reckoner00

30 Maggio 2015

Alfa Romeo Giulia (2015) first of nine new Alfas - CAR Magazine UK

Published: 23 May 2015

► New Alfa Giulia due on 24 June 2015► Switch to RWD sparked long delay
► Giulia joined by slew of SUVs, sports cars

Alfa Romeo's new Giulia compact exec to challenge the 3-series/C-class/XE/A4 set is less than a month away, with its world debut set for 24 June 2015. CAR magazine's artist's impression from a couple of years ago gives a rough indication of what to expect - but soon we'll know for sure.

The new Giulia will kickstart a product renewal programme which could launch nine new cars by the end of the decade. The revelation was published in the January 2015 issue of CAR magazine. In it, our European editor Georg Kacher interviewed Alfa Romeo CEO Harald Wester, who spelled out his vision for the rejuvenated Italian car maker.

It marks the end of a painfully long wait for new products; most Alfas have withered on the vine, leaving just two core model lines on sale in the UK today, or three if you include the 4C sports car.

Alfa Romeo Giulia: launching on 24 June 2015

The first new Alfa Romeo to kickstart the product renewal is the Giulia. CAR understands the new 3-series rival will be shown to the world on 24 June 2015, when the company is due to mark its 105th anniversary.

Incredibly, the 159 has been absent from Alfa’s range for several years now and the Giulia will thrust the company back to the heart of Europe’s premium car heartland. Our computer-generated images (first two pictures in our gallery) date from 2012 and should be approached with caution - but they give an idea of the likely design direction.

Why the big delay? Because Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne sent the project back to square one - and now we know why. It wasn’t just a stylistic U-turn; Alfa Romeo is developing a new rear-wheel drive architecture, codeveloped with Maserati - and it’ll underpin all the new Alfa models in the pipeline.

Alfa Romeo goes RWD again

The news will come as a godsend to Alfisti, a generation brought up on rear-wheel drive Alfas. The platform is based on the RWD matrix of the Ghibli, but mated to smaller-capacity engines.

The four-cylinder motors are understood to be a 1.4 turbo (110 or 180bhp) and a 1.8 available with 200 or 330bhp.

But to compete in the executive heartland, Alfa must offer multi-cylinder engines too. CAR understands a Maser-twinned petrol V6 will be offered in 2.5 and 3.0 capacities, developing up to 510bhp in later, more sporting iterations rolled out over the lifecycle of the car.

A suite of diesel engines will also be available, from a 1.6 four-cylinder to a 3.0 V6 common-rail TD.

And Alfa crossovers, sports cars and execs are coming too

Following the new 2015 Giulia comes the next Giulietta in 2016. It too switches to the rear-wheel drive format, making it more of a BMW 1-series hatchback rival. Four-wheel drive will be optional on more powerful models, as with most Alfas.

The Mito supermini bites the bullet; instead, Alfa Romeo plans to stretch upwards into BMW 5-series territory, with a model twinned with the Ghibli and stretching to 4.9m long. The Ammiraglia ‘flagship model will be a sporty and prestigious four-door saloon, period,’ vows Wester.

To read more about the new Alfa Romeo range, don’t miss the full interview with the Alfa Romeo boss in the new January 2015 issue of CAR magazine. You can catch up on previous issues of CAR magazine in our digital edition for iPads and other tablet devices.

Alfa Romeo Giulia (2015) first of nine new Alfas by CAR Magazine

26 Maggio 2015

Alfa Romeo GTV / Spider prj. 963
Alfa Romeo C-SUV prj. 962

Qualcuno conosce questi codici di progetto?

Specialty?

19 Maggio 2015

Maserati Levante revealed in patent images

14 Maggio 2015

Fiat 124 Spider avanti con Mazda - Auto.it

Il recentissimo accordo Toyota-Mazda non cambierà di una virgola la sinergia tra FCA (Fiat in partitcolare) e il Marchio giapponese. Per Marchionne quindi resta tutto come prima: la spider derivata dalla nuova generazione della mitica Mazda MX-5, sarà prodotta produrre nell’impianto di Ujina, a Hiroshima.“E’ in pista e non ci sono cambi su quanto stabilito” ha dichiarato Masamichi Kogai, numero uno di Mazda,
rispondendo all’ANSA a margine dell’annuncio della partnership di lungo termine siglata da Mazda e Toyota. “La produzione partirà come previsto dal piano definito e nel rispetto della performance e della qualità promesse”,

E da Mazda è trapelato che la consegna del nuovo modello, la Fiat 124 Spider, è prevista per la metà del 2015. Secondo l’accordo iniziale del 2013 Mazda avrebbe dovuto produrre una scoperta sportiva con Alfa Romeo, ma Marchionne poi decise (a ragione, a nostro parere) che tutte le nuove Alfa sarebbero state prodotte in Italia.

