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‘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

Alfa Romeo pops the top on 4C Spider in Geneva [w/video]

Alfa Romeo has made all manner of vehicles over the years: hatchbacks, sedans, wagons, coupes... there's even been talk of a crossover. But it could be argued that the quintessential Alfa Romeo is a roadster. While the future of the program with Mazda remains in doubt, Alfa has arrived in Geneva this year with a Spider version of the nimble little 4C. As anticipated, the 4C Spider chops the roof off the coupe and replaces it with rollover bars, spoilers and windshield frame all made of carbon-fiber and a lightweight canvas top. As a result, the 4C Spider is said to weight just 132 pounds more than the existing fixed-roof version. The low-density Sheet Moulding Compound bodywork has been rebuilt around the rear deck to replace the back, and carbon fiber is visible throughout the open cockpit. The 1.75-liter turbo 4-cylinder and 6-speed dual-clutch transmission carry over unchanged, as do the performance stats: 0-62 in 4.5 seconds and a top speed "in excess of 155 mph." The 40/60 front/rear weight distribution is also quoted as unchanged from the coupe, maintaining the 4C's handling balance. The 4C Spider also gets more conventional (read: attractive) headlights, and a central exhaust system made by Akrapovic (of motorbike fame) from aluminum and titanium. Though billed as a Design Preview, the 4C Spider is set to go into production early next year. All we're waiting for now is for Alfa Romeo to finally bring this – and the rest of its lineup – to North America. ALFA ROMEO 4C SPIDER DESIGN PREVIEW DEBUTS AT 2014 GENEVA MOTOR SHOW - Alfa Romeo 4C Spider "avant-premiere" previews new soft-top scheduled to enter production in 2015 - True to the philosophy of the Alfa Romeo 4C, the Spider Design Preview remains an ultra-lightweight, high-performance driving machine - Extensive use of carbon fibre and SMC*, as well as a lightweight canvas hood, ensures the Spider retains the Alfa Romeo 4C focus and purity - Stunning evolutionary design sees the addition of new headlamps, new wheels and an advanced new central exhaust system by Akropovic® The stunning Alfa Romeo 4C Spider Design Preview makes its world debut at the 2014 Geneva Motor Show, previewing a new model scheduled to go into production in early 2015.

Everything we know about the Alfa Romeo Stelvio

Alfa Romeo is working rapidly on putting a crossover onto the road and these latest awkwardly-shaped spy shots are our best look at the upcoming Stelvio. Crossovers and compact SUVs are still outrageously popular with Americans and Alfa Romeo wants in on the ever-growing segment. The upcoming Stelvio, then, would make Alfa more profitable and make the storied brand once again a household name. Here's an overview of everything we know about the Stelvio. October 24, 2016: A moderately-camouflaged Stelvio is spotted testing in broad daylight with minimal updates. The most recent prototype has three strangely-shaped ridges on the hood, while the headlights and taillights, despite being taped off, still appear to be taken straight from the Giulia sedan. The profile mimics that of the Porsche Macan with the bulbous rear end gaining massive exhaust tips. View 12 Photos October 11, 2016: Photographers captured a lightly-camouflaged Stelvio testing in Europe at night, giving us our best look at the SUV's design. The front of the vehicle shares the same front fascia design as the Giulia sedan with two oval-shaped inlets on the side and the automaker's iconic rounded-triangle grille. The headlights also appear to be the same slit-like units on the Giulia, as well. The side profile of the SUV portrays a rounder design than displayed on previous prototypes that photographers have spotted. At the rear, two small tail pipes protrude out of the vehicle, while the taillights appear to be similar to the Giulia's, too. Unsurprisingly, the Stelvio looks comparable to a Giulia on stilts. View 7 Photos June 28, 2016: A prototype of the Stelvio is spotted wearing a massive amount of camouflage, making the shape and overall design of the SUV hard to discern. Again, the automaker's well-known front end is easy to spot, as are the two large exhaust outlets at the back. The rear end, though, features an interesting, rakish design that is more in line with a Sportback than a SUV. Photographers also managed to get pictures of the SUV's interior, which featured birch-like wood, an integrated screen, and large paddle shifters behind the thick steering wheel. Just like on the Giulia, the start-stop button is mounted directly onto the steering wheel. View 10 Photos April 7, 2016: The Alfa Romeo Stelvio is spotted testing for the first time. Alfa Romeo was caught testing a heavily-camouflaged prototype of the Stelvio wearing an insane amount of unsightly black plastic.