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

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

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

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

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. MonopolyUncle 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

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

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.

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Alfa Romeo 8C Spider to 600-HP

It may not be the best sports car Italy has to offer us right now, but Alfa Romeo’s 8C Spider is certainly a prime candidate for being one of the most beautiful out there. That said, even Novitec Rosso is smart enough to know that you don’t mess with a good thing with the German tuner focusing its attention on improving the Alfa’s mechanical hardware.

The highlight of Novitec Rosso’s performance package is hidden under the 8C Spider’s hood with the adoption of a modified version of the supercharger system used on the firm’s Maserati GT tune. A new water-to-air intercooler with a dedicated radiator, custom injectors, a stainless-steel high-performance exhaust system and an ECU optimization round off the changes to the 4.7-liter V8 engine.

As a result of these upgrades, the V8 gains an additional 150HP for a total output of 600HP at 7,300 rpm, while peak torque is also lifted to 588Nm (433.7 lb-ft) at 5,400 rpm. Novitec Rosso says the sprint from 0 to 100km/h (62mph) is reduced from 4.2 seconds to 3.9 seconds, while top speed increases from 290km/h to 305km/h (180mph to 190mph).

The only exterior modification concerns the availability of new alloy wheel designs measuring 21-inches up front and 22-inches on the rear, shod in Pirelli tires size 255/30 ZR 21 and 315/25 ZR 22 respectively.

Novitec also offers a height-adjustable threaded coil-over suspension and upon customer request, it can customize the Alfa 8C Spider’s interior with leather and Alcantara appointments.

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Dodge Viper ACR Looks Like Alfa Romeo’s Zagato TZ3 Stradale

We don’t know if Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne’s future plans for the upcoming, next generation of the Dodge Viper include the development of a corresponding Alfa Romeo model based on the underpinnings of the muscle car, but famed Italian coach builder Zagato has given the formula a try with its new TZ3 Stradale.

You see, Zagato’s TZ3 Stradale is an Alfa Romeo bodied sports car based on the platform and mechanical hardware of the track-conquering Dodge Viper ACR, which features the same 600HP 8.4-liter V10 engine as the standard Viper SRT-10 along with a 6-speed manual gearbox and a race-spec suspension. All parts of the TZ3 Stradale’s carbon fiber body are new with the cherry topping being the classic Kamm-tail (K-tail) layout.

The TZ3 Stradale is Zagato’s second and final tribute to the 100th anniversary of Alfa Romeo (1910-2010), which started in 2009 with the presentation of the 8C Competizione-based TZ3 Corsa that won the Villa D'Este Design Concept Award in 2010.

Unlike the TZ3 Corsa, which was a one-off commissioned by Alfa Romeo Zagato collector Martin Kapp, the TZ3 Stradale will be built in a limited number of 9 units with the first example having already being delivered to US Alfa Romeo and Zagato collector (and Saratoga Automobile Museum's board member) Eric King. The TZ3 Stradale No2 and No3 will be delivered in Japan and Europe.

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