1987 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce - No Reserve on 2040-cars

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Fiat Chrysler target 850k sales in China by 2018

Behind the vanguard of numerous Jeep models, two Chryslers, a smattering of Fiats and Alfa Romeos and local production through a joint venture with Guangzhou Automotive Group (GAG), Fiat Chrysler wants to increase sales in China more than six-fold by 2018. The group sold 130,000 cars in China in 2013, the aim for 2018 being 850,000 cars.
Ultimately it's expected that the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Cherokee, Wrangler, Renegade, the coming Grand Wagoneer and a sub-Renegade-sized crossover will either be built in or exported to the People's Republic. The Chrysler Town & Country and 300 will join the export list in 2016 and 2018 respectively, according to a report in Automotive News.
With a number of those vehicles not in production or perhaps even envisaged yet, and others not due on the local market until 2018, it will be interesting to see how Fiat Chrysler plans to achieve the target in the specified timeframe. The joint venture with GAG builds two products now, the Dodge Dart-based Fiat Viaggio launched two years ago - supposedly designed just for China - and the just-launched Fiat Ottimo, a hatchback version of the Viaggio. Fiat projected 300,000 Viagio sales in its first two years, that number has been adjusted downward to 94,000 and there doesn't appear to be an analyst alive that sees a good future for Fiat in China's overrun mainstream market. Still, last year's 130,000 group sales in China is a huge jump from 2012 sales of 66,000 units, but less than half the 300,000 units it projected.

2022 Alfa Romeo GTV leaked image shows high performance coupe

Update: Turns out, the image came from the School of Design Milan and is not a leaked image of the upcoming Alfa GTV. We have since learned the image was of a rendering presented during a class. Alfa Romeo declared it was going to bring back the GTV name with a high-performance hybrid car last summer at its five-year plan conference. We got a teaser then, but now this image has surfaced online, initially appearing on the Italian Club Alfa website. It does indeed have the coupe bodystyle we surmised before. We're getting a grand tourer vibe from the styling right now, especially in knowing Alfa plans on giving the GTV 600 horsepower. The power will most likely come from the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 hooked up to some form of hybrid electric system. We've been told to expect all-wheel drive, torque vectoring and a 50/50 weight distribution for the GTV, along with a short electric-only range. Alfa's Giorgio platform was designed with electrification in mind, so this car will certainly ride on those underpinnings. That's great to hear, because the Giulia and Stelvio are both dynamic standouts in their respective classes. This car's looks looks set to take on other luxury grand tourers like the Lexus LC500 and BMW 8 Series. The GTV is set to be joined by a new 8C supercar with even more horsepower in 2022. That vehicle will also be using a hybrid powertrain. Both these cars are still a few years from production, but we may just see a concept or two at auto shows leading up to their eventual reveals.

Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio trims leaving North America this summer

Larry Dominique, Alfa Romeo senior vice president and head of North America, used a LinkedIn post to set the countdown clock on the brand's Quadrifolgio models here. He wrote, "The opportunity to order a 2024 Giulia Quadrifoglio or Stelvio Quadrifoglio will close to North America at the end of April 2024. The last internal only combustion powered Quadrifoglio models for U.S. and Canada will exit the Cassino plant in June 2024." That gives shoppers about 10 weeks to place an order for the hottest versions of Alfa Romeo's sedan and midsize SUV, and until late summer to find a fresh example on a dealer lot. It's possible the internal-combustion-only Quadrifoglio is dying in the U.S. on its 101st birthday, Italian racing driver Ugo Sivocci having had the four-leaf clover painted on his car for the 1923 Targa Florio. Today, the clover represents models powered by Alfa's twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V6, an engine said to be inspired by Ferrari's twin-turbo 3.9-liter V6. The six-cylinder makes 505 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque in typical form, the limited-edition Quadrifoglio Anniversario models produced last year making 520 horsepower and picking up the mechanical limited-slip differential derived from the sold-out, 540-horsepower Giulia GTA. This is just another step in the automaker's transfer to an all-electric lineup, all of the brand's launches from 2027 and thereafter meant to be electric. This isn't the end of the Quadrifoglio, Dominique himself writing in that post, "I look forward to presenting the next chapter in the four-leaf clover’s journey." Successive iterations will get some sort of electric assistance at the least, and perhaps turn into the 1,000-hp battery-electric 2026 Giulia Quadrifoglio that CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato hinted at last year, with an 800-horsepower Veloce trim below and a 350-hp base trim. Or, with PHEVs coming into fashion as a more affordable middle ground to the fully electric promised land, it might be time to take a little more inspiration from Ferrari — now a separate company — and poke around the underside of the SF90 Stradale. Alfa noises and pure electric driving on demand? Si, certamento.