2022 Alfa Romeo Giulia Ti on 2040-cars

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Fiat reconsidering Mazda-based Alfa Romeo roadster? [w/poll]

Alfa giveth and Alfa taketh away. With apologies to Job (he has gone through a lot, after all), that's how things are looking at the Italian automaker - whether it's the promise of new products or its impending return to the North American market. But it's especially true when it comes to new roadsters.
While Alfa Romeo is expected to unveil the 4C Spider at the Geneva Motor Show this week, reports are now suggesting that its other roadster project is being called into question. That project is a joint venture between Fiat and Mazda, which was set to produce a version of its next MX-5 Miata as an Alfa Romeo, and was even changing the design to accommodate Alfa's requirements.
Now it appears, however, that the whole project in doubt. The problem seems to stem from Sergio Marchionne's pronouncements that, as long as he's in charge, there won't be an Alfa Romeo built outside of Italy.

Alfa Romeo 4C will be refreshed for the 2019 model year

Alfa Romeo Chief Technical Officer Roberto Fedeli said at a launch event for the Stelvio Quadrifoglio that an updated version of the 4C is coming next year as a 2019 model. "We are coming back to Formula 1," he said, "and we need the 4C to be our halo car," Fedeli told Autocar. But don't expect to see the refresh bring with it a manual transmission. No future high-performance models from Alfa, Maserati, or even Ferrari will be getting clutch pedals anytime soon, a decision reportedly made after Ferrari spent 10 million euros developing a manual gearbox for the California a few years back only to see exactly two customers choose the option over an automatic. We'd hazard a guess that Alfa will tone down its carbon-fiber 4C for the next generation. As fun as the little sportscar is on a race track, it's equally jarring to drive on regular roads. A revised suspension and perhaps power steering may be on the menu. Related Video:

Alfa Romeo takes Spider in-house, Mazda-Fiat roadster partnership not dead

It's officially off. Following a report in March of this year that the marriage of Mazda and Alfa Romeo to produce a MX-5-based Spider was in trouble, the Italians have confirmed that it will take development in-house. "As far as the Spider goes, the final version is of course no longer the two-seater FCA co-developed with Mazda but a derivative of Project Giorgio," Maserati and Alfa Romeo brand boss Harald Wester told Car. For those not in the know, Project Giorgio is Alfa's codename for the rear-drive platform that will underpin the next-generation Spider, not to mention the replacement for the 159 sedan and a few other products. All is not lost for the Japanese-Italian partnership, though. "The Far East import will probably find a new home with Fiat-Abarth," Wester told Car. Yes, you read that correctly, Mazda is still working with FCA, and the result will eventually end up with Abarth's scorpion badge. If anything, we're more excited over this news than the idea of an Alfa MX-5. But we want to know what you think – would you rather Alfa build a new Spider on the Miata's bones, or does an MX-5 Abarth sound like more fun? Have your say in Comments.