1968 Alfa Romeo Duetto 1300 Junior Spider on 2040-cars

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Alfa Romeo returns to F1 as Sauber title sponsor

LONDON - Alfa Romeo will become title sponsor of the Sauber Formula One team next season as part of a multi-year technical and commercial partnership, both sides announced on Wednesday. "This agreement with the Sauber F1 Team is a significant step in the reshaping of the Alfa Romeo brand, which will return to Formula One after an absence of more than 30 years," Fiat Chrysler chief executive Sergio Marchionne said in a statement. Sauber announced in a statement of their own that the team will officially be known as the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team from 2018 onwards. "Working closely with a car manufacturer is a great opportunity for the Sauber Group to further develop its technology and engineering projects," Sauber Holding AG chairman Pascal Picci said. "We are confident that together we can bring the Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team great success, and look forward to a long and successful partnership."Reporting by Alan Baldwin.Related Video: Image Credit: REUTERS/Ueslei Marcelino Motorsports Alfa Romeo Racing Vehicles F1 Sergio Marchionne FCA

Vintage 1921 Alfa Romeo G1 rally car hits RM Sotheby’s

The only known surviving, fully operational example of Alfa Romeo's first commercial car is hitting the auction block at RM Sotheby's at its auction in Phoenix next month, when the 1921 G1 is expected to fetch up to $1.5 million. It's one of only 52 examples, including two prototypes, built between 1921 and 1923, and the only known surviving member of the series, stamped chassis No. 6018. It spent many years on a remote farm in Australia, during part of which the engine was put to work powering a water pump, before undergoing a restoration sometime in the mid-1960s. The G1 is powered by a 6.3-liter side-valve inline six that was said to have been designed with input from Enzo Ferrari, then a driver for the company, and was the largest motor ever fitted to an Alfa. It was based on two cast-iron three-cylinder blocks with fixed cylinder heads, a cylinder bore of 98 millimeters and a stroke of 140 mm to make 71 horsepower and 216 pound-feet of torque, with a top speed of 86 mph. It has a four-speed manual gearbox, which sends power to the rear axle through a single-dry plate clutch and an open driveshaft. The G1 was built to support Alfa Romeo's racing activities and was marketed to the same upscale clientele as Rolls-Royce, Hispano Suiza and others. A stripped-down version of the car won its production class at the Coppa del Garda, according to RM Sotheby's, but the production version suffered for being an expensive fuel guzzler at a time of economic and political chaos in Italy following World War I. So the company exported all 50 production versions to Australia (and possibly to South Africa), where this one was picked up by a Queensland businessman, who later went into bankruptcy and sent the car to a farm in the Outback to hide it from creditors. Ranch workers reportedly found it in the late '40s and used it as a farm runabout before the rear axle failed and the engine was used for the water pump. The remains of the G1 were acquired by a man named Ross Flewell-Smith, who would restore it over 10 years, including finding authentic replacement parts. It would undergo three full restorations in subsequent years.Related Video:

Watch Alfa Romeo's slightly suggestive lifestyle ad for the 4C

We haven't watched a car ad with this much European panache in quite some time - and let us be clear, we're using the phrase "European panache" in its marketing sense, which is code for "women in lingerie." But it's Alfa Romeo and it's Italy and it's the 4C and what else would we ever have expected? Alfa Romeo USA has posted a two-minute spot talking up the technology and capabilities of the of 4C, with beauty shots of the car augmented by an amorous pantomime between two beautiful people wearing a whisper of clothing and some un-subtle editing; like when the phrase "pure seduction" is matched to the 4C's rear end and... some lovely lady lumps. It's totally safe for work, but that doesn't mean you want it rolling when the boss walks by. And speaking of the above phrase, we're wondering if the coupe's exterior designers signed off on "The inexplicable design of the 4C is pure seduction." Inexplicable? Check it out in the video above.