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Alpine A110 vs Alfa Romeo 4C Review | Two sports cars enter

YORKSHIRE, U.K. – A proven ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is all part of Alfa RomeoÂ’s romantic charm. With bodywork like red satin draped over a carbon fiber tub and the promise of a mid-engined, Italian exotic for Cayman money, the 4C was certainly a bold vehicle to relaunch the brand to the American market. Pebble Beach types could appreciate its inspiration in the gorgeous, minimalist Alfa Romeo coupes of the past. Everyone else could kid themselves it was basically a baby Ferrari, never mind the fact it only had 237 horsepower and a four-cylinder engine. At first blush, the 4C was a riot, and remains so in the Spider form itÂ’s still sold in. And it gets the blood pumping in the way a fling with an exotic Italian should, especially compared with the Germanic 50 shades of gray alternatives. I can remember the thrill at driving one back in 2014, its Italian license plates making it feel all the more exotic. It may only have cost $60,000, but it hogged attention like a Ferrari worth four times that. The fun didnÂ’t last. As seductive as the fundamental formula was and still is, time and more measured eyes ultimately found the 4C to be lacking. The ugly, fat-rimmed steering wheel turned out to be a useful visual metaphor for the feel it delivered, simultaneously under-geared and punishingly heavy, especially at low speeds. At higher ones the kickback was violent enough it needed quarter-turn corrections even traveling in a straight line. And the binary power delivery smothered whatever finesse there might have been in the chassis. Its on-limit handling, on track and in the wet, was spooky. Shocked, I called a friend with an old Exige and asked to drive his car along the same route. That I concluded youÂ’d be better off with a 10-year-old Lotus definitely didnÂ’t win me many friends in Milan. Which begs the question: What does the apparently similar Alpine A110 do differently to have earned such overwhelming praise among the same reviewers here in Europe who damned the 4C? Performance stats are comparable, as is the AlpineÂ’s pricing in markets in which it is sold. Both tap into the nostalgia and heritage of their respective brands, not least in the historic long-distance European road rallies both excelled in.

These are the fastest-selling new cars of 2024

Automakers finally appear to be back on their feet after a few years of severe instability, but that hasn’t helped all of them in the sales department. iSeeCars recently released its study on the fastest- and slowest-selling new vehicles and found that some companies are moving vehicles off dealersÂ’ lots at more than twice the pace of others. Toyota was the fastest-selling new car brand between October 2023 and March 2024, moving vehicles in an average of 39.6 days. Surprisingly, Alfa Romeo came second, averaging 41.8 days on the market. Last year, we saw a list of the fastest-selling individual nameplates overall, as opposed to this study that's ranked by brand. Fastest-selling new cars of 2024 Toyota: 39.6 days on the market Alfa Romeo: 41.8 Cadillac: 43.4 Honda: 44.2 Jaguar: 44.4 Kia: 47 Hyundai: 47.1 Subaru: 49 BMW: 49.1 Mazda: 53.1 The brands moving inventory the fastest show a strong value and desirability for buyers. iSeeCars executive analyst Karl Brauer noted, “Fast-selling brands like Toyota and Honda represent mainstream consumers seeking maximum value for their new-car dollar. Conversely, high-ranking luxury, low-volume brands like Alfa Romeo, Cadillac, and Jaguar reflect both their limited supply as well as high demand from affluent buyers willing to snap these models up shortly after they arrive on dealer lots.” Of course, there is no light without darkness, and on the other side of the list are a handful of brands struggling to move inventory. Lincoln was the slowest-selling new car company, with an average of 82.6 days to sell. Infiniti was close behind at 79.8 days, and Buick took an average of 79 days to move units. iSeeCars noted that new EVs take much longer to sell than their hybrid counterparts, at an average of 70.6 days on the market in March 2024, compared to just 49.5 for hybrids. Some of the fast-selling new brands also made the used car list. Used Hondas sold the fastest, only sitting on dealersÂ’ lots for an average of 26.1 days. LexusÂ’ used cars sat for 26.3 days, and Toyota moved its used inventory in an average of 27.4 days. By the Numbers Green Alfa Romeo Cadillac Toyota Car Buying

Alfa Romeo's first EV reportedly due out in 2024 as small crossover

The first series-produced electric Alfa Romeo model will allegedly make its debut in 2024. Official details aren't available, but a recent report claims that the EV will take the form of a small, entry-level crossover that will be closely related to the Jeep Avenger under the sheetmetal. Don't be alarmed if the nameplate "Avenger" doesn't ring a bell, or if you associate it with a series of Dodge models built from the 1990s to the 2010s. Across the pond, the emblem denotes a hatchback-like, city-friendly front-wheel-drive Jeep built on a platform that underpins several cars in the Stellantis portfolio. It's on these bones that Alfa Romeo will build its first EV, according to British magazine Autocar. The soft-roader could be called Brennero, a name borrowed from a mountain pass in Italy, and the publication wrote that current and past models will influence its design; the report notably cited the original Giulietta released in 1954 as a source of inspiration. Time will tell if that's accurate, and how designers will transfer 70-year-old styling cues onto a mass-produced crossover developed for young, urban buyers. On the electric side of the lineup, the model will share powertrain parts with its Jeep-badged sibling. For context, the subcompact Avenger (which stretches approximately 161 inches long and 60 inches tall) ships with a single, front-mounted electric motor that zaps the front wheels with 154 horsepower and 192 pound-feet of torque. Electricity is stored in a 54-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, and Jeep quotes a 250-mile driving range when tested on the WLTP cycle used in Europe (the EPA-estimated figure would likely be lower). Like the Avenger, the Brennero will be offered with a gasoline-powered engine in some markets. Again using a Jeep as a reference point, the piston-powered option is a turbocharged, 1.2-liter three-cylinder shared with the Peugeot 208, among others, and rated at 154 horsepower. If the report is accurate, the Alfa Romeo Brennero will land in showrooms in June 2024. Our crystal ball tells us that it won't be sold in the United States due in part to its small size; Jeep doesn't sell the Avenger here, after all. American drivers who want to put an electric Alfa Romeo crossover in their driveway will need to wait until the rumored second-generation Stelvio makes its debut at some point in 2026.