1989 Alfa Romeo Spider Veloce Convertible 2-door 2.0l on 2040-cars

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2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Review | As good as you imagine

When you affix words to a car such as “Alfa Romeo,” “Quadrifoglio,” “twin-turbo,” and “Ferrari-derived,” youÂ’re setting up some pretty serious expectations. Add to that a price tag thatÂ’s near the top of its segment, as with our 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio, and those expectations creep ever higher to a point that seems hard to fulfill. But IÂ’m happy to report the Giulia passes with flying tricolores. ItÂ’s intensely fast, incredibly nimble, and surprisingly playful and approachable. ItÂ’s one of the most fun supersedans. Of course, the headline feature of the Giulia Quadrifoglio is that twin-turbo V6 based on a Ferrari engine, and it certainly deserves the hype. It generates a massive 505 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque. ThatÂ’s more power (though less torque) than the mighty Mercedes-AMG C 63 SÂ’s V8. Power comes on smoothly and only grows stronger with revs until the limiter kicks in. Lag is practically non-existent, and the exhaust note, though a bit blatty inside, generates a low, gritty howl outside thatÂ’s fitting for a slinky Italian sedan. The only thing preventing the powertrain from being the unquestionable class champion is the transmission. This is strange, since itÂ’s the vaunted ZF eight-speed automatic, but it shifts slowly for such a sporty car. At least itÂ’s smooth, and the huge metal shift paddles are a delight. As for the GiuliaÂ’s chassis, itÂ’s marvelous with no caveats. What stands out is its playful demeanor. It keeps you informed of every move it makes, even throwing in a bit of Miata-like body roll. The steering isnÂ’t quite as talkative, but is more so than many of its competitors, especially BMW, and itÂ’s lightning-quick and weighted well. To cap it off, the car is highly stable, even on rough pavement, and the wide tires offer tremendous grip. The ride can occasionally be bumpy, but never harsh. ItÂ’s well-balanced. At this point it's also worth noting that the character of the Giulia can be altered substantially with the drive mode selector. The settings are "Race," "D," "N" and "A," with the latter standing for "Dynamic," "Normal" and "Advanced Efficiency." Race and Dynamic are the sportiest with the quickest throttle response, loud exhaust, and more lenient traction settings, and they set the suspension to the firm setting by default. But the suspension can be switched back to the normal setting by pressing the shock absorber button.

Alfa Romeo: Reports of 4C's death by 2020 aren't true

The Alfa Romeo 4C is a purpose-built sports car that hasn't put up stellar sales figures in the US. As we found out, it's an uncompromising machine, which is probably one reason why the automaker is struggling to shift a large number of units. A recent report from Autoline, citing Auto Forecast Solutions, claims that Alfa is planning to axe the 4C Coupe and 4C Spider from its lineup by 2020. The report claims that the automaker plans to cancel the next generation of the 4C to focus on manufacturing new models that would have more sales potential. Alfa only managed to sell 309 units this year – that's only 11 more units than the Dodge Viper, which will be going out of production next year. When we questioned an Alfa Romeo spokesman on whether the 4C would be discontinued by 2020, he stated that no plans had been announced yet and referred us to Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' five-year plan. The plan mentions two "specialty" models that Alfa plans to introduce between 2017 and 2020. It's not clear whether these models would be in addition to or act as direct replacements for the 4C Coupe and 4C Spider. There's also a possibility that the upcoming models would serve the same purpose as the 4C models, but carry different names. The 4C marked Alfa's return to the US since it left in the 1990s. As part of the automaker's comeback, it plans to put a sports sedan, in the form of the Alfa Romeo Giulia, up against the Mercedes-Benz C-Class and BMW 3 Series later this year. Related Video:

2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio Review & Buying Guide | Small but significant changes

The 2020 Alfa Romeo Stelvio is a luxury SUV aimed at folks who want something different – not necessarily to be flashy, but just to stand out in a crowd of grey Audis and black BMWs. Besides its badge and decidedly un-German styling, the Stelvio drives like no other luxury SUV. It has quick steering with great feel and excellent road holding that provide the sort of involved driving experience you probably don't expect from a high-riding crossover – and that goes triple for the outrageous, 505-horsepower Quadrifoglio that is without question the most desirable and competitive Stelvio. However, to this point, choosing the Stelvio also meant putting up with some overtly cheap interior pieces, an arcane infotainment system, few accident avoidance technologies and a poor reliability reputation. As you'll read below, all but the reliability issue have been addressed for 2020 – and only time will tell if the reliability's been improved. These changes are welcome and make the Stelvio much easier to make a case for getting something different. What's new with Stelvio for 2020? The interior's cheap and wobbly switchgear, which so obviously stood out in the 2019 Stelvio, gets a welcome upgrade for 2020. The electronic shifter is a little more solid in action, it's now covered in stitched perforated leather and surrounded by a metallic housing festooned with a little Italian flag. The electronic parking brake has been relocated to the left of it. The center console has also been redesigned to accommodate a wireless charging pad. Knobs for the "dna" drive mode selector, volume/track and the infotainment control knob feel more solid, while the latter is ringed by a nice knurled metal finish. That knob, however, has become a redundant control interface as the 8.8-inch infotainment display is now touch-operated as well. It also has new graphics and a new interface with a configurable home screen. It's a definite improvement over what was there before. The Stelvio also gets more advanced accident avoidance tech, most of which are among the best-executed on the market. The base price has also gone down by about $1,000 for 2020 despite these upgrades. That's rare. What's the Stelvio's interior and in-car technology like? Despite its many worthwhile upgrades for 2020, the Stelvio's interior still doesn't possess the same luxurious look and feel you'll find in an Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche or Volvo.