1969 Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto Boat Tail on 2040-cars

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Stellantis launching at least 25 EVs for America by 2030

Stellantis has announced a wide-ranging plan for the company through 2030 covering everything from product to financials. The product plans are what really caught our attention, particularly for the surprise reveal of the first electric Jeep, as well as new teasers of the electric Ram 1500. But the company also provided more broad details on what we'll be seeing in the future including both electric cars and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles. All of the plans are in service of the Stellantis goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions by 2038. On that way, it plans for all European vehicle sales and half of all American sales to be electric by 2030. It will launch 75 new electric vehicles by that year, and at least 25 of them will be coming to the U.S. The first of those electric cars will be the aforementioned Jeep in 2023, but many Stellantis models will follow close behind. The electric Ram ProMaster will launch in 2023 as well. In 2024, we'll see the electric Ram (and its plug-in hybrid counterpart), two more Jeeps (an off-road model and a family-oriented model) and the Dodge electric muscle car. We'll get a preview of the Dodge with a concept this year. Then in 2025, Chrysler will launch its electric car, likely based on the Airflow concept. Stellantis has previously announced Chrysler will be fully electric by 2028, and it further announced that Alfa Romeo and Maserati will be fully electric by 2030. Stellantis is also working on hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, mainly for commercial use. For the U.S., it plans on offering a large, ProMaster-size hydrogen van in 2025. That year or a little later, it also has plans for a hydrogen heavy-duty pickup truck, presumably Ram 2500 and 3500. Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares noted that among the benefits of hydrogen for large and commercial vehicles is being able to avoid compromising payload capacity, since hydrogen powertrains are lighter than giant batteries. Hydrogen filling times are quick relative to charging, too. The company will continue working on and offering advanced driver aids. This year it will offer hands-free cruise control like GM's Super Cruise and Ford's BlueCruise. In 2024, the company intends to introduce a system that is hands-free and won't require the driver to be watching it the entire time. The technology is being developed alongside BMW. These are, of course, broad plans, and they could change as time goes on. Expect more details as we get closer to individual product releases.

Maserati honors Juan Manuel Fangio with F Tributo special editions

Argentina's Juan Manuel Fangio was one of the greatest Formula 1 drivers of all time. Logging a record five F1 championships between 1951-57, four of them back-to-back, Fangio was the winningest driver in F1 history until Michael Schumacher won his sixth championship in 2003, almost half a century later. Maserati is now paying homage to Fangio with two special edition vehicles.  The Ghibli and Levante F Tributo commemorate Fangio's F1 victories behind the wheel of a Maserati 250F in the 1957 season. Fangio had previously won the world championship for Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Mercedes-Benz, though in 1954 he won the driver's championship while driving for both Maserati and Mercedes. The "F" stands for Fangio, and "Tributo" means "tribute" in Italian. Though Maserati does not appear to have increased performance figures for the F Tributo duo, they do come in two exclusive paint jobs. Rosso Tributo is a vibrant red inspired by the crimson hue that represented Italy in the era when race car liveries were determined by country of origin. The second color, Azzurro Tributo, is a blue that represents, along with yellow, the flag of Modena, Maserati's home. Both cars also feature yellow brake calipers and a yellow outline on their 21-inch wheels, a callback to the yellow stripe on the nose of Fangio's 250F. The yellow cues continue on the inside, where giallo contrast stitching brightens up the black leather interiors. The Ghibli and Levante are also denoted by black "F Tributo" badges on the front fenders, as well as body-colored Maserati trident logos on the C-pillars. We're not totally convinced that a luxury sedan and crossover would be the type of car Fangio would love to drive, but if this is your bag you should act quickly. Maserati hasn't said how many F Tributo cars they plan to sell, only stating that numbers will be "very limited". 

Green-on-green Alfa Romeo 8C-based Disco Volante Spyder listed for sale

There is no unwritten rule that states an Alfa Romeo must be red, and there is no secret decree that claims an Italian car can't wear British Racing Green. Proving both of these points with aplomb is this rare 2019 Alfa Romeo 8C-based Disco Volante Spyder, which is finished in green with a green interior and listed for sale in Switzerland. Offered by exotic car dealer Niki Hasler, this Disco Volante Spyder is the fourth of seven examples built by Italian coachbuilder Touring Superleggera. When the model made its debut in 2016, we reported that each of the seven cars would be painted in a different color, and our consumer editor Jeremy Korzeniewski wrote that he hoped one would be painted green like an earlier coupe shown at a Geneva show. His wish has come true. British Racing Green works quite well on the retro-styled lines, which were penned as a modern interpretation of the original Disco Volante built in 1952. The person who ordered this Disco Volante also asked for a matching green interior upholstered in a combination of leather and Alcantara. Touring Superleggera added a plaque between the seats to remind occupants of the car's rarity, but most of the parts that the driver sees and interacts with come straight from the 8C Competizione. It's all Alfa under the hood, too. Touring made no major mechanical modifications to the Disco Volante, so it's powered by a Ferrari-derived, 8C-sourced 4.7-liter V8 engine that delivers 450 horsepower and 354 pound-feet of torque to the rear wheels via a six-speed automated-manual transmission. The 2019 example listed for sale in Switzerland has covered 16,000 kilometers, which represents approximately 10,000 miles, so it hasn't spent its life as a garage queen. It recently received new tires and new brakes, according to the dealer. Unmodified, it's equipped with a useful lift system for the front axle; we can't imagine the front splitter is cheap to replace if it loses a fight with a speed bump. As a bonus, this Disco Volante comes with a matching luggage set. Niki Hasler hasn't published pricing information, so we don't know how many organs you'll need to sell before you can add this Disco to your collection. It won't be a bargain, however. Seven units were built with Alfa's blessing, so it's rare enough to make even the standard 8C, which was limited to 1,000 units globally (split evenly between coupes and convertibles), look common.