2018 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio on 2040-cars

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Chrysler appoints new heads of Alfa Romeo and Ram

Chrysler has announced to two key appointments to its senior leadership, both of them taking immediate effect. First up is Reid Bigland, who has been named head of the Alfa Romeo brand for North America. Bigland has served until now as head of the Ram Truck brand, a portfolio he now hands over to Robert Hegbloom, who had served until now as its director.
As a result of the appointments, both Bigland and Hegbloom will take up seats on Chrysler's NAFTA Leadership Team, and Bigland will also join the Fiat Chrysler Group Executive Council - the highest decision-making body in the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire.
As per Sergio Marchionne's leadership style, Bigland will continue to serve in two major capacities, maintaining his role as president and CEO of Chrysler Canada. Other senior executives who hold multiple key portfolios include Harald Wester (who serves as the group's Chief Technology Officer and also overseas Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Abarth), Olivier Francois (group Chief Marketing Officer and head of the Fiat brand) and Michael Manley (head of the Asia-Pacific region and the Jeep brand).

Alfa Romeo Giulia to get Ferrari-related engine

Alfa Romeo has a long, proud history of using V6 engines in its coupes, sedans, and sports cars over the years, but as the new Giulia sedan approaches, the Italian marque is allegedly turning to Ferrari for its next six-cylinder. This is obviously not the first time a Ferrari-sourced or derived engine has been found under an Alfa's long hood. While 8C Competizione famously used a version of Ferrari's F136 V8 during its short run, the Giulia's new V6 will be offered on a much larger scale, slotting in above an entry level, four-cylinder turbo (likely the next-gen version of the 4C sports car's 1.75-liter engine). According to Autocar, the new V6 will be "specially developed for Alfa Romeo," and will be built at the Termoli engine factory alongside the new turbo four-cylinder. As for the rest of the Giulia, Autocar has been able to shine a light on a number of other details about the new midsizer. It will, thankfully, be rear-wheel drive, and designed to counter the "mostly cold and clinical" and soulless cars of the German competition, Maserati chief Harald Wester told AC. Some of the new sedan's structural elements will even be shared with Maserati's entry level model, the Ghibli. Most notable of all, though, is what the Giulia means for American consumers. After the limited-run 8C and the niche 4C, the new sedan will lead Alfa Romeo's long-awaited, large-scale return, where it will combat the popular BMW 3 Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Audi A4, not to mention rivals like the Cadillac ATS and Lexus IS. Look for more on the Giulia next week when it's officially revealed in Milan.

Touring Superleggera planning a tribute to one of Alfa Romeo's most beautiful cars

Italian coachbuilder Touring Superleggera will help Alfa Romeo celebrate its 110th birthday by putting a modern spin on one of its most graceful sports cars. Called Berlinetta Aero, the coupe will break cover in July 2020. The preview image released by Touring Superleggera does a formidable job of hiding the model's overall lines. It shows what's essentially a sculpture that's half shrouded in darkness. However, it's revealing enough to tell stylists traced a parallel between the Berlinetta Aero and the one-off Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Speciale Tipo Le Mans (pictured below) built by Touring to compete in the 1938 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It wore an extra-long hood and a short rear end, defining styling cues that seem to appear on the modern recreation. Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Speciale Tipo Le Mans View 3 Photos As its name indicates, the 8C 2900 was powered by a 2.9-liter straight-eight that sent 220 horsepower to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual transmission. Touring doesn't have a straight-eight to play with in 2020, so it will allegedly power the Berlinetta Touring with the Giulia GTA's twin-turbocharged 2.9-liter V6. It develops 540 horsepower when it's bolted in the Alfa's engine bay, though a power hike isn't inconceivable. Touring Superleggera planned to introduce the Berlinetta Aero at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, but the 2020 event was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Its unveiling will consequently take place online, according to Italian website Motori. Additional details (like the unveiling date) will be published in the coming weeks. Touring hasn't said anything about pricing or production figures yet, but it's safe to assume the Berlinetta Aero will be expensive and rare. For context, it capped production of the gorgeous, 8C-based Disco Volante it unveiled in 2012 at eight examples, and it built five units of the Ferrari F12-based Berlinetta Lusso shown in 2015.