy but you just can't help yourself. A friend of mine has this very fast Alfa box - it laps Road Atlanta faster than another friend of mine's 914 race car....
It is a disease. I've had 2 Giulia Supers, one the exact twin of the pic below, the other a hot, wide wheeled red bullet. (Should have kept the standard brown one) Also the 2 litre sedan, OK car but to much a sedan. The wife had a cheeky little Alfasud which was a surprising amount of fun. The latest Giulietta is my current favourite Alfa.
Actually, we have a pretty decent chance of seeing this one stateside. Thanks the relative success of Fiat in the states and thanks to Fiat's majority control of Chrysler group and Alfa, they have all the dealer network they need. That was how the Fiat 500 was brought over -- through the pre-existing Chrysler network after Fiat VASTLY improved the quality of damn near everything the sell and all their manufacturing plants!