11 Maggio 2015

Passione Auto Italiane: Nuove foto degli interni della nuova Fiat Linea/Bravo

8 Maggio 2015

Fiat C-Sedan: prima foto degli interni! - CarPassionCarPassion

7 Maggio 2015

Passione Auto Italiane: Prima immagine della Fiat Compact Sedan

6 Maggio 2015

Autoblog.it - Foto spia Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA

5 Maggio 2015

Lamborghini offered tax breaks to build SUV in Italy, report says

MILAN (Bloomberg) -- Lamborghini is being offered incentives by Italy's government to make sure the automaker builds a future SUV in the country, according to people familiar with the matter.Prime Minister Matteo Renzi's government may offer as much as 100 million euros ($111 million) in tax breaks and other benefits to ensure that final assembly of the Lamborghini Urus takes place in Italy, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private.
Lamborghini unveiled a prototype of the high-riding Urus at the 2012 Beijing auto show.

Lamborghini has since been refining a business case for the vehicle in an effort to win approval to go ahead with production from its parent, Volkswagen's Audi. If approved, the car will vie with the upcoming Aston Martin DBX as the world's sportiest SUV Lamborghini aims to get approval to build the model by the end of June, but the timing and final outcome of the talks are difficult to predict, the people said. "We haven't decided on the series production of the Lamborghini Urus yet," Audi said in an e-mailed statement. "Once this has been clarified, the question about the production location will be posed."

Audi is seeking to broaden Lamborghini's lineup beyond two-seat supercars, which have limited appeal in emerging markets such as China where road conditions can be poor.

The Urus would be Lamborghini's first SUV since the boxy LM002 -- the so-called Rambo Lambo -- was culled from the lineup in 1993.

The push comes as the increasing wealth of world's rich led to record sales last year for most major luxury-car makers.

Lamborghini's deliveries in 2014 rose 19 percent to an all-time high of 2,530 cars. Lamborghini has previously said there is the potential to sell 3,000 performance crossovers a year, more than doubling the size of the brand.

"From an entrepreneurial perspective, it's an opportunity," Audi CEO Rupert Stadler said in an interview at Bloomberg's headquarters in New York earlier this year.

Cutting costs

To cut costs, the Urus’ chassis and other key components are set to be produced at other VW factories, such as a plant in Bratislava, Slovakia, where the frame for the Porsche Cayenne SUV is made, said the people. Sales will likely begin in 2017, a report said last year.

Lamborghini may hire as many as 300 workers to assemble the SUV, the people said. Parallel to talks with the government, the Italian carmaker is also seeking more flexible working hours from local unions.

http://europe.autonews.com/article/20150505/ANE/150509943/lamborghini-offered-tax-breaks-to-build-suv-in-italy-report-says

5 Maggio 2015

[h=1]Istanbul Autoshow 2015: anteprima mondiale della nuova compact sedan di casa Fiat[/h]

Al Salone dell'Auto di Istanbul, in programma dal 22 al 31 maggio, verrà svelata la nuova "Compact Sedan" di casa Fiat. Si tratta di una vettura che è stata concepita fin dall'inizio come berlina a tre volumi, ovvero un'automobile completamente nuova che consente di unire all'armonia ed equilibrio della linea una grande efficienza degli spazi.

Disegnata dal Centro Stile FCA e sviluppata insieme a Tofaş R&D, uno dei più grandi centri di ricerca e sviluppo di FCA, la nuova vettura Fiat offre una combinazione unica di comfort, abitabilità, efficienza e tecnologia. Il tutto impreziosito dall'esclusivo design italiano che coniuga la qualità del progetto con proporzioni da sedan pura e vigorosa.

