So Fiat CEO Segio Marchionne has announced that a merger between brands is the most likely way to go for several of its marquees. Reports from a couple of weeks ago had it thatAlfa, Abarth and Maserati might be merged into one brand.

Fans of each of the marquees might be pissed off with the idea but the move makes a lot of sense. Let’s take a look at the brands currently under Fiat right now. They’ve got Fiat, Ferrari, Maserati, Abarth, Alfa Romeo, and Lancia in the European front. And since they acquired Chrysler, they also have Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, and Ram.

Probably the one brand that absolutely needs help is Alfa. Sure, it’s lauded by people (like the boys of Top Gear) to be the petrolhead’s car but on a business standpoint, the brand has been underperforming for the past years. Its got six models based on three platforms that only manage to sell 100,000 units. That’s very very poor especially when it takes millions of dollars to develop one model.

But the problem lies deeper than that. You see Alfa doesn’t quite exactly have a role in Fiat’s lineup. Fiat’s got the small car covered. Abarth’s got the fast small cars. Ferrari’s got the fast cars. Maserati has the tamer Ferraris. Lancia has the classy cars. That leaves Alfa to strive for the gaps and those gaps are just plain crap cars.

With Chrysler brands set to class with the market segments of the European brands, that leaves Fiat with a business problem. It’s not like they have the monopoly of the market to saturate it with competing brands. Even if they do have to monopoly, they’d probably end up like British Leyland. And we all know what happened to that.

So yeah. Merge ‘em, Sergio.

Pininfarina just showcased its first take on the new Alfa Romeo concept car that the company will be showcasing in the coming Geneva Motor Show. The concept serves as a tribute to Pininfarina’s 80th year and will be part of Alfa’s centennial celebrations. (Yup, Alfa’s that old.)

Anyway, by the looks of it, the car’s a two a two-seat convertible, pretty much inspired by the Alfa spiders that have been designed by Pininfarina.

Another concept will be on the stage and that one will be based on the stunningly beautiful Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.

Alfa says that the concepts are just purely for show probably since it’s now reported that Fiat is moving closer to merge their Alfa Romeo, Maserati and Abarth brands.

Then again, it’s Pininafarina and Alfa’s birthday. They should be able to build concepts for show if they want to.

So that’s probably one of the impacts of the whole economic crash of the past years. More and more big companies are out to streamline their brands. And with car marquees being traded to and fro, those who did most of the getting probably ended up with more badges than they can handle.

Such is the case with Fiat who has taken over Chrysler after the Detroit company’s collapse last year. The company ended up with the whole Chrysler range on top of all the other Italian brands that they already own. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has hinted time and again of possible mergers of brands.

Fiat’s latest corporate move is to appoint Harald Wester, who already runs Abarth and Maserati, to head Alfar Romeo. Reports claim that his primary task is to identify “synergies” between the three groups. A merger is likely because of this move.

Marchionne previously said that Alfa can share its platforms with Chrysler and another is to just freeze new developments. Alfa has been known to Fiat’s underperforming brand for a long time.

With the current plans of Fiat to streamline the development for their now-extensive marquees, it should be a good news for Alfa fans that Alfa has revealed the Giuletta.

The car is powered by a slew of engines. There’s the 118 bhp 1.4L TB and the more powerful 168 bhp Multiair. For those expecting a disel, Alfa is kind enough to put a couple of diesels – a 104 bhp 1.6L and a 168 bhp 2.0L.

The car’s basically the all-new 147 and is considered to be a competitor for the Volkswagen Golf. The design and the sporty coupe look makes it a better looker than the Golf. The car’s a bit larger than the Golf too.

As far as the performance goes, the Giulietta might not be able to match the Golf’s but Alfa equipped the Giulietta with a settings selector to modify the steering and throttle responses and optional electronic diff and stability control systems so those should count when it matters.

The car is expected to hit showrooms by next year with a £15,000 price-tag ($25,000).

Source: CAR

To production that is.

Quite a lot of cars have been pushed out of public interest due to rumors of development projects being shut down. And quite a lot of concepts don’t make it to production. Not in this kind of car market and global economy.

While Alfa Romeo hasn’t announced whether or not the GTA version of its MiTo small car will make it to production, a lot of doomsayers are claiming that there’s no possibility it ever would. Still, without any official announcement from Alfa Romeo, anything can still happen.

The MiTo GTA was first seen as a concept at the Geneva Motor Show and Alfa chief Luca de Meo has been saying that the car will be made. The initially reported power figure is at 240hp coming from a 1.75L turbo. A few upgrades from the standard MiTo include aerodynamic enhancements and beefier suspensions.

The car was initially slated for a debut this year but if the car ever makes it, it will come out in 2010 at the soonest.

Now that the Chrysler deal is out of the way, many are anticipating a new Chrysler sedan based on an upcoming Alfa Romeo model: the 2010 Alfa Romeo Milano, which will be showcased at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September.

The car will be ready by the fourth quarter of 2009, as confirmed by Alfa Romeo chief Luca de Meo in last year’s Bologna Motor Show. It will most likely share the C-Evo platform along with the Alfa Romeo Bravo and the Lancia Delta, although the car was initially intended for a new platform.

The Milano will sport an engine range that goes from a four-cylinder pushing 120 horsepower all the way to a 3.2-liter V6 engine capable of 265 horsepower. There is also a GTA model that is in the works, which should see launch sometime after the standard model.

Alfa Romeo has effectively split its 147 line into the Milano and the MiTo supermini available starting in July. The MiTo is geared more for a younger and urban demographic, while the Milano will target a more upscale suburban market.

