SCOOP: Alfa Romeo Test Mule Hides New Jeep Liberty's Underpinnings

For those of you wondering what an Alfa Romeo Giulietta prototype with a raised ride height, a bulkier shaped front end and Michigan manufacturer plates is doing in the States, the short answer is testing.

The more detailed answer is that the Chrysler Group's engineers are trying out the platform that will underpin the next generation of the Jeep Liberty or Cherokee for overseas markets.

Like the new Dodge Dart as well as the replacement for the Chrysler 200, the next Liberty will use the Chrysler Group's new Compact U.S. Wide (CUSW) platform, which itself is a longer and slightly wider version of the Alfa Romeo Giulietta's chassis – hence the use of the Italian hatchback as a test mule.

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Ugur Sahin Looking for Investors to Build New Alfa Romeo C12 GTS Concept

While not a household name yet, Ugur Sahin, a Turkish car designer based in the Netherlands, will ring a bell for many of our regular readers who will remember him from past projects such as the 2007 Ferrari Dino, 2010 Aston Martin Gauntlet and more recently, the 2011 Soleil Anadi.

The latter is of particular interest as it's the production version of Sahin's 2007 Chevrolet Corvette Z03 design study.

The coach built Corvette was presented in the flesh at last year's 2011 Top Marques car show in Monaco, with Soleil planning to produce a total of 300 cars priced at US$299,995 a piece.

Now, Sahin has provided Carscoop with details about his newest project for a two-door, front-engined Alfa Romeo sports car named the C12 GTS Concept.

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Fiat Not Interested in Mazda Stake, but will Increase its Chrysler Stake to Over 60 percent

Ever since Italy's Fiat Group and Japan's Mazda Motors announced plans to join forces for the development and production of their next MX-5 and Alfa Rome Spider roadsters, the newsvine has been abuzz with numerous rumors about a deeper relationship between the two automakers. Read more »

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Alfa Romeo 4C Appears in a Cherry Red Shade at Concorso d'Eleganza, Wins Concept Car Category

With the clock ticking for the launch of the production version of Alfa Romeo's 4C sports car, the Italians showed the prototype model in a new cherry red metallic hue at the famous the Concorso d'Elegance Villa d'Este in Italy this past weekend.

The mid-engined Alfa Romeo sports coupe won the eyes and votes of the visitors at the show and took honors as the most beautiful machine in the Concept and Prototype class.

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Alfa Romeo Carlo Chiti Concept Shows what a MX-5 Based Coupe Could Look Like

Independent designer Marco Procaccini has come up with a new concept study for a modern day Alfa Romeo sports coupe with a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout.

The study is named Carlo Chiti after the Italian racing car and engine designer, who was best known for his work at Alfa Romeo's motorsports division.

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Official: New Alfa Romeo Spider to be Based on the Next Mazda MX-5!

In a surprise announcement that is bound to excite Alfa Romeo fans, the Fiat Group and Mazda revealed today that they have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development and production of a new roadster model for the Mazda and Alfa Romeo brands based on the rear-wheel drive architecture of the next MX-5.

"The study calls for both Fiat and Mazda to develop two differentiated, distinctly styled, iconic and brand-specific light weight, roadsters featuring rear-wheel drive," the two automakers said in a joint statement, adding that each car will be powered "by specific proprietary engines unique to each brand".

According to the plan, the next Mazda MX-5 and Alfa Romeo's successor to the Spider will be manufactured at Mazda’s Hiroshima plant in Japan, with production for the Italian model to begin in 2015.

With the exception of the limited production 8C Competizione Spider (2008-2010) and the RZ (1992-1994), the last time Alfa Romeo had a roadster with a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout was the classic Spider built from 1966 to 1993. This particular model was featured in the 1967 movie The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman.

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Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Gets Wheels And More

German aftermarket specialist Wheelsandmore believes it can convince at least a few of the 500 owners of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione to make the plunge and shop its new tuning package for the Italian sports coupe.

First up is the hard-to-miss matte white foil wrap with black and red racing stripes running from bumper to bumper, and the 21-inch 6Sporz2 forged alloy wheels shod in Hankook S1Evo tires size 245/30 21 on the front axle and 345/25 21 on the rear.

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Can You Identify the Alfa Romeo Models Shown in this Picture?

While Mercedes-Benz's AMG sub-brand wanted you to find out which model was featured in a blank video by listening to the sounds of its engine, over in Italy, Alfa Romeo has assembled a set of cropped images of four of its cars from various eras and asks if you can identify them.

If you feel up to the task, sound off in the comments section right after the break.

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Maserati to Build Alfa Romeo 4C at its Modena Plant, will Introduce Three new Models

It's that time of year that the Fiat Group reveals its plans for the near future and on Thursday, the Italian automaker announced that Maserati will expand its product offering and significantly increase volumes over the next two years with the presentation of three new models in three different market segments.

The Italian company did not provide additional information, but we already know that the three new Maserati models planned for production are the Kubang luxury SUV that was previewed in showcar trim at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show, a mid-size sports sedan to compete with the BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe and Mercedes CLS, and the next generation of the large Quattroporte sedan.

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The Chrysler Group Takes Over the Fiat Group's Australian Operations

Fiat may have been the one to buy a controlling stake in Chrysler, but it's the American arm of the company that it destined to take over the distribution of Fiat, Alfa Romeo and Fiat Professional vehicles in Australia.

In a similar move, Chrysler had taken over distribution responsibilities for Fiat cars and light commercial vehicles in Russia back in February.

In Australia, the Fiat group's distribution rights will be transferred to Chrysler on May 1. Under the new deal, the Italian group's 17 passenger dealerships and 22 commercial vehicle outlets across the country, will report directly to the Melbourne-based Chrysler Australia group.

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Alfa Launches New Entry-Level Giulietta with 1.4-liter Turbocharged Petrol Delivering 103HP

The Alfa Romeo Giulietta has become more affordable for European buyers as the Italian automaker has quietly introduced a new base engine for the subcompact model, which will soon be available for order throughout the continent.

Taking the place of the 1.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder petrol with 118hp (120PS) as the new entry-level option in the Giulietta's lineup is a de-tuned version of the same powerplant producing 103hp (105PS) at 5,000 rpm and 206Nm (152 lb-ft) of peak torque at 1750 rpm.

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Auto Avio Costruzioni Makes a One-Off Alfa Giulietta

Laurent Miller, the man who bought the Auto Avio Costruzioni brand name eight years ago, has churned out his third tuned Alfa Romeo.

This time Miller decided to turn his attention on the Giulietta, Alfa’s five-door hatch. The car features a unique two-tone paint job with Alfa dark grey for the lower body and a Lamborghini-sourced “White Ballon” pearl color for most of the upper part of the car and the wheels.

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Touring Superleggera Dances to the Tunes of the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante in Geneva [Photos + Video]

Felice Bianchi Anderloni, the man who founded the Milan-based Carozzeria Touring, had once said that “Weight is the enemy, air is the obstacle”. With a brief to design a car that would be “insensitive to the wind”, Touring’s designers created the now famous, Alfa Romeo 1900-based C52 Disco Volante racing concept back in 1952.

Commemorating the 60th anniversary of the impressive concept, Touring Superleggera unveiled the Disco Volante 2012 at the 82nd Geneva Motor Show which will be produced in a limited number.

It’s a two-seater coupe with a front-central (i.e. placed behind the front axle) engine and a transaxle drivetrain.

The new Disco Volante features an integrated front bonnet and wings and a distinctive rear end, while at the same time borrowing some details from the 1952 original like the partly covered front wheels and the pronounced waistline.

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