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Fiat brings raft of special-edition hatchbacks to Geneva

The annual Geneva Motor Show presents a prime opportunity for any automaker – European ones especially – to show off new metal. You'd figure that would include the sprawling Fiat Chrysler Automobiles group, but instead, one of Europe's largest automakers will be presenting a series of special-edition hatchbacks for the European market. Yeah, we're as disappointed as you are. First up is the Fiat division itself, which will be showcasing the Vintage '57 edition of the 500 and the Panda K-Way. The former puts an even more retro spin on the already-retro hatchback, with a two-tone pastel blue-and-white exterior, 16-inch white-and-chrome wheels and a tobacco-leather interior. The latter was designed in collaboration with the famous rainwear label, K-Way, and features mix-and-match exterior color combinations, titanium-finish trim and a specially crafted interior. Alfa Romeo will be celebrating the European debut of the 4C Spider we already saw in Detroit. In terms of new debuts, Alfa also has the elegant Collezione edition of the Giuletta and the MiTo Racer edition with gray and brown trim that looks, at first blush at least, much more subtle than the name would convey. Though no longer a major player in the Fiat portfolio, Lancia is showcasing the 30th Anniversary and Elle editions of the Ypsilon – the car that in its own words, "Italian women love more than any other." Jeep is showing the Renegade with new powertrain options, and Abarth has updated its range of 500-based hot hatches, but for something new and exciting, it looks like we'll be passing right by the Fiat section at the Geneva Palexpo this year. Related Video: Featured Gallery Fiat Group special editions for Geneva 2015 News Source: Fiat Geneva Motor Show Alfa Romeo Fiat Lancia Hatchback 2015 Geneva Motor Show alfa romeo mito fiat panda alfa romeo giulietta lancia ypsilon

Alfa Romeo is bringing something deliciously loud to Geneva

Alfa Romeo will risk running afoul of Switzerland's engine noise regulations by bringing something deliciously loud to the 2020 Geneva Motor Show. The preview video it posted on Twitter asks more questions than it answers. The seven-second flick announces that Alfa Romeo, one of Italy's oldest automakers, is about to make "a momentous comeback." It displays the company's logo, notes the location of its booth in the Palexpo convention center, and ends on the sound of what we're pretty sure is a V6 engine exploring the upper echelons of its rev range. There's no mention of which car the six-cylinder is in, let alone whether it's new or updated. sound on See you at #GIMSSWISS. #AlfaRomeo pic.twitter.com/yIUPYEiTkj — Alfa_Romeo (@alfa_romeo) February 22, 2020 This is where facts end and speculation begins. Alfa planned to expand its range with a two-door version of the Giulia that would have resurrected the GTV name and a flagship sports car tentatively called 8C, but both models were allegedly canceled in 2019. The 4C is nearing the end of life cycle, so the odds of seeing a new variant of it are low. Besides, its engine bay is far too small to house a six-cylinder engine like the Giulia's 2.9-liter unit. Before the teaser video emerged, we expected Alfa's next new model would be the production version of the Tonale concept unveiled at the 2019 edition of the Geneva show. The crossover is well on its way to production, and its front end has changed quite a bit in the past 12 months, but we don't think it will reach showrooms with a race car-like exhaust note; electrified technology will likely make it one of the quieter members of the Alfa lineup. This leaves us with two credible possibilities. First, rumors of a more powerful Giulia positioned above the Quadrifoglio model have floated around the internet for years and they plainly refuse to die. It would likely wear the heritage-packed GTA nameplate and arrive as a more track-oriented sedan in the vein of Mercedes-AMG's Black Series cars. If that's the case, expect copious carbon fiber, a stripped-out interior, and a full body kit. Second, Alfa could simply kick off its 110th birthday celebrations in Geneva by showing a concept built to mark the occasion. We'll know for sure when the show opens its doors to the press on March 3. Related Video:     Geneva Motor Show Alfa Romeo Luxury Performance

Alfa Romeo flagship EV due in 2027 with 18-minute recharge time

Last July, Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato said his Italian concern would develop a new battery-electric vehicle in the U.S. that would launch here in 2027. It would take the new top spot in the lineup, being larger than the Stelvio, full of tech and full of performance. During the launch of the Tonale in Japan, the boss shared provisional specs of the "high-performance SUV" with Automotive News Europe. The pack of some unknown size would juice motors putting out from 300 to 800 horsepower in the standard range, and around 1,000 horsepower in a Quadrifoglio trim. Here's the big stat: In ANE's words, an 800-volt architecture would enable "recharging times of 18 minutes max, [Imparato] said." We'd sure like to know the qualifications required to get an 18-minute charge. Porsche advertises the Taycan's 93.4-kWh Performance Battery Plus as being able to go from 5% state-of-charge to 80% in 22.5 minutes when the sedan's been optioned with the $460 On-Board DC Charger. Naturally, that's under ideal conditions and when plugged into a charger that can feed the Taycan at its max 270-kW rate. When veteran hypermiler Wayne Gerdes took a Taycan across the U.S. in five days, he said his first charge at a 350-kW Electrify America unit took 22 minutes to get the battery from 6% to 82%. Knowing that the initial few percent and those last 20% take longer than the meaty bit in the middle, we going to guess Imparato's time assessment leaves out the time-consuming portions of charging the battery near empty and close to full. But hey, four years is a long way away in the EV-verse.  The CEO said the Alfa Romeo will compete with the BMW X5, a crossover almost exactly ten inches longer than the Stelvio (pictured), which is currently the largest product in the portfolio and the best-seller in the U.S. The Italian might not share a traditional CUV shape with the German, Imparato having said that aerodynamic needs could lead to a shape between a sedan and a crossover. If things are on track in Milan, executives approved the design before the end of 2022.  We'll begin to see what Alfa Romeo's EV-only future when the brand's first dedicated EV shows in 2025. Related video: