Autoblog

Click above for a high-res gallery of Fiat's Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

As the dollar weakens, European manufacturers continue to scramble for manufacturing opportunities offshore to salvage profits. Fiat is the latest to jump into the fray. Company sources are saying the Italian automaker is currently considering Mexico as a production site -- with their eyes on an existing plant that could be tooled up for 150,000 cars a year. With their Alfa Romeo brand launching in the United States next year, and Fiat sales up significantly in South America, a plant in centrally-located Mexico could easily supply demand for both markets. If approved, the Mexican plant would start building Alfa Romeos and Fiats in 2011.

[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd]

Click above to view the Alfa Romeo brothers in hi-res

When I was a little kid I wanted to be like my big brother. I would dress the same as him, go to the same places as him, do the same things as him... It never really worked because, at the end of the day, I never looked anything like him. So while I doubt I was the only one, I had one eyebrow raised when Alfa Romeo set out to mimic the design of its show-stoppin', range-toppin' 8C Competizione with a new entry-level model. A mass-market hatchback designed to look like an ultra-exclusive supercar? Well Alfa arguably achieved just that with the new MiTo, and to prove that point it's graced us with a whole gallery of new images of the two siblings side by side. The kid brother may look that much more junior in juxtaposition, but the resemblance is uncanny. See for yourself in the gallery by clicking the thumbnails below.

[Source: Alfa Romeo via Fresh Tarmac]

Click above for a high-res gallery of the Alfa Romeo Brera.

Prodrive is in the process of developing a performance package for the Alfa Romeo Brera S, the first collaboration between the two since Prodrive campaigned a pair of factory-built Alfa 155s in the British Touring Car Championship in 1995. Based off the 2.2 JTS and 3.2 V6 models, between 250 and 300 special edition models will be released. The majority of the focus will be spent on the suspension, aero enhancements and (thankfully) some weight savings. 19-inch rollers are expected to fill the wheel wells, while a handful of driver-oriented improvements, along with some S-badging, will find its way inside. Beyond that, details are scarce, but anytime you mix one-part unobtainable Italian with another part British racing legends, good things are on the way.


[Source: Italiaspeed]

Click on the image to enlarge and see more high-res shots of the Alfa Spider

Alfa Romeo undoubtedly offers some of the most beautiful cars available. While we're anxiously awaiting the storied Italian brand's return to the U.S. market, those in Europe get some added reason to place the aging Spider on their shopping lists. The new Limited Edition model comes equipped with heated seats swathed in Italian Frau® leather upholstery and Alfa's Blue&Me™ (no, we're not making these names up) voice recognition hands-free system. Available in four color combo's and equipped with pretty 19-inch alloys, nobody is likely to kick the LE out of their garages. No power increase is present, but considering that at £25,500, all of this added goodness comes at no extra cost, we don't expect to hear too much complaining. Besides, this car is really meant to be seen in, so the zip-to-sixty sprint of just under nine seconds is likely good enough anyway.


[Source: Alfa Romeo]

Filming of the latest Bond flick, Quantum of Solace, has been put on hiatus after two stunt drivers were injured during filming. The crash apparently took place while performing a chase sequence where one driver in an Alfa Romeo crashed into a wall while chasing Bond's Aston Martin DBS along the Gardesana, a curvy road that lines Lake Garda. The man behind the wheel of the Alfa was flown to the hospital in a helicopter and is in serious condition, while his passenger sustained only minor injuries.

This news comes within days of the previous crash that put one of the DBSs used for filming into the same lake, and despite the fact that filming was about to be wrapped today, the set remains closed until an investigation takes place. Thanks to all who tipped in.

[Sources: CNN, MI6.co.uk]

The Italians are coming, the Italians are coming! And when they get here in the guise of Alfa Romeo, they will be looking for a factory where the 8C and other cars wearing the cross and serpent can be built. Alfa is looking at two options regarding a U.S.-based factory: buy one of GM, Ford, or Chrysler's closed factories, or expand a Case New Holland factory.

