1979 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce 49k Original Miles on 2040-cars

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Alfa 4C to set the pace as WTCC safety car

With just 240 horsepower on tap, the Alfa Romeo 4C may not be the most powerful sports car on the market. But its lightweight construction ensures that it has a power-to-weight ratio better than cars with twice the output. In short, it belongs at the front of the pack, and that's just where it will be for this year's World Touring Car Championship. That's because Alfa's nimble little sports car has been selected as the new safety car (what we'd call a "pace car") for the WTCC, starting next month with the season opener at the Moulay El Hassan Circuit in Marrakech, Morocco. For that purpose it's been fitted with the special red and black livery you see here, and will presumably carry some extra safety equipment like emergency lighting, and a couple of fire extinguishers and a first aid kit on board in case it arrives at the scene of an accident before the medical support car can get there. This year will see some new entries in the FIA's top touring car series as the new Honda Civic WTCC makes its debut with four cars on the grid, Citroen entering the series with the new C-Elysee with nine-time rally champ Sebastien Loeb and four-time WTCC champ Yvan Muller behind the wheel. After a Euro-centric start to the season, the series heads to the US in mid-September for the race at Sonoma before winding up with three rounds in the Far East. The Alfa Romeo 4C Will Be the FIA WTCC Safety Car - Eurosport Events, promoter of the World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) appointed by the Federation Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA), has chosen the captivating Alfa Romeo supercar as Safety Car for the 2014 season - The multi-award-winning coupe will make its debut on the track with a special livery on 12 and 13 April on the Moulay El Hassan circuit of Marrakech - The recognition is linked to its winning the prestigious Grand Prize as Most Beautiful Car of 2013 at the 29th International Automobile Festival of Paris On display this week at the 84th Geneva International Motor Show with the preview of the Spider version, the Alfa Romeo 4C was chosen by Eurosport Events as the Safety Car of the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) for the entire 2014 season. The multi-award-winning coupe will therefore be present with a special livery on the World Touring Car Championship circuits starting from the first event that will be held on the Moulay El Hassan Circuit of Marrakech (Morocco) on 12 and 13 April.

Alfa Romeo's midsize sedan due in June, and we'll get it

As the calendar shifts, so do Alfa Romeo's plans. At the LA Auto Show, Harald Wester, head of Alfa Romeo, said the brand would unveil its second US model – after the 4C – next June, but he wouldn't identify the type of car. A report in Automotive News Europe, quoting sources, says that it will be a midsize sedan in the mold of the erstwhile 159 (pictured) that was supposed to become the Giulia but now has a new brief and perhaps a new name. "Giulia" should be familiar because we've been hearing about it for more than three years – in fact it was 2011 when it was thrown back on the drawing board for a complete redesign. Last year the plan – or the anonymously-sourced bits of the plan that we kept getting – were for the platform to go rear-wheel drive and do duty for both a BMW 3 Series and 5 Series competitor. ANE's latest intel is that the coming midsize sedan will be come in between the 3 Series and 5 Series – a strategy used by the original Cadillac CTS – slotting in beneath a "flagship sedan" that would fit between the 5 Series and 7 Series. That would appear to contradict a direct challenge to the entry-level segment's standard-bearer, and perhaps the M3, too. Those two Alfa sedans would be part of an eight-model onslaught happening over the next four years, which is a new matrix compared to April of this year when that was reported to be six models over the next five years. ANE says work has started on three of them, a midsize SUV said to be the third. The push is to get Alfa to 400,000 annual sales – 100,000 more than the April target – with the US accounting for 150,000 of that. News Source: Automotive News Europe - sub. req. Alfa Romeo Sedan alfa romeo giulia giulia

The cars of notorious dictators

It's good to be the king, at least until your people have had enough of you. Last week, we brought you famous presidential cars. This week, we're going to the opposite end of the political spectrum, looking at what history's mad men drove throughout their repressive and violent regimes. These dictators were absolutely powerful, and absolutely corrupt. More nightmares for their people than rulers, their iron-fisted control gave them the ability to satisfy any wild desire with nearly limitless funds. While they all splurged on luxury goods, cars were a particular passion of many dictators. Cars make a powerful statement to the public about wealth, status and control. It's how you are presented at ground level to your adoring masses or mortal enemies. A custom luxury car with plenty of armor plating reinforced the specialness and "otherness" of the ruler to friend and foe alike. Muammar Gaddafi, Libya, 1969 - 2011 Lybia's President for Life Muammar Gaddafi fancied himself not just a car enthusiast, but a car designer for the masses as well. He supposedly designed a car called the "Saroukh el-Jamahiriya" or Libyan Rocket. It had a 230-horsepower V6 and the nose and tail of a rocket. He was trying to produce a safer car. What makes it safe car? Tough to say. Not a lot was ever released it. Apparently the el-Jamahiriya did come with airbags and collapsible fenders in case of a collision. A spokesperson said "The invention of the safest car in the world is proof that the Libyan revolution is built on the happiness of man." We'll just have to take his word for it. When he wasn't designing his own cars, Gaddafi was ordering up custom rides, large and small. Besides a heavily armored BMW 7 Series and a Mercedes S-Class stretch limo, Gaddafi had this custom Fiat built at a cost of $260,000. The gold in the trim is real gold (of course) and comes with some touches that are pure Gaddafi. For instance, the Fiat badge was replaced with an outline of the continent of Africa, with Libya cut out in green. Rebels seized the Fiat and Gaddafi's other trappings of power after putting an end to Gaddafi's 42 years in control. Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier, Haiti, 1971 - 1986 Jean-Claude "Baby Doc" Duvalier was the second-generation dictator of Hati from 1971 to 1986. He made life hell for his people for 15 long years, starting when his father died when he was just 19 years old. Imagine if Justin Beiber was given a tiny island nation to run.