There are a number of times when pre-production test mules look completely awesome. The 2014 Jeep Liberty mule we have here is one of those vehicles.
The next-generation Liberty will be a front-drive-based crossover (Dart/Chrysler 100 platform) but will have some off-road ability left in tact. Jeep knows they can't turn the Liberty into a completely on-road vehicle. That's where AWD and this lovely ride-height come into play. One of the test mules was spotted wearing Michigan ORV (off-road vehicle) plates.
Unfortunately, the production version of the 2014 Liberty will ditch this neo AMG Eagle Alfa body and replace it with something that looks "tough." We want it to stay like this. Maybe align the hood and paint the door, but otherwise, this.
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Crossovers,Future Vehicles,Jeep
We love us some Dukes of Hazzard here at IL. We've followed the re-build of the original movie car and I've even got the pillowcases (with daisy) in regular rotation. We're nowhere near the fans of the Duke boys that the owner of this Alfa 8C is.
The website that found it swears that there were numbers on the doors (obscured by the 8C Spider) but gave no word on who or, more importantly, why.
(TRC Off)
Categories: Alfa Romeo,Tuners and Modifications
Same Alfa Romeo 4C we first saw in Geneva, except here in Frankfurt it has a new color. That's a totally worthwhile excuse to take another look in my book. The 4C's 1,750cc turbocharged, direct-injected 200-hp four-cylinder meets a sub-1,800-pound curb weight by way of a carbon-fiber and aluminum chassis by Dallara.
Yep, still completely awesome. Here are a few pics, just because.
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Frankfurt Auto Show
It's really hard to type for all the drool stuck in my keyboard. Sorry.
The car here -- the one that will be displayed at the Frankfurt show -- is painted in a new "fluid metal" color that doesn't quite keep up with the flatish red from Geneva. It does, however, bring out the Italian flags on the side mirrors.
Apart from the new color, there's nothing really new here. The weight is confirmed to be 1,874 pounds and horsepower is going to be 200 from a 1.75-liter turbocharged engine with direct injection. The transmission is a dual-clutch. It's still rear drive. The 4C will be about 13 feet long with a wheelbase of 94 inches. "These dimensions on the one hand emphasise the Alfa 4C Concept's compact attributes, whilst on the other accentuate its agility," says the release by Alfa.
Alfa also claims that they've worked on the "technical contents" of the 4C to "enhance the dynamic excellence." Great. Fine. Just build it and sell it here. Thanks.
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Coupes,Frankfurt Auto Show,Sports Cars
Yes, advertising appeared racecars as early as 1932, as evidenced by this Alfa Romeo Tipo B Don Lee Special. Photo by Mark Takahashi
Yesterday, we brought you the first installment of the 2010 Monterey Historics weekend that mostly centered around the Motorsports Reunion. We continue today and add in shots from the Pebble Beach Concours and Concorso Italiano.
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Aston Martin,Bugatti,Cadillac,Classic Cars,Ford,Jaguar,Lincoln,Maserati,Motorsports
English coachbuilt excellence at its best -- the 1948 Jaguar 3 1/2 liter Drophead Coupe. Photo by Mark Takahashi
Almost every August since 1950, some of the world's rarest and most expensive cars gather on the Monterey Peninsula in California. This weekend started with the Pebble Beach Road Race and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 1950, which is now one of the most prestigious car shows on the planet. As time wore on, more events were added, including the Monterey Historic Automobile Races, the precursor to last year's inaugural Rolex Monterey Motorsports Reunion.
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Bugatti,Chevrolet,Classic Cars,Ferrari,Fiat,Ford,Jaguar,Lotus,Maserati,Motorsports
Fiat S.p.A. / Chrysler boss Sergio Marchionne went on record with Automotive News saying that Alfa Romeo would return to the U.S. in late 2012 with a handful of limited-edition examples of the Alfa Romeo 4C. Following the 4C -- which AN says will be delivered in early 2013 -- is the Giulia due out in late 2013. The 159-replacing Guilia will be built in the States and exported to Europe. And following that would be the Giulietta. We've already seen Dodge testing a Giulietta-based hatchback, so if Alfa is back, this one is a no-brainer.
The United States is a crucial market for Marchionne's expansion of Alfa. He plans (hopes) to sell 85,000 of them in the U.S. on route to 500,000 global sales in 2014. Alfa Romeo sold 112,000 vehicles in 2010.