Source: Motor Authority

Would you look at this next car Alfa Romeo’s coming up with. Thinking that there is a gap in between the base MiTo and the upcoming MiTO GTA (which is a beast with the power of 240 horses), they decided to slot in the MiTo Veloce to fill it in.

The MiTo Veloce will not be as powerful as the GTA but it will still squeeze 180 hp from a turbocharged 1.4L engine. Even with the turbo, that’s quite a lot coming from a small engine. With that power, the MiTo Veloce will be able to go from naught to sixty-two in just 7.5 seconds.

Aside from the additional horses, the car will also get a sportier body kit (to differentiate it from the ho-hum base MiTo, we presume), sport suspensions to help keep the car in line, and new alloy wheels.

The car is expected to be showcased in AutoRAI motor show in Amsterdam this April.

Alfa Romeo has released information on its upcoming MiTo GTA, a prototype for the sporty version of its 3-door supermini. Though it is still a concept when it is unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show, the Italian car manufacturer has stated that the GTA shown will be ‘production-ready.’

The Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA is equipped with the new Fiat 1.8-liter turbo engine, complete with variable valve timing and direct injection technology. All of that gives the MiTo GTA a whopping 240 brake horsepower.

Since it is designated as a sportier, higher-performance variant, the MiTo GTA has also been given a lower ride height—it is 20 millimeters lower than the standard MiTo supermini. The suspension system has also been modified to provide optimized weight transfer. The weight has also been given a reduction for a lower center of gravity, along with carbon-fiber components like the spoiler at the rear.

With its aerodynamic and performance tweaks, the Alfa Romeo MiTo GTA looks to be quite the stunner. We’ll see more of it and have access to more detailed information as the Geneva Show gets underway next week.

Source: Autocar

Watch out 2010. Alfa Romeo is out to change world order by bringing out its SUV. After creating arguably the best looking car ever made in the 8c, they now give SUVs a chance in this effort currently in their pipeline.

Next year, Alfa will be coming out with the 149 – a car that they intend to launch to rival the Ford Focus. And it is the 149’s platform that will also be used on the SUV. And it seems that they will be looking at Ford to consider as rivals for their future releases. The SUV is their attempt in creating a SUV that would rival the size of the Ford Kuga.

By the looks of the rendering here, well, it is shaping up to be a looker. Not too hulking and sporty at the same time.

Source: Autocar

It has been a long while since US car showrooms featured Alfa Romeos and after more than a decade, they are now back. Probably much to the joy of Alfa enthusiasts. Alfa’s officially back.

And what a way to be back in the still-largest car market in the world with the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. Remember how the new 8c is dubbed by Clarkson as “the best-looking car ever made”? And since it’s the US car market, I’m pretty sure someone with vanity issues had ordered this art piece.

This car’s propelled by a 450 hp 4.7L V8 engine. The engine’s mated to a six–speed transaxle gearbox with electronic gear selection. With this power, the car can go from naught to sixty-two in just 4.2 seconds. Clarkson and pals criticized its performance though.

US-certified 8Cs will be made available though Maserati dealerships in two weeks’ time. If that’s the case, then it’s most likely that they’ve already landed. Get ready for the invasion as this might be Alfa’s step to test the waters for a full comeback.

Well, if you happen to be eyeing one of these to buy, then tough luck to you too as the 84 slated for the US market are already sold.

Source: LeftLane

Hello and welcome to our weekly Top Gear recap.

First up, answering the question, “Can a car ever be art?” And to answer that, they seamlessly tie-in their take on Alfa Romeos from last week’s show to this review of the Alfa Romeo 8c. I wonder how many times Clarkson has ever dubbed a car, “the best looking ever made.” But he does it here (again?). Typical Clarkson nitpicking for this one and yes, he concludes that this one is “fourteen feet of art.” And The Stig takes it around the track posting a 1:38.2 (very wet). Quite very slow.

For the news, there’s the typical skinny on Internet photos, the Fiat Panda Mamy, the now-lame Dacia Sandero quip. Oh and a guy complained that Jeremy clipped a double-white road line in last week’s episode. Geek! And a continuation of their war against signs.

Oh, and next up is the buck that stops all. Introducing it as the successor to the Datsun 120Y, Top Gear’s take on the Nissan GT-R! And not just a simple take – an epic race. Nissan GT-R versus Japan’s bullet train from Japan’s west coast to the east coast! As always the race is not without its twists and turns with a supposed intense finish with the GT-R weaving through a mountain pass. Very nice. But it was a drag that it ended up as a foot race.

Oh, I totally skipped the Stars in a Reasonably Priced car but they had Fiona Bruce and Kate Silverton (newscasters). Again, if you’re stateside and don’t get BBC 2, have the Intarwebs help you out.

Here’s another one from the Fiat group. Making it’s debut in next month’s Geneva Motor Show is Alfa Romeo with the production version of the 8C Spider. The name’s not too foreign since the Alfa Romeo 8C has been around for more than 80 years now.

Numbers are quite familiar too with the specifications pretty much the same from the hardtop 8C Competizione and the concept that we saw many months back hasn’t changed much compared to this production version. This car’s propelled by a 450 hp 4.7L V8 engine. The engine’s mated to a six–speed transaxle gearbox with electronic gear selection. With this power, the car can go from naught to sixty-two in just 4.2 seconds.

Like the coupe, the 8C Spider will also be produced in limited numbers with only 500 units will come out of the factory lines.

Source: Alfa Romeo