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Alfa Romeo turns it up to 11 with Harrison guitars and Marshall amps

To American enthusiasts, nothing might say rock n' roll quite like a classic muscle car. But that doesn't preclude the Europeans from trying. Volkswagen has partnered with Fender for its premium audio systems, and now Alfa Romeo is teaming up with some rocking powerhouses as well. The Italian automaker is collaborating with Harrison Custom Guitar Works to create the limited-edition axe you see here. The electric guitar is designed around Alfa's iconic grille and uses automotive materials like aluminum and carbon fiber as well as traditional guitar woods like poplar, maple, ebony and Korina. The cross-bars, pickups, tail piece and bridge are CNC-machined from aluminum billet. Only 11 examples will be made, each taking eight months to construct, and priced at GBP4,000 (about $6,800 at current exchange rates). At the same time Alfa has also created a one-off MiTo concept car together with Marshall Amplification. The hatchback packs a custom Marshall JVM 50-watt amp and a pair of 12-inch 75-watt speakers, but has also been decked out with gold-mesh trim on the grille, head- and taillight surrounds, side mirrors, door handles and lower bumper – just like a Marshall stack – while the interior has been worked over with Marshall treadplates, white piping and gold trim. The shift knob has even been replaced by a Shure SH55 microphone. Though the collaborations look like something straight out of This Is Spinal Tap (with a touch of The Graduate thrown in for good measure), they'll both be showcased at a special screening in London of another rock documentary: Sound City, directed by Foo Fighters frontman (and former Nirvana drummer) Dave Grohl. You can, however, check them out in the pair of image galleries and the press releases below. CRAFTED FOR PERFORMANCE: HARRISON CUSTOM GUITAR WORKS UNVEILS ULTRA-EXCLUSIVE ALFA ROMEO-INSPIRED GUITAR - Harrison Custom Guitar Works create the 'Alfa Romeo' – an ultra-limited edition Alfa Romeo-inspired guitar - The 'Alfa Romeo' integrates traditional craftsmanship with performance materials such as carbon fibre and aluminium - Hand-built to order for GBP4,000 with each guitar taking eight months to create Harrison Custom Guitar Works based in Yorkshire (UK) has created an ultra-exclusive electric guitar inspired by Alfa Romeo's design and heritage. The 'Alfa Romeo', is a completely custom-made design that draws inspiration from the style, materials and technology of the Italian brand's road cars.

On International Women's Day, Alfa Romeo salutes its legendary female race drivers

Alfa Romeo is celebrating International Women's Day by highlighting some of the women who have raced its cars over the past century. They collectively achieved a long list of impressive achievements on and off the track in the face of adversity. One of the earliest-known women that raced an Alfa Romeo professionally is Maria Antonietta d’Avanzo, an Italian baroness who started competing shortly after World War I. Her career spanned several decades, during which she competed against numerous pilots, including an ambitious young man named Enzo Ferrari who would have a profoundly important effect on Alfa Romeo's image and success on the track. He was a mediocre racer, by most accounts, but he proved to be a brilliant manager and was soon put in charge of the carmaker's racing efforts. Ferrari sold Anna Maria Peduzzi one of her first race cars: an Alfa Romeo 6C 1500 Super Sport. Racing either alone or with her husband, she took first in the 1500 category of the 1934 edition of the Mille Miglia. Helle Nice and Odette Siko also raced Alfa Romeo cars during the 1930s; the latter finished fourth overall and first in the 2.0-liter category in a privately-entered 6C 1750 Super Sport. Alfa Romeo's official entry, an 8C 2300, took second overall. Belgian-born Christine Beckers and Dutch racer Liane Engeman both competed in the GTA — one of the company's most successful race cars — during the 1960s. Alfa Romeo later hired Engeman as a model. Maria Grazia Lombardi (also known as Lella) raced a GTV6, but she's better known as the only woman to have scored points in Formula One. She competed from 1974 to 1976 and scored half a point in 1975. She also raced in four editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and finished 20th overall and second in her class in a Lancia Stratos. Colombian pilot Tatiana Calderon joined the Sauber Formula One team as a development driver in 2017 after a successful career racing karts. In 2018, she became a test driver for Alfa Romeo's Formula One team. She doesn't line up on the starting grid (at least not yet) but she plays a big part in creating the company's top-level race cars. Unlike many of her predecessors who raced as privateers or for small teams, she's officially affiliated with the company. Race teams (and car manufacturers in general) began welcoming more women into their ranks in the 1990s. Sibling company Maserati also shed light on some of the women who have played an important role in its racing history.

Share price falls on skepticism of Chrysler-Fiat five-year plan

Following this week's Fiat Chrysler extravaganza, where the Italian-American manufacturer announced its plans for the next five years, the Autoblog staff was cautiously optimistic of the company's future. Investors? Not so much.
Fiat saw its shares tumble 12 percent in Wednesday's trading, falling from 8.67 euros ($12.06 at today's rates) to 7.44 euros ($10.35) as of this writing, with blame partly going to the Italian half of the FCA marriage, which recorded a pretty significant drop in profits during the first quarter of this year.
The plan, which will cost around $77 billion over the next several years, is facing criticism from investors thanks in part to a 1.4-percent drop in Fiat's first-quarter profits, to 622 million euros ($862 million). That figure is also short of Bloomberg analysts' projections, which predicted $1.18 billion in profits before taxes, interest and one-time items.