Case New Holland, which is actually owned by Alfa, makes agricultural machinery and construction equipment. It already has 11 plants in the U.S., and Alfa could simply expand one of them to make cars. The plant, a location for which will be selected in May, will begin churning out Alfas in 2011 or 2012. At capacity, production is expected to be around 150,000 cars for the North American and European markets. Alfa Romeo will decide on the distribution network and particular vehicles to be made within three months, which makes it sound as if the Italians are definitely coming.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

Hey, the pseudo-video-game as a car ad technique worked well enough for Pontiac, so why shouldn't Alfa Romeo give it a try too? While we think Alfa's take on arcade-style driving enjoyment is clever, it's not quite as cool as the G8's Spy Hunter recreation, which, as children of the era of excess, we were totally smitten with. Regardless, the expert driving Italy's newest hot hatch looks to have had a great time racing through all 11.1 kilometers of the Forest Track stage, which is actually Arjeplog, a town in Lapland, Sweden, and a popular European destination for winter automotive testing. This video makes us wish even more so that an official announcement regarding the Mi.To's hopeful trip across the Atlantic is impending shortly. Follow the jump to watch it.

[Source: Youtube via Autoblog.it]

Click above for high-res gallery of the Alfa Mi.To

Hot on the heels of the impending sale official sale of Jaguar and Land Rover to Tata and news that Fiat is looking to start producing Alfa Romeo vehicles in the U.S. are reports that Fiat would be interested in partnering up with the new Jaguar ownership to share rear-wheel-drive platforms for their high-end Alfa models. Tata and Fiat already have close ties, as Ratan Tata, chairman of the Tata Group, is a member of Fiat's board and the two companies jointly produce engines and transmissions in India.

In addition to possible platform sharing between Jaguar and Alfa, Fiat is also interested in using the existing Jaguar and Land Rover dealer base in the U.S. as a way to ease Alfa's re-entry the American market. Anything that helps get Alfa Romeo back in the U.S. is fine by us, but there are surely issues with selling what could possibly be competing brands from the same dealer lots.

[Source: The Financial Times]

The weak dollar is driving yet another automaker to the States. On the heels of the announcement earlier this month that BMW will increase production in the U.S, Fiat is considering moving production of both Alfa Romeo cars, and Iveco trucks, to manufacturing plants on our shores. We first broke the news in December, but now it appears Fiat is actively involved in talks with U.S. automakers to build partnerships and share manufacturing facilities with a goal of starting production by 2011 or 2012. This is positive news for consumers as Alfa prepares to once again enter the N.A. marketplace, and great news for the local economies who will benefit from additional jobs and tax revenue.

[Source: Reuters]

Click above to view the Alfa Romeo Mi.To in hi-res

Months upon months of spy shots, teasers, renderings and endless speculation have come to their culmination as Alfa Romeo this morning released official images and details of the highly-anticipated new Mi.To. As we previously reported, the Mi.To name – an abbreviation for Milan and Turin (also meaning "myth" or "legend" in Italian as our astute commenter Nick pointed out) – won out for the final nameplate over the internal designation "Junior" and the proposed name "Furiosa".

Alfa is quick to point out that the Mi.To is the first new model introduced since the 8C Competizione, and the new hatch draws heavily on the supercar's styling, as you can see from the images in the gallery below. If you tried to morph an 8C with a Fiat 500, you wouldn't be far off, but the Centro Stile Alfa Romeo appears to have bridged the gap with considerable finesse. Alfa Romeo also confirmed that the Mi.To will initially be offered with a range of four turbocharged fours, with horsepower ranging from 90 to 155, with even stronger engines to follow. The Mi.To's official presentation will come in June before market introductions begin in July. For more details, scope out the press release after the jump.

[Source: Alfa Romeo]