The American automaker Dodge has announced that its models might be sold wearing Alfa Romeo badges in Europe. Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne said that all Dodge models might be sold as Alfa Romeos in Europe, and all Alfa Romeo models as Dodges in the U.S. The cross breeding of cutures would certainly make for an interesting lineup. It makes sense after all, if an automaker is going to invest the amount of money it takes to produce a vehicle, why limit yourself to just one market.
According to Marchionne: "Dodge is the American muscle car, while Alfa Romeo is the European muscle car. How we dovetail these two brands is very important. The level of competition between these two brands is tremendous because they are both going after the same customer." The man from across the Atlantic had some pretty bold words to say, but it would be nice to have Vipers allowed in the Targa Florio.
There is no sight as beautiful as a group of Italian super cars lining up on the grid all wearing enormous GT wings. While we all wish to be in the driving shoes of the individuals who are lucky enough to have the opportunity to compete in the Lamborghini Super Trofeo. Check out the video for more of a behind the scenes look at what it takes to get the cars ready off track and competitive on it.
The next generation Alfa Romeo Milano has been caught testing on the streets and the race racetrack by our friends at World Car Fans. If the production model is offered with those rally inspired O.Z. style multispoke rims, the Italian automaker will have something very fashionable bringing car shoppers into their showrooms.
Despite the amount of automotive camouflage, the inverted triangle grill is a signature of the Alfa Romeo and a dead giveaway to this 147 replacement. At first the bright round taillights make the FIAT five door look like something else, but at the end of the video, when the light hits the hatch just right, you can see the rest of the lamp.
The future Milano will share its platform with the future Alfa 159 (or Giulia as it is more commonly known). The platform, called C-Evo, will be available in both front and four wheel drive layouts. With the 4WD version reserved for future GTA models. With the way that things are looking between Chrysler and FIAT, we might just see a Milano on the streets of the U.S. sometime soon.
The current economic crisis has resulted in the partnership of a number of unlikely car manufacturers. First there was Fiat and Chrysler. Then it was Saab and Koenigsegg
And now we have Toyota and Aston Martin.
While Toyota and Aston Martin’s alliance is not on the level of the other two, the Japanese auto giant is in the process of producing its iQ model for its more upscale colleague in the United Kingdom.
The partnership of the two manufacturers comes at a time when both are in desperate need for bold and revolutionary moves that can jumpstart a floundering industry that’s in dire need of some fresh blood.
As part of the agreement, Toyota will supply iQ cars, which, as a matter of fact, are built in Japan, to Aston Martin, which, in turn, will sell these vehicles under the brand under a pseudonym: the Cygnet.
BMW is reshaping the way they make cars; the German automaker is planning on selling lots and lots of BMW 1 Series hatchbacks and has just revealed details about the all-new car for 2010. Starting this September the luxury carmaker will add four new models to their compact lineup: Starting off with the BMW 120i Coupé and the BMW 118d Coupé and then the Lifestyle and Sport Editions of the BMW 1 Series three and five-door body styles.
The new BMW 120i Coupe is powered by a 2.0 Liter four cylinder engine with BMW High Precision Injection (direct gasoline injection) with piezoelectric fuel injectors. The engine makes 170 HP and 155 lb-ft of torque, allowing the BMW 120i Coupé to accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in 7.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 149 MPH. The new diesel powered BMW 118d Coupe has the same engine displacement, except this one is developing 143 HP and 221 lb-ft of torque. It can go from a standstill to 60 mph in 9.0 seconds and reaching a top speed of 130 MPH.
In today’s fragile economy, a compact luxury hatchback may just be what new car buyers in the U.S. are looking for. The European influence on drivers here in the States seems to e looking like more of a certainty.
What is it about supercars and fire that makes them so attracted to each other?
It was only a couple of weeks ago when we reported a McLaren F1 unexpectedly bursting into flames in California – prior to that, it was a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti in Moscow – that we have another exotic being engulfed in flames in the streets of Athens, Greece.
The cursed vehicle this time around is a yellow Lamborghini Gallardo that caught fire for no apparent reason. The people – a couple, to be exact - inside to the car were fortunate to have escaped unscathed. Their precious Gallardo, however, was left charred to the ground.
