Alfa Romeo Spider 1979 Great Condition. Must Go. on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio exhaust is just as good as you hoped

Alfa Romeos, especially the fast ones, are car enthusiast darlings. As such, you likely already know that the 2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio has a Ferrari-derived twin-turbo V6 making 505 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. What you may not know for sure is how it sounds. And if you watch the video above, you'll know positively that it sounds excellent. Most of the video features the Alfa in Dynamic or Race modes, which open up the exhaust and make the shifts faster and aggressive, among other things such as stiffening the suspension. In these modes, the Alfa growls, howls and everything in-between. It's not a flawless performance, as there are times you get a bit of V6 drone, but when its right, its pipes sound amazing Fortunately for anyone with easily agitated neighbors, or buyers who want to take the Alfa on long drives, it quiets right down in its normal and eco modes. It also starts in the normal mode by default, so you won't wake anyone up if you have to drive off late at night or early in the morning. Certainly in the sound department, the Stelvio Quadrifoglio is a well-rounded performer. Related Video:

Alfa Romeo prioritizing vehicle quality and customer satisfaction

Stellantis honcho Carlos Tavares has proved himself adroit at the turnaround. GM had lost money on its European Opel/Vauxhall unit for two decades before Tavares took the helm at Peugeot-Citroen (PSA) and bought GM's European arm. Tavares restored Opel/Vauxhall to profit in a year. Within 18 months of PSA's "merger" with Fiat-Chrysler being official, we're no longer hearing doomsday stories from some of the perpetually troubled marques under the new umbrella. All of the Italians — Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Fiat, Lancia, Maserati — say they're doing well, Alfa Romeo back in the black and planning a range that will be more accessible and more fun to own. Having established Tavares' mastery of the basics, we've yet to find out if he knows how to transform a brand, which is what all of the Italian automakers need. At Alfa Romeo, the North American heads told Automotive News that they're still establishing the foundations of a revolution. In doing so, the brand sounds more like the kind of premium automaker it's been aspiring to be since its return in 2008.  Vincent Noirbent, VP of Brand and Product Planning for Alfa Romeo on this continent, said the automaker's working a 10-year plan to place itself as Stellantis' global premium brand below Maserati's all-out luxury. We don't know how that's going to work with Lancia in Europe, but we don't get Lancia, so that potential clash is out of our jurisdiction. Autonews phrased Noirbent's message as, "Customer satisfaction and vehicle quality are arguably 'more important' to the brand than sales as it works to build momentum in the U.S." He also said it's more important to build a "sound business" built around the strengths of the brand and that doesn't rely on incentives. A Miami dealer described comments from Alfa Romeo North America boss Larry Dominque as wanting to "make the cars right first, make the [ownership] experience better, and build the value of the brand so somebody will pay an extra $100 a month." In an interview from Pebble Beach, Dominique said a luxury service experience and experiential marketing will also be involved. This will include "concierge services, pick-up and drop-off service for test drives," and when visiting a dealer, "it's the kind of thing where not only could you come in to see beautiful cars, but also do Italian cooking lessons and wine tastings." All the work will take time.

Alfa Romeo C43 is ready for the 2023 Formula One season

Following rival Red Bull's lead, Alfa Romeo has become the second team to unveil the car it will race in the 2023 season of Formula One. (Haas has revealed its livery, but so far not the new season's car.) Called C43, the single-seater Alfa stands out from its predecessor with a new aerodynamic profile and a redesigned livery, among other changes. The C43's red and black livery is the work of the Alfa Romeo Centro Stile, which is the same design center that draws the storied Italian company's road cars. Alfa Romeo describes the C43 as an evolution of the C42, its predecessor, and it notes that a technical team led by Jan Monchaux developed it around a new, Ferrari-sourced power unit. It features several updates and numerous new parts, though full details haven't been released, and Alfa Romeo hopes the changes made to the C43 will allow its team to improve during the 2023 season. "This car is an evolution of last year's, reflecting the new regulations and introducing major changes in the areas where we found improvements to be needed. I hope it's going to be quicker than the successful car we had last year, that's what matters most, and more reliable as well: We have put a lot of effort in this direction," said Monchaux, the technical director of Alfa Romeo's Formula One team. Alfa Romeo will begin testing the C43 in Barcelona, Spain, in February, and it will then send the car to Bahrain for more testing ahead of the 2023 F1 season's first race. Valtteri Bottas and Zhou Guanyu will drive for Alfa Romeo during the upcoming season. And while the odds of non-professional drivers taking the C43 for a spin are low, anyone with or without a license will be able to drive it in the F1 2022 video game.