There are also rough plans for an LX-based two-seat roadster, a MiTo-based compact, a compact crossover (because everyone needs a crossover) and a made-in-USA large sedan.
Wonder if Vegas has odds on this yet.....
(Automotive News)
Categories: Alfa Romeo,Auto Industry,Future Vehicles
Without question, the star of the 2011 Geneva Motor Show was the new Skoda Logo.
Following that was the Alfa Romeo 4C Concept. The 4C is an Eliseian sports car weighing in at 1,875-pounds with a 200 horsepower I4 and a dual-clutch transmission. The carbon-fiber tub was developed by Dallara and based on the KTM X-Bow. It was rumored to hit U.S. shores by 2012, but that seems unlikely at this point.
What is likely, though, is its appearance in a more finished state at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show. Of course they could just be showing a new, subtly tweaked design, but there's equal possibility we'll see a production version. We'll know more in September.
Categories: Alfa Romeo,Concept Vehicles,Coupes
Novitec says that this is "the most powerful and fastest street-legal Alfa Romeo of all time." We're too busy trying to pick our slacked jaw off the floor to disagree or research that claim.
Novitec has tweaked the Alfa Romeo 8C Spider to a whopping 600 horsepower and 441 kw via supercharger, water-to-air intercooler, custom injectors, new engine mapping and stainless-steel sport exhaust. Other modifications includes three-piece NA3 wheels (21-by-9 front and 22-by-11 rear with 255/30 ZR21 / 315/25ZR22 Pirellis) and height-adjustable Novitec coil-overs.
This all adds up to a car that does 0-60 in 3.9 seconds and top speed is now 189.5 mph. Price: 19,900 euro for the supercharger kit alone. None given for the rest of the upgrades, assume expensive.
Whatever. We'll always have the pictures.
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Convertibles,Tuners and Modifications
I'm digging on the idea of the Zagato TZ3 Stradale -- if not everything about the actual execution. See, the Italian design firm has been involved in a two-year project to celebrate Alfa Romeo's 100th anniversary. The first car to come out of it, the TZ3 Corsa (above right), a one-off track car, was all Alfa 8C under the skin. But this TZ3 Stradale (above left) is all Dodge Viper ACR underneath, even though it's still a design tribute to the even neater looking Alfa Giulia TZ (Tubolare Zagato) of the mid-1960s.
Details are sketchy, but Zagato says it developed the TZ3 Stradale's unit-body from the Viper's. That means a steel tube frame (with a lot of aluminum suspension bits holding it up), but instead of plastic body panels, Zagato used carbon fiber. The drivetrain is of course an 8.4-liter V10 and a heavy-duty six-speed manual gearbox.
Whereas Zagato won't build any additional TZ3 Corsas, it will build 9 TZ3 Stradales, all road-legal. The front end on the Viper-based Stradale is a little jarring, but the Kammback tail stops me in my tracks.
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Classic Cars,Dodge,Sports Cars
One of Sergio Marchionne's short-term goals is to boost sales of Alfa Romeo to 500,000 units by 2014. That's no small task as in 2010, Alfa's sales rose to 112,000. Part of Marchionne's plan is to bring Alfa back to the States to be sold in Fiat stores -- most of which will be open this fall.
And now we have Alfa Romeo CEO Harald Wester confirming that the 4C -- the concept we first saw at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show -- will be sold in the US. Production of the 4C begins in 2012, the same year that Alfa is set to return to the US.
As a reminder, the 4C is to be priced between $55 - and $62K, weigh in the 1,800-lb range, have a twin-clutch transmission, 200 horsepower and a carbon-fiber chassis.
( Automotive News )
Categories: Alfa Romeo,Auto Industry,Geneva Motor Show
It was all about the exotics at the 2011 Geneva Auto Show. With high-profile unveils from Lamborghini and Ferrari, the show floor was, automotively speaking, one of the sexiest places on the planet. You had to feel sorry those poor car-show models, who looked plain as concrete in comparison with all the mouthwatering sheet metal on display -- better luck next year, ladies.
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Aston Martin,Ferrari,Geneva Motor Show,Jaguar,Lamborghini
http://blogs.insideline.com/straightline/2011/03/il-track-tested-2012-ford-mustang-boss-302-laguna-seca.html
Mark Takahashi for Edmunds
Inside Line (and the internet come to think of it) runs thousands of photos a week of cool cars. These are our favorites.
