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Maserati honors Juan Manuel Fangio with F Tributo special editions

Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio was one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. Logging a record five F1 championships between 1951-57, four of them back-to-back, Fangio was the winningest driver in F1 history until Michael Schumacher won his sixth championship in 2003, almost half a century later. Maserati is now paying homage to Fangio with two special edition vehicles.  The Ghibli and Levante F Tributo commemorate Fangio's F1 victories behind the wheel of a Maserati 250F in the 1957 season. Fangio had previously won the world championship for Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Mercedes-Benz, though in 1954 he won the driver's championship while driving for both Maserati and Mercedes. The "F" stands for Fangio, and "Tributo" means "tribute" in Italian. Though Maserati does not appear to have increased performance figures for the F Tributo duo, they do come in two exclusive paint jobs. Rosso Tributo is a vibrant red inspired by the crimson hue that represented Italy in the era when race car liveries were determined by country of origin. The second color, Azzurro Tributo, is a blue that represents, along with yellow, the flag of Modena, Maserati's home. Both cars also feature yellow brake calipers and a yellow outline on their 21-inch wheels, a callback to the yellow stripe on the nose of Fangio's 250F. The yellow cues continue on the inside, where giallo contrast stitching brightens up the black leather interiors. The Ghibli and Levante are also denoted by black "F Tributo" badges on the front fenders, as well as body-colored Maserati trident logos on the C-pillars. We're not totally convinced that a luxury sedan and crossover would be the type of car Fangio would love to drive, but if this is your bag you should act quickly. Maserati hasn't said how many F Tributo cars they plan to sell, only stating that numbers will be "very limited". 

2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider doffs its cap in Detroit

With the debut of the 2015 Alfa Romeo 4C Spider the Italian company's US lineup has officially doubled. Cosmetically, it makes most of its changes up top and out back, starting with its exposure to the sky. The 4C's 236-pound carbon-fiber monocoque was already engineered for open-air duty, so the Spider only needs an aluminum rollbar underneath the CF roll hoop - called a "halo" - as well as some new upper body brackets and a crossbeam in the engine compartment to maintain stiffness. The CF windshield frame is both bolted and glued to the monocoque. When it's time to close the cabin off, a stowable cloth roof or, later after launch, an available carbon-fiber hardtop will do the job. We've already had the chance to affix and remove the former, and it's a simple job that's good for a full 160 mph, unlike some rival's similar toupees that aren't approved for top-speed runs. When we saw spy shots of the 4C Spider on a photo shoot recently, we thought the center-mounted exhaust from the concept car had been retired, but that's not the case. Buyers will have the option of a center-set Akrapovic titanium dual-mode exhaust, with a carbon-fiber body surround. The aural sensations will be boosted further with three air extractors in the new decklid. The cockpit comes standard with cross-stitched leather in either black, red or Tobacco, depending on package. Details include CF vent surrounds, and an Alpine stereo with plenty of media input options (we're hoping it's better than the absolutely terrible head unit we've already experienced in the 4C coupe). Exterior touches will be enhanced by four new wheel designs in silver or dark finish, with four choices of brake caliper. How much performance will you give up to go topless? It doesn't look like much, if any. The 4C Coupe has been run from standstill to 60 miles per hour anywhere from 4.1 seconds to 4.3 seconds. Alfa gives the estimated time for the Spider as 4.1-seconds, to go along with 1.1 g of lateral acceleration, and says the car only weighs 22 pounds more than its fixed-head sibling. It looks like the Spider is out to earn all the attention it's going to get when it launches this summer. You can turn your attentions now to the mega gallery above and the lengthy press release below, and we'll have live shots of it from the Detroit Auto Show shortly.

Autoblog Podcast #360

Episode #360 of the Autoblog podcast is here, and this week, Dan Roth and Jeff Ross discuss the 2015 Ford Mustang, reports of the latest plan to bring Alfa Romeo back to the US, Chevrolet leaving Europe and Holden closing down in Australia, and the price barrier that's holding down potential EV buyers. Dan also interviewed Jacques Brent, Ford's marketing manager for the 2015 Mustang and Sebastian Ruta and Joe Oh from Blipshift. We start with what's in the garage and finish up with some of your questions, and for those of you who hung with us live on our UStream channel, thanks for taking the time. You can follow along after the jump with our Q&A. Thanks for listening!
Autoblog Podcast #360:
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