Now, if you’re a car lover, then we strongly caution you on looking at the pictures because, well, they’re beyond gruesome. Unlike the McLaren F1, the Gallardo was completely burnt so bad you’d be hard-pressed to recognize it, even after firefighters were able to control the flames shooting out of the vehicle. It’s like one of those CSI episodes you watch where you see a victim mutilated so bad, forensics have to rely on dental records to identify the person.
Struggling to make ends meet, it looked as if it was only a matter of time before Saab would have crumbled under the mounting debts it had incurred over the past couple of years. Fortunately for them, there’s finally a sliver of light at the end of the tunnel.
On the heels of reports that said that Saab was on the market for anyone willing to take a stab at restoring the company to its glory days, it appears that someone has taken up that challenge. Swedish supercar makers Koenigsigg, together with a group of Norwegian investors, has ironed out a lot of the details involved in the company’s imminent purchase of Saab. While there are still a few kinks left to iron out, it’s becoming more and more apparent that Saab has found new life under the Koenigsigg brand.
Infiniti Europe has just announced pricing for the new G37 Convertible. The cost will vary from country to country, meaning that the customers in France, Italy, and Spain will pay €52,600, €53,900, and €56,100 respectively. The top of the line, GT premium package adds an extra €3,600. Prices for the U.K. will be announced at a later date.
The Infiniti G37 Convertible is powered by a 3.7 Liter V6 that sends 320 HP straight to the rear wheels. The drop top Infiniti will sprint from 0 to 60 MPH in just 6.2 seconds (for the manual version) and reach a top speed of a limited 155 MPH.
Standard equipment for the G37 Convertible includes: 19 inch alloy wheels with sport brakes to slow down the new V6, a wind deflector to keep your hair from getting tangled, luxurious leather seats, active cornering Bi-Xenon headlamps and LED rears, dual-zone adaptive climate control with automatic air recirculation, Infiniti Intelligent Key. The GT Premium package adds a 30Gb HDD navigation system.
Certain automotive enthusiasts have a particular lust for certain makes and models that can lead them to do crazy things. Some spend ridiculous amounts of money, some dedicate a little too much elbow grease and other do both. Their quest to obtain the vehicle of their dreams often ends with half built cars, clutter garages and broken marriages; but for some reason they strive on. Fortunately there are a few instances where all of the benefits can be had with none of the nasty drawbacks. One suck lucky car builder is Coen Donkers from Holland. Donkers was a fan of a particular Audi race car, but being that the real thing is over twenty years old and in limited supply, Coen decided to build himself an Audi Sport Quattro.
When Donkers picked up the car that would eventually become what you see before you, it was a wrecked shell of its current self, but luckily for Coen, he runs an Audi parts shop in Veghel, Holland. So he already had garage space for the project and a team of mechanics that could work on it in their down time. Coen decided to keep things simple, replacing the bent bodywork and work out pieces with all new OEM parts. Despite the Audi Sport Quattro replica’s wild appearance, the exterior is stock, it is just covered in graphics inspired by the rally car from the 1980s that make it look so radical.
Audi has just announced the European pricing for their latest addition to the TT line-up of compact sports cars, the TT-RS. Available as both a coupe and a roadster, the new Audi TT-RS will be available for sale from European dealerships starting this summer for around 55,800 Euros for the coupe and at 58,650 Euros for the open air roadster.
Standard on the TT-RS will be: Audi’s quattro all-wheel drive system, 18 inch alloys, xenon plus headlamps with LED daytime running lights and for the Roadster, an electrohydraulic convertible top with power assisted wind deflector.
The German sports coupe will be powered by a 2.5 Liter engine with FSI direct injection producing 340 HP and 332 lb-ft of torque. The potent five-cylinder will provide outstanding performance, giving the RS a 0 to 60 MPH time of just 4.6 seconds and a top speed of around 175 MPH.
According to Audi’s plans, the TT-RS should hit U.S. showrooms by the end of this year, giving the TT-S enough time to enjoy its days in the sun as the top of the line TT.
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