1982 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Convertible 2-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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Industrial designer seeking classic car, sketches his finds as he shops

The process of shopping for a vintage car can be both a joy and a nightmare. Wrapped up with the exciting opportunity of owning a classic is the anxiety of picking just the right one. Canadian industrial design professor Bruce Thomson and his wife are chronicling all of those ups and downs in a fascinating way. On their blog Kicking Vintage Tyres, Bruce exploits his talent as an expert draftsman to create detailed sketches of the vehicles they are considering, along with driving impressions of each one. The idea for the site started on a whim. After selling his 1971 Mercedes-Benz 220 a while back, it was time to own another classic. Bruce was looking at a Triumph TR6, and a friend asked for a description of the car. Bruce responded with a massive email detailing everything he saw, and the concept for the blog was born. "It dawned on me early that my search was not going to be as easy or as quick as I had expected," he said to Autoblog in an email. "I decided that the best thing I could do would be to make a sort of 'game' out of the search by sharing it with others." Thomson's sketches truly set the blog apart. He clearly has an exceptional eye for a car's lines and often mixes his drawings with inset depictions of key portions of the vehicle. Beyond just the fabulous diagrams, the site is a great read too. While the TR6 initially topped the list, Thomson's search has broadened over time, and a Series 2 Alfa Romeo Spider and BMW 3.0CS also received consideration. "I'd not commit myself to any preferences though, as my head is easily turned," he said. The criteria are that the car must have a manual gearbox, be made between 1959 and 1976, preferably European, hopefully a convertible and cost 15,000-25,000 Canadian dollars ($12,525-$20,870). No matter how long it takes, this is a wonderful hunt to follow along with. Featured Gallery Bruce Thomson Car Sketches News Source: Kicking Vintage Tyres via Core77 Auto News Design/Style Alfa Romeo Car Buying Convertible Classics auto design alfa romeo spider sketch blog

2017 Alfa Romeo Model Year Preview and Updates

Having taken a twenty year sabbatical from the U.S. market, Fiat Chrysler Automobile's Alfa Romeo returned for the 2015 model year with the ALFA ROMEO 4C COUPE, a singularly two seat, mid-engined sports car with a carbon fiber monocoque chassis, high-performance 1.7 liter turbocharged four-cylinder powertrain and competition-inspired bodywork. Although the 4C's price point isn't inexpensive, the amount charged is pocket change relative to what is required by Ferrari, Lamborghini and Porsche. The 4C Spider was introduced for 2016, while 2017 brings a modest list of modifications to the sporting two-seater, including Alpine Premium audio, the addition of Giallo Prototipo (yellow) to the 4C Coupe, an available carbon fiber roof treatment and updated wheel selection. GIULIA/GIULIA Ti and GIULIA QUADRIFOGLIO: Although the 4C Coupe may have taken the figurative lead in Alfa Romeo's return to the US market, the substantive start will be taken in the 2017 model year by Alfa Romeo's midsize sport sedan, the Giulia. All variants of the Giulia combine a balanced chassis, responsive drivetrains and Italianate bodywork in a compelling four door package. And with a turbocharged V6 drivetrain, sub-4 second 0-60 and a record-setting lap (for a 4-door) of the Nurburgring, the Quadrifoglio will battle BMW's M3 in Europe's super-sedan segment. STELVIO (2018): While final specs are still TBD, following the Giulia later in the 2017 calendar year will be Alfa Romeo's 2018 Stelvio. Based on the Giulia platform and formally introduced to the public at the 2016 Los Angeles Auto Show, the Stelvio will tap into the country's appetite for compact and midsize crossovers with an upright – albeit curvaceous – platform, responsive four cylinder power and performance-oriented all-wheel drive. The Stelvio should arrive in US showrooms sometime in the 2017 calendar year.

Marchionne to make Alfa Romeo a separate company within Fiat

According to a report in Automotive News that quotes "people familiar with the matter," the next big play in Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne's plan for Alfa Romeo is to break it off from Fiat Group Automobiles and set it up as a separate company within the Fiat empire, giving it the same structure as Ferrari and Maserati. The idea, say the sources, is that a transparent, standalone Alfa Romeo that has to justify its every move could clearly prove its success in the public financial statements it would have to report, finally achieving Marchionne's aim of making Alfa Romeo "a credible business proposition."
That, of course, assumes that Alfa Romeo will make a success of it. The brand hasn't made a profit in any year of Marchionne's decade at the helm; sales last year fell to numbers not seen in almost half a century and its new product offensive might not include the two vehicles currently responsible for 99 percent of its sales. We're told that the brand's six new models will begin arriving in 2016 - a roadster, a midsize sedan and large sedan, a compact SUV and large SUV, and a large coupe.
Marchionne aims to expand Alfa's global appeal in several ways, the first by stressing that they are Italian products that 'belong' to Italy. This is the stance that appears to have put the kibosh on the roadster twinned with the coming Mazda MX-5/Miata. Alfa Romeos will all be made in their home country, and if they take off they'll help bandage Fiat's problem with underused plant capacity, a bugbear that is just as problematic culturally and politically as financially. Top-tier trims would use V6 engines developed by Ferrari, and global access would get a boost by selling Alfa Romeos in Jeep's 1,700 international dealerships.