2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti Sport Rwd on 2040-cars

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Fiat gets into the classics game with 'Reloaded by Creators' program

Classic vehicles help modern buyers make new connections to a carmaker's modern offerings. That's why in little more than a month we've seen Jaguar announce a continuation run of the D-Type, Porsche get a show at the Petersen Museum in Los Angeles, Land Rover plan to restore a Series I, and Jay Leno celebrate the 1942 Dodge Carryall. Fiat Chrysler already has a heritage division, but the vintage department takes a new step into its history with the "Reloaded by Creators" service. Said to be inspired by retail programs at museums, Reloaded by Creators will see FCA Heritage source and buy noteworthy classics from the Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, and Lancia brands, restore them to original spec, then sell them to collectors. When Roberto Giolito, head of FCA Heritage, broke the news at Retromobile in Paris, he also revealed the first five offerings: three "ultimate classics" in the Alfa Spider IV serie (1991), Lancia Fulvia Coupe Montecarlo (1973), Spidereuropa Pininfarina (1981), and two custom cars in the Alfa Romeo SZ (1989) and Lancia Appia Coupe (1959). The ultimate classics represent the last of their kind to be built, not necessarily according to model year, but with respect to design and engineering - no major model changes followed. The Lancia Fulvia Coupe ceased production in 1976; the limited edition 1973 Montecarlo model celebrated the car's victory in the 1972 Montecarlo Rally and still wears the original license plates. The 1981 Spidereuropa Pininfarina comes from the beginning of the end of production; after building the Fiat 124 Sport Spider for US-only sale from 1975 to 1983, Pininfarina resumed manufacture in Europe in 1982 and bestowed the new name. The Alfa Spider went out of production in 1993, the 1991 Series IV example for sale here has been in FCA's collection since it was built, used for technical testing. As for the custom cars, Lancia built a variant of its third-generation Appia as a coachbuilt chassis. Pininfarina bodied the 1959 model for sale here, and Fiat showed it first in Paris. Fiat used the funky, Zagato-designed, thermoplastic-composite-bodied, 1989 Alfa Romeo SZ for testing at the carmaker's Balocco circuit. Only around 1,000 SZ models emerged from the factory during a two-year production run. Each vehicle will come with a certificate of authenticity and be guaranteed by FCA, plus be featured on the FCA Heritage site.

Italian team hitting the track in an electric Alfa Romeo Giulia touring car

Alfa Romeo isn't scheduled to introduce its first electric model until the early 2020s, but the Giulia is giving up gasoline a little bit sooner to participate in the burgeoning ETCR racing series. Italian tuner and race car builder Romeo Ferraris — which isn't officially associated with Alfa Romeo or Ferrari — published renderings of the track-only sedan it plans to start racing in the coming months. Low, wide and winged, the Giulia ETCR looks ready to line up on the starting grid. And, as is often the case with racing cars, it shares little more than a silhouette with the street-legal sports sedan it's based on. The lights on both ends look nearly stock, but almost everything was developed from scratch by Romeo Ferraris and partner Hexathron Racing System. The 54-year old company pointed out the Giulia is its first electric car, and it stressed it developed the model without Alfa Romeo's support. Its 350-horsepower Giulietta TCR was an in-house project as well. While Romeo Ferraris hasn't published technical specifications, the ETCR regulations give us a good idea of what's under the body. Every car will be powered by the same motors, single-speed gearbox, inverter, and 65-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. Series overseer WSC will provide the battery, while the other components will come from Williams Advanced Engineering. The powertrain makes 400 horsepower continuously, and it delivers a maximum output of 670 horsepower. The ETCR series will launch in 2020, though the calendar surprisingly hasn't been published yet. The battery-powered Giulia will need to fend off competition from a similarly modified Hyundai Veloster, and the e-Racer developed by Cupra, which was recently spun off from Volkswagen-owned SEAT. We expect other automakers will toss their hat in the ring in the coming months.

Watch Alfa's 4C storm up Goodwood's hillclimb course quicker than a Corvette

Alfa Romeo's gorgeous 4C remains a car that we in the United States are forced to admire from afar. Thankfully, our petrolheaded brethren in the UK and Europe seem all too happy to flaunt the 4C at most every opportunity. Take this video of the team at Goodwood, running the mid-engined Alfa up the estate's historic hill. Watching the 4C run the course while belting out its adorably angry engine note is plenty entertaining on its own. Of course, it gets better when the Goodwood folks lay down some serious rubber following the car's 61.1-second lap. That number bests the wet time of the Chevrolet Corvette Stingray, by the way. Have a look below for the full video from the team at Goodwood.