If we missed any, let us know...
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Aston Martin,Audi,BMW,Ford,MINI,Porsche,Saab,Subaru,Volkswagen
By now we know pretty much all we'll know on the Alfa 4C. We know that the 4C's designer, Lorenzo Ramaciotti (now Fiat's design head), designed the Ethos for Pininfarina in the early 90s and that that car inspired the Lotus Elise. We know it's got a carbon-fiber tub*, weighs some 1,875 lbs, has a 1,775cc direct-injection motor producing "over 200 horsepower," a twin-clutch transmission and could cost as little as $55 - $62,000.
*More on this: The chassis developed with Italian racecar builder, Dallara Automobili. The structure is related to the KTM X-Bow, but has a different structure which includes the addition of doors and a roof.
So we know all of that. Here's a gallery from the show floor.
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Concept Vehicles,Coupes,Geneva Motor Show
http://blogs.insideline.com/roadtests/2011/02/2010-ford-f-150-svt-raptor-desert-snow.html
Dan Edmunds for Edmunds
Inside Line (and the internet come to think of it) runs thousands of photos a week of cool cars. These are our favorites.
If we missed any, let us know....
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Categories: Acura,Alfa Romeo,Aston Martin,Audi,BMW,Ford,Honda,Jaguar,MINI,Maserati,Mercedes-Benz
( Above, Nick's winning entry from our Photoshop Contest )
The trouble with rumors is that they often change shapes and directions like a cloud on a windy day. Today's "it's a lion, no, no it's a tree with a face!" comes from the Detroit News who are reporting that the new Dodge Viper is confirmed for production in 2012 as a 2013 model and that it is not based on an Alfa platform. The 2013 Dodge Viper will use an architecture of its own that will be less cabin rearward, and have a similar shape to the 8c, but with different proportions. It will not use a Ferrari powerplant.
But even without Ferrari engines or Alfa frames, Fiat will be involved in the new Viper. Ralph Gilles told the DET, "We will use their expertise to open the performance envelope in the Viper. Fiat has an awesome ability to tune cars. I want the new Viper to be a more forgiving car to drive and accessible to more people. We've never had stability control on a high-performance car, which is about to happen on the new car."
Traction control. More drivable. More accessible. Less cabin-rearward. So they're building a Corvette?
( The Detroit News )
Categories: Alfa Romeo,Coupes,Dodge,Future Vehicles,Sports Cars
In a conference call today with Chrysler / Fiat Sergio Marchionne re: Q3 earnings, Sergio decided to talk some product. Namely, the platform that underpins the 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee. Saying the "architecture has legs and should be extended as much as possible."
We agree. Good decision building the Dodge Durango on it. Case closed!
"I envision using architecture for benefit of Alfa Romeo and Maserati. The possibility of using Ferrari powertrains to the architecture is real." Wait...what....Ferrari? "The platform is capable of handling much more powerful powertrains." he continued.
But Sergio wasn't done...
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Dodge,Ferrari,Fiat
This was our first time giving out a specific assignment-- Imagine the 8C-inspired next-gen Dodge Viper-- and the results were, well, pretty darned good.
We've narrowed it down to the top 3 entries which, including the one above-- which was submitted in two color variations.
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Categories: Alfa Romeo,Dodge
Just a friendly reminder that our third Photoshop contest 'Alfa x Viper = ?" ends tonight at 23:59 PDT.
We've had some good entries so far, but we know there are more of you out there. Let's see what you've got!
Send entries to submissions (@) edmunds.com.
Previously: Next Gen Viper Looks Like an Alfa?
Categories: Alfa Romeo
We do so hate to keep jumping on the Fiat / Chrysler train, but with those two primordial soups swirling in a big bucket, it's pretty interesting to try and figure out which genes are dominant and which recessive.
So we're sticking with it. The new Viper is said to look like an Alfa 8C, and that's the challenge.
But this one's not easy. A) It's highly specific. Previous contests have been open-ended. Not this time. Imagine the Alfa 8C inspired 2012 Dodge Viper. Nothing else. B) The proportions here are all different. The Alfa rounds where the Viper goes straight. Simple grafting just won't fly here (as is proved above).
And that's why this week there's a prize! A good one. We'll post results next week, and will accept entries until 23:59 PDT on Thursday, 9/23 at Submissions@Edmunds.com
Good luck!
Categories: Alfa Romeo,Dodge