La nuova Compact Sedan Fiat sarà prodotta in Turchia nello stabilimento Tofaş a Bursa, uno dei migliori siti industriali automotive del mondo come dimostra l'assegnazione della medaglia d'Oro secondo la valutazione World Class Manufacturing.

La commercializzazione partirà dalla Turchia nel prossimo novembre, per poi proseguire in oltre 40 Paesi dell'area EMEA. Chiaro a questo punto il ruolo strategico di questo modello per FCA che punta ad aumentare la presenza di Fiat nella Regione, oltre a consolidare l'indiscussa leadership del brand nel segmento delle Compact Sedan grazie alle sue eccellenti doti di abitabilità interna e capacità di carico, a una gamma completa e a uno stile senza compromessi.

Torino, 5 maggio 2015

Istanbul Autoshow 2015: anteprima mondiale della nuova compact sedan di casa Fiat - Press Releases - Fiat Chrysler Automobiles EMEA Press

4 Maggio 2015

2 Maggio 2015

"I just came back from automotive survey featuring 2 ND miatas, one with soft top right hand drive like the one we saw in Monterey. One with targa/power retractable hardtop concept. "
(...) Sorta like Honda del sol targa style with SLK roof. It was shown in a video monitor that the targa part moves up and back and roof folded into trunk and then targa moves back on covers the roof. The concept car was a static display/ mock up car with two people removing and replacing the hard top every 5 mins to show what is like with roof on and off.

(...)both concept targa and soft top have the same trunk. the concept vehicle doesn't show how the roof is store in the trunk but rather it was shown thru an animated video on TV. There were two person physically removing the targa roof as to show what it looks like without a roof."

Source: http://forum.miata.net/vb/ (click on the links)

Fiat has trademarked the names "124" and "124 Spider".

Fiat 124 Spider = soft top - Fiat 124 = hard top?

29 Aprile 2015

27 Aprile 2015

2017 Fiat 124 Spider To Debut Later This Year

Published: 04/27/2015

BEVERLY HILLS, California— The 2017 Fiat 124 Spider convertible, which shares a rear-wheel-drive platform with the redesigned 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata, will arrive at Fiat dealerships in 2016 after a debut later this year.

The 2017 Fiat 124 Spider is expected to debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Auto Show or the 2015 Los Angeles Auto Show, industry sources told Edmunds.

It will compete with the Mazda MX-5 Miata, Mini Cooper Roadster and Porsche Boxster.

At a recent Fiat event here, Jason Stoicevich, head of Fiat Brand for North America, would not confirm the timetable for the car's world debut or U.S. sales date, but he said the 124 Spider "is a logical car for our brand."

"There is a ton of heritage behind that," he said in an interview. "I think that just kind of puts the bow on the showroom for us and fills it out completely."

The 124 Spider joins a lineup that includes the Fiat 500, Fiat 500e, Fiat 500L and Fiat 500X, a subcompact SUV that goes on sale in May.

The original Fiat 124 Sport Spider was a small 2+2 convertible that was marketed by Fiat from 1966-'80. Unknown is whether the 2017 Fiat 124 Spider will be a two-passenger or 2+2 convertible.

"The 124 Spider is a very recognizable car name," Stoicevich said. "People had a great experience with it so there is this nostalgia around it. It makes perfect sense for the Fiat brand."

Fiat-Chrysler had considered marketing the 124 Spider as an Alfa Romeo. However, it later decided that Alfa Romeo's pedigree required all vehicles to be engineered and designed in-house.

Fiat's small convertible will share a rear-wheel-drive platform with the redesigned 2016 Mazda MX-5 Miata, but apparently little else.

Asked if the 124 Spider's design will be similar to the Miata, Stoicevich said: "No, it will not be a rebadged (Miata). We will have our own style, our own stamp on it."

Industry sources tell Edmunds that Fiat's 1.4-liter four-cylinder engine likely will be under the hood of the 124 Spider. The MX-5 Miata is powered by Mazda's 155-horsepower 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine. Both vehicles will be assembled at Mazda's Hiroshima, Japan plant.

Fiat has not announced 124 Spider pricing, but it is expected to be similar to the MX-5 Miata's base price of $25,735, including an $820 destination charge. The MX-5 Miata arrives at Mazda dealerships this summer.