Car Throttle

Alfa Romeo is a specialist, and their specialty is pretty cars. They haven't always been what you'd call "good", but with very few exceptions (75, Arna, errhermm) they're been gorgeous down to the last curve and lick of paint.  But with the new concept car that Alfa Romeo brought to Geneva, they may have set the bar a bit high even by their own lofty standards.  Clock this baby: Yum.  I almost don't care what's under the hood or on the inside, I'd be happy to cast my gaze over that funky matte red finish all day long.  Thankfully the 4C concept has more depth to it than it's surface-level beauty, which is fairly substantial as it is. The 4C is the successor to the 8C

The coachbuilding industry lives! The Zagato Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa has been introduced. No, not at Beijing, but at the Italian show Concours Villa D'Este. A classic car buff will recognize that profile, which takes cues from Alfa Romeo predecessors the TZ1 and TZ2. The TZ3 marks a continuation of that lineage. The car is based upon and powered by the 8C Competizione. As expected, it best the styling of the 8C Competizione, but it isn't designed to. Nonetheless, it is a design stunner, winning best of show in the concept class. The TZ3 Corsa isn't a new model line, but rather a special one-off model commissioned by German car collector Martin Kapp. Alfa Romeo says it is a "special celebration... of the Alfa Romeo Zagato common tradition: Scuderia Ferrari of

The revival of coachbuilding is upon us, and Zagato, a favorite in the previous heyday of coachbuilding, is leading the charge. Manufacturers are even beginning to work with the companies again, like Bentley did with the recent Flying Star shooting brake, built by Italian coachbuilding firm Carrozia Touring Superleggera. Now Alfa Romeo is announcing a new model, based on a certain Alfa Romeo. Can you guess which one? We can - the 8C Competizione. It looks like the 8C from this top down teaser view that Zagato provided. Topping the 8C Competizione in the styling department is going to be hard - near impossible. It is just strikingly beautiful Italian design at its finest. While styling might not be able to be topped, performance can. As such,

Alfa Romeo- frankly, we're pretty sick of hearing about the brand but never actually getting to see them and try them for ourselves. How long has it been since they were supposed to been making a return to the United States market? Its been a long time. That doesn't mean we can't enjoy looking at them in the meantime though. One car that currently (it changes often) isn't slated to come to our shores is the 147-replacement-turned-Milano-turned Giulietta. It it set to go on sale in European markets at the beginning of next month. As such, it is photo release time. We picked some of our favorites out of the ones released and they're all below.

If there is one thing in the automotive industry that has been speculated about for a long time, it has been the return of Alfa Romeo. Throughout the 2000's there was many reports about when the introduction would take place, and with what models. The Fiat-Chrysler partnership has made it a much more feasible proposition, as the brand will have access to Chrysler's extensive dealer network and support system. Now, Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne has given a date for Alfa Romeo's United States re-entry. Alfa Romeo is already here, if the 8C Competizione is to be considered, but we are talking about a mainstream re-introduction. Marchionne was quoted in Automotive News as saying: “I'm a lot more confident now that Alfa Romeo will reconstitute a product offering that

Ever since the Fiat-Chrysler partnership (and even a bit before that), a lot of emphasis has been placed on what new Alfa Romeo models are destined for the United States. I remember seeing things in magazines years ago about the return of Alfa Romeo to the U.S, but they just never have panned out. As a result of the synergies available by completing the partnership, a lot of product plans for the brand were shuffled around. One of those is the 147 replacement, which was captured in spyshots at an Italian factory not too long ago. A change that Alfa has been implementing recently is the return to actual naming instead of numeric designation. The MiTo is an example of this. For the 147 replacement, until now it

There has been a lot of speculation surrounding Fiat's "partnership" (in name only) with Chrysler but no real news direct from the company. That will change soon, as next next month is when Fiat's CEO Sergio Marchionne is scheduled to submit his plan for the future of Chrysler. The Wall Street Journal has the scoop on what to expect from the announcement early. If the report is true, expect a much smaller Chrysler brand lineup than the one we have today today. A redesigned Chrysler Town & Country minivan and 300C - a grand total of three models for Chrysler. That's a pretty bold move, especially considering the fact that there has been previous reports about the next-generation Sebring platform being developed for use by other Fiat brands. Dodge

The Alfa Romeo brand is slated to be the centerpiece of Fiat's return in the United States. Fiat believes Alfa Romeo can be a force in the market, competing against luxury brands on the high end. The Chrysler partnership is enabling them to do this, but is causing a big change in the model lineup. Like it? Well, you can't have it. After renderings and snapshots of the Milano were caught in July, and now new images (in the Alfa Romeo red col0r) have appeared on the internet. A step above the MiTo, the Milano was found in Chrysler's internal documents as one of the Fiat vehicles slated for sale in the United States. Since then the plan has changed though, with latest reports saying

For years, Fiat has had a plan to bring Alfa Romeo back to the United States market. It seems as if the time has finally come though, with the brand set to return for 2011 according to some sources. While originally it seemed as if Alfa Romeos would be imported for sale here in our market, the Chrysler tieup is upending all of those plans. Edmunds' Inside Line is reporting that the replacement for Alfa Romeo's 166 sedan will be built in North America. Alfa Romeo expects the majority of the car's sales to be in the United States, with the rest imported to the rest of the world. The key in all of this is that Alfa Romeo has deemed rear-wheel drive as essential to compete properly

I gotta say, I'm getting pretty sick of it. By "it" I mean the constant stream of newly released tasty hot hatches that will never see the light of day in the US.  I can dream, though, right?  There's liable to be a few such debuts at the Frankfurt show, and we've already covered one - the luscious Fiat 500 Abarth 695 Tributo Ferrari.  It's also likely we'll see an RS version of Audi's attractive A3 hatch, packing my personal favorite current production engine - the TT RS's 5-cylinder DI Turbo motor.  And you can add Alfa Romeo to the list of manufacturers I hate, because they're debuting an especially tasty version of the adorable little MiTo hatchback. Called the Quadrifoglio Verde, it sits above