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Alfa Romeo Says 4C to Appear in "New Exclusive Look"

Alfa Romeo, FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW, new cars 7:58 AM

On Thursday, we brought you news on Alfa Romeo's plans to exhibit the 4C at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show. Today, the Italian automaker's social network gurus released an updated announcement saying that the 4C will be presented in a "new exclusive look" at the German auto show.
Clearly, Alfa Romeo's latest cryptic statement may be interpreted in different ways, but it won't be long before the Italian firm releases more details on the matter so stay tuned on Carscoop for more.
In the meantime, check out our previous article on the rear-wheel drive Alfa Romeo 4C Concept with details and live photos from its Geneva Salon debut.

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Alfa Romeo 4C at 2011 Frankfurt Motor Show

Alfa Romeo, cars 2011, FRANKFURT MOTOR SHOW 9:36 AM

The countdown for the highly anticipated 2011 Frankfurt auto show in the second week of September has begun and carmakers are trying to keep us on our toes with enticing teasers like this invitation from Alfa Romeo.

Shown on the Italian firm's Facebook page, the teaser is about the new 4C mid-engined sports car that was previewed as a thinly disguised concept study at this year's Geneva Salon.
Being that the Sergio Marchionne, the head of the Fiat and Chrysler groups, has said the Alfa Romeo 4C will hit European showrooms during the first half of 2012 with some examples reaching U.S. hands by the end of the same year, there's a very good chance we'll see the car in its final production form.
If that's not the case, then it could be that Alfa Romeo may show either a roadster version of the 4C or a more powerful version.
We'll remind you that the 4C concept study in Geneva was fitted with a 1.75-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine pushing 200-horsepower towards the rear axle via a twin dry clutch automatic transmission dubbed “Alfa TCT”.

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Alfa Romeo’s Return to the US Delayed Until 2013

Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, FIAT 2:00 PM

It’s 2003, 2004, 2006 – you get the idea- happening all over again; Alfa Romeo’s return to the US market has been delayed and will not happen in 2012 as was the most recent plan. Instead, Fiat Group and Chrysler LLC CEO, Sergio Marchionne, has pushed the Italian brand’s arrival back for another year, or so until he announces another delay.
Technically, Alfa has already returned to the market it abandoned in 1995 by selling 100 units of its 8C Competizione supercar. And Marchionne won’t exactly break his promise about 2012: the small detail is that it will be only with a few examples of the limited-edition 4C coupe.
If –and that’s a very big IF- everything goes according to schedule, Alfa’s actual second coming to the US will happen in mid-2013 starting with a compact crossover model.
The reason for the latest delay is the fact that Marchionne has thrice in the last 18 months rejected proposals for the new Giulia, the compact sport sedan that will replace the 159 and will be the second model, after the SUV, to be sold to the US market through Fiat dealerships.
Let’s keep our fingers crossed that this time it’s for real. Because since 2000, when the then-CEO Paolo Cantarella announced a return to the US in alliance with GM, which was subsequently pushed back to 2002 before being abandoned, we’ve already heard more than enough reports on the matter.
And this is all starting to sound like TV televangelists who every other day, and twice on Sundays, predict the end of the world yet, despite their "prophecies", planet Earth is still here.

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New Alfa Romeo-Derived / U.S. Made Dodge Compact Sedan to Debut at 2012 Detroit Show

Alfa Romeo, cars news, DODGE 7:52 PM

A new U.S. market compact sedan to be developed by Fiat and built by Chrysler is set to make its debut appearance at the 2012 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in the beginning of next year, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal.

The as-of-yet unnamed model will be badged as Dodge and powered by a Fiat-derived 1.4-liter turbocharged gasoline engine. It’ll also do 40 mpg combined, or at least it will if Fiat wants to net itself a further 5% of Chrysler from ~~Mr. Monopoly~~Uncle Sam.

The Italian automaker wants to expand its 46% share in Chrysler & Friends by an additional 7.5% courtesy of the U.S. Treasury and Canadian government on top of the 5% it’s expected to get by pushing the 40 mpg envelope.

The new model will be built in Chrysler’s Belvidere plant in Illinois, which the brand is currently spending US$600 million retooling for the job. Production is expected to start later this year. Dealers, such as David Kelleher of David Dodge Chrysler Jeep of Glen Mills, PA are naturally very excited:

“We have never had a viable compact car. This will allow us to reach the entry level customer and it's a perfect fit for Dodge which has been faced with challenges.” [Like having to share a lot with the Chrysler Sebring, for one…]

The Caliber, the closest thing Dodge currently has to a Honda Civic / Ford Focus / Chevy Cruze competitor at present, does a paltry 24 mpg in automatic guise.

The new model will share the same basic floorplan as the Alfa Romeo Giulietta hatchback, which will also be used to underpin five new models over the next three years.

There’s no word yet on a name, but I’m willing to discount Aires, Neon and Stratus as possible contenders.

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Monstrous Paramount Marauder Armored Vehicle

Alfa Romeo, cars news, RENAULT 7:22 PM

In just a few hours from now, Top Gear will air the first episode of season 17 on BBC. During the past two weeks, we got a taste of what Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond have in store for us this year through two teaser clips.
In one of those trailers, we saw a large off-road-like vehicle playing the role of a monster truck on a white Alfa Romeo 156 and an older generation Renault Megane sedan.
It turns out that the vehicle is a mine protected armored truck called Marauder from South African company Paramount Group and the driver behind the steering wheel is Richard Hammond. We were contacted by Paramount Group who told us that the Marauder will be featured in tonight's first episode of Top Gear Season 17.
We’ll have more on this tomorrow with bonus pictures and videos after the program airs on TV, but for the time being, check out the Marauder’s specifications and a gallery of the vehicle below.

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Alfa Romeo 4C: Spawn Maserati, Abarth Variants

Abarth, Alfa Romeo, MASERATI 2:46 AM

If Alfa Romeo wanted tο get peοple talking with the debut οf its 4C concept in Geneva, they succeeded. The Internet is abuzz with rumοrs οf its production pοtential. There have already been repοrts that the Alfa will spearhead the marque's full-fledged return tο North America, tο be followed by bοth Spider and Abarth versions. Nοw, wοrd is that Maserati cοuld get a derivative, either.

If the reports prοve accurate and the spinoffs cοme tο fruition, that wοuld mean three brands within the Fiat group will get their οwn versions οf the lightweight, mid-engined, fοur-cylinder sports car.

And that's befοre any οf the Chrysler brands get a crack at it, because a Dodge version tο pick up where the Circuit concept left οff could be mοst tempting. The Maserati version wοuld naturally be positioned and appοinted differently frοm the Alfa οr Abarth models. The questiοn is whether the market can bear mοre than οne Elise rival from Fiat/Chrysler, let alοne multiples.