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Alfa Romeo celebrates 110th anniversary with 79-page e-book

For its 110th anniversary, Alfa Romeo wanted to host a summer bash at its renovated Museo Storica Alfa Romeo in Arese, Italy. Coronavirus nixed that, so part of the Plan B syllabus is a 79-page e-book that plucks all sorts of fascinating details from even before the automaker's birth as A.L.F.A., which stood for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili, and the fecund history since. The work can be considered more than a dive into Alfa Romeo history because of Alfa Romeo's reach for much of its existence. The 1914 Aerodinamica by Castagna built on an Alfa Romeo 40/60 HP chassis predates Buckminster Fuller's Dynmaxion by 20 years. Enzo Ferrari raced for Alfa Romeo or with Alfra Romeo support for 19 years, the driver's seat also occupied by legends like Juan Manuel Fangio, Tazio Nuvolari, and Alberto Ascari. Nuvolari drove the Bimotore — a car with one V8 in front of the cockpit, another V8 behind — to a top speed of 209 miles per hour in 1934, and raced the car alongside Louis Chiron, the same Frenchman Bugatti would later name a car after. Alfa Romeo's tech prowess impressed famed tinkerer Henry Ford so much that in 1939 Ford said, "When I see an Alfa Romeo go by, I tip my hat." And it's hard to believe Ian Fleming hadn't heard of the 1900 C52 Disco Volante concept from 1952 when conjuring a name for Emilio Largo's motor yacht for his 1961 book, "Thunderball." There's plenty of Alfa-centric trivia, too, like an employee coming up with the idea for the automaker's logo while waiting for a train, the origin of the quadrifoglio, intended as a good luck charm for all the three drivers in the 1923 Targa Florio but only paying off for one, and how Nicola Romeo inscribed his name in history. The stories carry up to the present day Giulia GTA and coming Tonale crossover, with a cameo by FCA design chief Ralph Gilles to boot. The book is a quick read, so check it out, or just scroll through lots of photos documenting 110 years of Italian automotive history. Related Video:    

Alfa Romeo could introduce a new model in June

While the automotive industry's collective attention is turned towards the 2020 Geneva Motor Show opening in March, Alfa Romeo is also looking forward to the party it will throw in Milan, Italy, to celebrate its 110th birthday. The city-wide festivities will culminate with the unveiling of a mysterious new model, according to a recent report. Thousands of Alfisti from all over the world will convene in Milan on June 24 to commemorate the milestone, and Italian website MotoriOnline learned Alfa will take advantage of the media coverage to organize its own mini auto show. The publication added the model we'll allegedly get a preview of will be either a crossover or a coupe. Both are intriguing propositions. While enthusiasts would undoubtedly prefer to see a born-again GTV, or a follow-up to the 8C, sales figures clearly demonstrate the crossover body style is popular all over the world with no risk of falling out of style, and Alfa's only take on it is the Stelvio. The yet-unnamed model that could break cover in Milan will be about the same size as the Jeep Renegade, the Fiat 500X, and the Mini Countryman, among other city-friendly soft-roaders. This positioning rules out the production version of the Tonale concept introduced during the 2019 Geneva show; besides, it's expected to appear at this year's edition of the event. Little would prevent Alfa from using the platform found under the aforementioned Renegade and 500X, as all three carmakers are under the same umbrella, but MotoriOnline speculated the firm's third high-rider will be the first Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) product built on a PSA platform. If that's accurate, it signals Alfa will unveil a concept car, not a production model, because the tie-up between the two giants hasn't even been finalized yet. The second option floated by the publication is a heritage-laced two-door developed as a tribute to emblematic past models, like the Duetto and the GTV. While that's plausible, especially considering the event will be a anchored to Alfa's illustrious history, the chances of one day seeing it in showrooms are low because executives gave two-door models the boot when they put together the firm's latest product plan in late 2019. Crossovers remain an essential component of Alfa's future range, however, and the aforementioned product plan clearly states a small SUV will join the range in 2022, a year after the Tonale, with an available electric powertrain.

Alfa Romeo to offer 4C buyers choice of headlights [w/poll]

Typically an automobile will lose some of its more radical design elements on the road from concept to production, but Alfa Romeo has done things a little differently with the 4C... at least, that is, when it came to its headlights. When the sports car concept first debuted at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, it had an intriguing, glowing headlight design that seemed more stylish than functional. The headlight design stayed the same when Alfa repainted the concept from matte red to liquid silver for the Frankfurt Motor Show later that year, but when the 4C debuted in production form two years after concept's first showing, its headlights weren't any less strange. If anything, they were even more so, taking on a form that only a fly's optometrist could love. Things took a more conventional (and eye-pleasing) turn earlier this month when Alfa revealed the 4C Spider concept with not only a different roofline but also a new set of headlights. Those units are expected to make their way to production when the 4C Spider is finalized, but word has it that the roadster won't be the only one to get them. According to Autocar, the Italian automaker will offer new buyers of the 4C coupe the option to fit the Spider's headlamps instead of the strange-looking units on the hardtop model. The Spider, meanwhile, will only get the more conventional units. We've reached out to Alfa Romeo for confirmation, and have yet to hear back as we go to publish, but either way, the 4C remains – for the time being – a piece of forbidden fruit that we only wish we could get in the States as Alfa continues to plot its eventual return to the North American market. Featured Gallery Alfa Romeo 4C Spider Design Preview Related Gallery 2014 Alfa Romeo 4C View 60 Photos News Source: Autocar Alfa Romeo Convertible Coupe Performance alfa romeo 4c alfa 4c alfa romeo 4c spider