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Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spider is a beauty in blue

Be still our beating hearts. The beautiful blue sportscar you see above is the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spider. It's the latest work from Italian design house Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, which is celebrating its 90th anniversary. As you can see, it's a work of art, but what you can't see is that, like the hardtop version that came before it, this car is actually based on the bones of an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. That means it's bound to be a rare beast, since only 500 8C coupes and 500 8C Spiders were ever built. Apparently, just seven of these droptops are planned, and each one will be painted in a different color. The hue we see on the car that's debuting at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show is called Blue Ceruleo, which we figure pretty much means Sky Blue. Here's hoping at least one comes in a green scheme similar to the one shown off at Geneva back in 2014. We don't have any details about what powers the Disco Volante Spider, but we'd guess it uses the same 4.7-liter V8 and six-speed semi-automatic transmission that powered all the original 8C models. That would mean 444 horsepower and 350 pound-feet of torque, a 0-60 run 4-ish seconds and a top speed of around 180 miles per hour. But the actual performance seems mostly superfluous to the Disco Volante Spider's real mission, which is to look pretty. You'll want to check out our image gallery for more close-up shots. And if you just can't get enough, it seems that someone with early access to the show floor in Geneva smuggled in a camera. Check out the video above. Related Video: Related Gallery Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spider by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera View 17 Photos News Source: SellerieCimes via YouTube Design/Style Geneva Motor Show Alfa Romeo Convertible Luxury Special and Limited Editions Performance 2016 geneva motor show carrozzeria touring superleggera

Weekly Recap: Chevy and Alfa plot comeback strategies

Chevrolet and Alfa Romeo were two of the 20th Century's most iconic automotive brands. Chevy embodied America's post-war power and confidence. Alfa was the definition of the stylish Italian sports car. They reached halcyon heights in the 1950s and '60s, before declining precipitously amid new competition, changing consumer tastes, and uneven corporate management. Both say 2015 is the start of something better, and this week Chevy and Alfa laid out ambitious plans and showcased new cars that they hope will make them more relevant this year, and in the coming years. Each brand sits at its own crossroads, and their paths forward are as different as the Chevy Cruze and the Alfa Romeo Giulia. Chevy is still a sales beast, as evidenced by its volume of 4.8 million vehicles sold around the world last year. Chevy executives are fond of saying one of their cars is sold every seven seconds, which illustrates the strength and reach of a car brand that is the fourth largest in the world. "Make no mistake about it, we are a brand for the people," said General Motors North America president Alan Batey. But he wants consumers to want to buy a Chevy for its design and technology, not simply because it's affordable. That starts with all Chevys now featuring a distinctive a family look, with sporty cues from the Corvette or strong lines that riff on the Silverado pickup. "We want people to fall in lust with our cars," said Mike Pevovar, executive design director for Chevy passenger cars. "That initial emotional attraction has to be right on the exterior, and that's where form comes into play." Chevy is also loading up its cars, like the freshly unveiled 2016 Chevy Cruze, with technology to appeal to a younger crowd that prizes connectivity. The Cruze will offer Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with its MyLink infotainment system, and OnStar with 4G LTE and wifi. Seeking out younger buyers is also sound business practice: Millennials now outnumber Baby Boomers as the largest single age group in the United States. Younger buyers also can improve a brand's image, which is another area where Chevy would like to improve. Chevy ranks 82nd on Interbrand's Best Global Brand's list, behind 11 other automakers. Apple is No. 1. "We need our own variation of the Genius Bar," Batey said. 2016 Alfa Romeo Giulia View 3 Photos Meanwhile, Alfa is in different shape.

2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia First Drive | All about the little things

ALBEROBELLO, Italy – Little things can make a big difference. And for the 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia, it's the little things that have been addressed, those that have been causing reviewers to kvetch and customers to look elsewhere. The cupholders that cause bottles to bang into the HVAC controls. The shifter and knobs made of cheap plastic that wobble about in your hand. The backwoods entertainment system that makes an Audi's look like it's been beamed in from the far-flung future.  The big things? They've been left untouched, almost entirely for the best. The Giulia's exceptional driving credentials have been well-documented with multiple awards and much gushing about divine steering and an astute chassis. For 2020, they're unchanged apart from some imperceptible tweaks to the steering that iron out an occasional low-speed refinement issue. Even when driven on the regrettably non-winding roads of southern Italy's "heel," the Giulia continues to come across as something different and special. That steering is pleasingly quick and full of feeling, friendly to both those who yearn for man-machine connection and those who'd rather not get an upper body workout when parking at Kroger. The Giulia feels light and playful, with a stiff chassis and adeptly tuned suspension. When people talk about sport sedans losing their edge (cough BMW 3 Series), it can still be found in the Giulia. At the same time, the adaptive dampers available in the Ti trim's Performance package impressively sops up nasty bumps, of which there are a great many around Italy's heel (AKA Puglia). Cars with such a sporting "edge" are often given a pass when it comes to ride quality, as a sore back and kidneys bruised by the seat bolsters are considered par for the course. The Giulia needs no such handicap. If there's a meh moment, it's the engine. Much is rightly made about the Quadrifoglio's 2.9-liter turbo V6 derived from Ferrari and possibly divine intervention. By contrast, the standard 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four doesn't offer much in the way of zest. Oh, its 280 horsepower and 306 pound-feet of torque are class-leading, and its 5.1-second estimated 0-60 time is exceptional. In sound, however, it's just another turbo-four, and most disappointingly, its 5,500-rpm redline is a real buzzkill. It's not exactly diesel-like, but it's close.