Car Throttle

The latest but sadly not the greatest supermini I recently had a chance to drive is the Alfa Romeo Mito 1.4 Multiair Turbo. It is a premium 3 door supermini based on the Fiat Punto Grande and was designed to compete with the BMW Mini, the recently launched Audi A1 and to some extent the Fiat 500 Abarth. The car looks stunning as the styling is derived from the gorgeous Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. It has retro touches here and there but it does not remind me of anything from the 1950s or 1960s. It is a successful supermini design in my books. Unfortunately the car I drove had a dull gold-yellow color and a stained black interior. Maybe that's why it was made the

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

There has been a lot of discussion about what products will make it over to the United States as a result of the Chrysler-Fiat partnership. We know we're getting the Fiat 500 as most likely the Alfa Romeo Milano (147 replacement) and the MiTo was always seen as a likely candidate as well. Hence, my desire to see a GTA model of the car produced. Apparently that prospect might not be as likely as we thought though, if comments from Alfa Romeo's CEO means anything (and trust me, they do). I know small, sporty cars have traditionally done well in the United States but I figured that was changing. Mercedes-Benz has brought over the Smart car, Honda has the Fit and GM has the Aveo - Ford

On Tuesday, it was reported that the Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA was on "hold", possibly cancelled for good due to problems in working out the business case for a performance model. An unnamed Alfa Romeo spokeswoman was quoted saying: “The MiTo GTA has been put on hold. It’s hard to justify building such as high performance car at this present time as the financial crisis means that its not economically viable. And, sadly, it may never be.” The MiTo GTA originally made an appearance as a concept at the Geneva Auto Show, supposedly offering a preview of the near-identical production version to follow. Could it have been just that Alfa Romeo was trying to build buzz with that comment? Who knows. But I did say that I thought there

*Sighs* Thanks, economy! Looks like the production Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA that debuted in concept form at the Geneva Auto Show has been put on ice. To me, Alfa Romeo is all about high performance. The MiTo is no doubt good looking but a dose of more sportiness would be much welcomed. I can see the positive press now, magazines fawning over the new MiTo GTA. But alas, according to Alfa Romeo it is not to be. The GTA model would have vaulted the MiTo to the top of the hot hatch class. Styling was to be much more aggressive, along with the suspension tightened and handling improved. Where the action really was though was under the hood. The GTA was to have a 1.6 liter 4-cylinder

I'm taking everything about Alfa Romeo and Fiat a lot more serious now that the company is purchasing Chrysler. I love Alfa Romeo's new styling language (who doesn't though?). It's simply amazing, and much different then the style Alfa Romeo had been pursuing prior to the 8C Competizione. The new look is spreading across the lineup and the next car to get the treatment looks like the replacement for the 147, called the Milano. Alfa Romeo is ditching the numerical designations for real names on all their next-generation vehicles. I think it's a good call! Definitely one handsome hatchback! Unmistakably Italian too. Sources at CAR stressed it was wide and low-slung; much different then the MiTo hatchback. Regardless, the new Alfa Romeo style seems to wear well on anything.

We've already seen the Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA that was introduced at the Geneva Auto Show.  I originally thought that was the production launch but after more details came out at the show, it was apparent that it was concept vehicle being shown. That said it supposedly was very thinly disguised and is a good representation the production vehicle. The MiTo is the pretty amazing little car, styled to look like the 8C Competizione. I love it's styling, and I think it makes a good Italian answer to the MINI. However, it has been lacking in performance. Many magazines have reviewed the vehicle and said that, without a sport model, it doesn't live up to the promise it's Alfa Romeo name implies or compete very well with

Thanks, Alfa Romeo! They've released three teasers of their upcoming hot hatch, one which reveals nearly the entire vehicle. It should help further the MiTo in it's pursuit of BMW's ever popular Mini. There is the full image of the car released by the company. I'm surprised to see they'd reveal so much, and even more surprised at the overall pace of leaks and teaser releases by the various auto company's ahead of the Geneva Show. Anyhow, the MiTo GTA ups the sports ante considerably with an altered, more agressive stance, new wheels and flared fender arches. Suspension changes include high-tech coilover springs and McPherson struts up front. Alfa Romeo has always tried to link the MiTo with it's top end sports car the 8C Competizione, with various photoshoots and advertisements placing