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Lazzarini dreams up Ferrari-powered, Hennessey-tuned Alfa Romeo 4C

If there are any two firms you could count on to shoehorn a Ferrari V8 into the back of an Alfa Romeo 4C, they would almost certainly be Lazzarini Design and Hennessey Performance. The former already dreamt up doing the same with a Fiat 500, and the latter has been shattering records with a similar conversion performed on a Lotus Elise to turn it into the Venom GT. What you see here is their lovechild. Designed by Lazzarini and enhanced by Hennessey, the 4C Definitiva does – at least in theory – what Maserati was not prepared to do: shoehorn a Ferrari-sourced V8 engine into the back of Alfa's nimble little sports car. The powerplant is borrowed from the Ferrari 458 Italia and tuned by Hennessey to produce a claimed 738 horsepower and 532 pound-feet of torque. In a package weighing just 2,100 pounds, that's said to be enough to propel Frankenstein's four-wheeled monster to 60 miles per hour in a scant 2.5 seconds and across the quarter-mile in 9.5 seconds at 137 mph. Those are LaFerrari levels of performance. As you can see, the engine transplant calls for a widened rear track, and is accompanied by more aggressive aero as well. Of course, the design may be little more than an idea at the moment, but Lazzarini is apparently looking for customers to commission the first examples, at a reported price of 260,000 euros, which is about five times the going rate for a stock 4C and more than Ferrari gets for the 458 Speciale. Whether it's worth that much is one question. Whether Lazzarini and Hennessey could actually deliver on the promise is an even bigger one. Featured Gallery Alfa Romeo 4C Definitiva by Lazzarini Design View 10 Photos News Source: Lazzarini Design Aftermarket Alfa Romeo Coupe Concept Cars Supercars Hennessey alfa romeo 4c alfa 4c

‘Yee haw’ in Italian - Alfa Romeo Giulia is the Car of Texas

You can't underestimate the visceral pull of the new Giulia Quadrifoglio's 505 horsepower wrapped in Alfa Romeo's sweet, seductive sheetmetal. Autoblog said the hottest Giulia "puts some practical meat on the bone for American drivers bored of the usual Audi A4/Mercedes C-Class/ BMW 3 Series suspects." The Quadrifoglio delivers 60 mph in 3.8 seconds and laps the Nurburgring Nordschleife in just 7:32. This makes it - for the moment - the fastest four-passenger production car around the 12.9-mile circuit. Austin's Circuit of the Americas F1 venue isn't Germany's Nordschleife, but that's where the Texas Auto Writers Association gathered for its annual Spring Roundup - some 50 auto writers, broadcasters and bloggers evaluating 40-plus cars and crossovers in 11 categories, with best-of-class wins such as Performance Car of Texas, Family Car of Texas and – ultimately – best of show, the Car of Texas. In a vote as out of the blue as that one back in November, Giulia got the nod. When evaluating a Car of Texas at a track, the Giulia Quadrifoglio is a no-brainer. Beyond its brute power is a linear dynamic behind the wheel, even if the track's official road speed for this event was 60 miles per hour. Competing against it in the Performance Sedan category were the Dodge Charger R/T and SRT Hellcat, along with a Lexus GS F and VW Jetta GLI. Beyond its surfeit of power is the Giulia's raucous personality and – we'll admit – novelty. Many of the younger journalists at COTA had only vague memories of the brand. This was also, regrettably, a relatively weak grouping of performance machinery. The headliners – such as the Mercedes-AMG GT S and Nissan GT-R – were prominent, but cars most likely to be tagged a Car of Texas, such as a Shelby Mustang or hot Camaro, weren't. Ford brought only its Focus RS, and GM execs have deemed regional press events not worthy of their attention. Also, both BMW and Audi were no-shows, although – in defense of the Giulia – the M3 and Mercedes-AMG C63S were whipped by the Alfa in at least one recent hot sedan comparison. In short, Alfa swept a smallish field. But a win's a win, and every win bodes well for Alfa, even in a market where the first car is a truck, and the second car might be a second truck. Related Video: Auto News Alfa Romeo Ownership Luxury Performance Sedan no ribbon

Marchionne on Alfa's US return, Dodge Dart's powertrain weakness and minivan plans

As a reporter covering an auto show, the one opportunity you never want to miss is going to the Sergio Marchionne press briefing.
"This undertaking to bring Alfa back is a one-shot deal... We are not going to do this twice."
There just aren't that many real characters left in the auto industry. Marchionne, who sits atop both Chrysler and Fiat, is not only one of the smartest execs in the business, but also the most frank. Herein, a sample of the quotable always-sweatered executive: