A Black Alfa Romeo 4C on a Track with Dramatic Background Music May Frighten You…

It’s no secret that no matter how much an automotive designer wants to take credit for his or her creation, there’s only so much that can be called genuine creativity. Most of the better shapes we see are inspired by nature, usually by muscular predatory animals, which have clearly defined flanks, perfectly resembling the shape of a feline crouched down, ready to pounce – somewhat of a cliché in the industry.

The idea is: the more extreme the flanks, the more coke bottle-like it all gets, and the more we begin to hear names, most of which are Italian (and one Japanese).

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Man Waits for Bus, Gets a Ride in Alfa Romeo 4C from Racing Driver Marc Gené

What would you say if you were waiting for a bus you and all of a sudded got a ride in a brand new Alfa Romeo 4C, with none other than endurance racing driver Marc Gené behind the wheel? It’s a rhetorical question, so don’t bother answering because we know you’d say yes.

That’s exactly what happened to a lucky Madrilenian who jumped right in when Marc Gené pulled over and asked him if he wanted a ride in the 4C. However, the surprise didn't end there. After rolling on the streets of Spain’s capital, Marc Gené asked his passenger if he really wanted to do something that he’d never forget.

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Watch How the Alfa Romeo 4C is Born and Built at Maserati’s Modena Plant

Following yesterday’s details about the manufacturing process of the Alfa Romeo 4C sportscar, the Italian brand released a video that shows how the vehicle is actually built, and it's a pretty interesting process to watch.

Starting with the construction of the carbon fiber monocoque chassis, the video shows all the complicated and time-consuming production steps where manual labor takes the center role. Alfa Romeo says the minimum “takt time” (the manufacturing speed needed to guarantee delivery) is 20 minutes. For comparison, the shortest "takt time" in mass production plants is approximately 50 seconds.

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Alfa Romeo Promotes Giulietta's Fast&Furious 6 Movie Gig with Ads [w/Video]

Alfa Romeo wants the world to know that one of its cars, the Giulietta compact hatchback, has a role in the sixth installment of the high-speed "Fast & Furious" franchise, which will have its world premiere this week on May 7 in London, before its public release on May 17 in the UK, and from May 24, in the rest of the world.

The Giulietta makes a special appearance in the movie when it disembarks from a gigantic Antonov plane during take-off, and then the driver tries to interfere with the cargo aircraft's take-off run.

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iDrive: Alfa Romeo Brera is Bold, Good Looking and Almost There

There are two basic categories of car buyers: the ones who view an automobile as a means of transportation and the enthusiasts. The first group walks into a purchase with their head firmly on their shoulders, considering things such as finance, depreciation and such before signing on the dotted line, while the latter let their heart rule their head.

Motoring journalists are, mostly, petrolheads and the crew here at CarScoops is no exception, thus we decided to seek cars that stir the emotions. The Italians undoubtedly do have a long tradition in this particular field; so, with Alfa Romeo getting ready for its big comeback, picking its last mass-production coupe, the Brera, was a natural choice.

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Just In Case You Were Wondering what the Alfa Romeo 4C Sounds Like

The Alfa Romeo 4C was one of the highlights of the 2013 Geneva Motor Show. It is Alfa's attempt at being taken seriously again by the performance and sports car crowd, so it really needs to prove itself out on the road for that to be possible. Read more »

Reconstructing an Alfa Romeo RZ Roadster Vilner Style [w/Video]

Some five years ago, I remember we posted an article asking you, our readers, what was your favorite ugly car, and I quote myself:

"There’s ugly and there’s ugly; a Pontiac Aztec or a BMW 7-Series E65 are just plain hideous, whichever way you see it, while a 1990’s Alfa Romeo SZ or its roadster sibling, the RZ, are ugly in an alluring kind of way that's hard to be explained in words. The best description I have ever heard about the Zagato-penned 'beast' is from a 1990 issue of Car Magazine that stated, 'Ugly as a sin and just as tempting'."

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Video Walkaround of IED's Alfa Romeo Gloria Sports Sedan

If we are to believe the design minds at the Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin (IED Turin for short), the Gloria concept is everything that North American and Asian consumers want from a modern Alfa Romeo sports sedan.

We'll leave that for you to decide after you take a look at the following walk-around video of the Gloria concept shot from IED Turin's Geneva Motor Show booth, courtesy of AutoMotorunSport magazine.

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First Alfa Romeo 4C Promo Touts Brand's Return to the U.S., Configurator Launches in June

There's a lot to like about the production Alfa Romeo 4C, from its ultra-lightweight construction that uses carbon fiber components to keep the dry weight at a surprisingly low 895kg or 1,973 pounds, to its nicely crafted body, and one thing to hate: those spider eye-style headlamps that look like a bad afterthought.

Of course, it could be just us and a bunch of other gearheads we talked to and who said the same thing, so if you disagree, don't be shy to share your feelings in the comments.

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Alfa Romeo 4C Launch Edition Will be Made in 1,000 Units, Cost €60,000 in Europe [w/Video]

It was no secret that the 4C would make its world debut at the 83rd Geneva Motor Show, yet Alfa Romeo still managed to spring a surprise. That’s because the compact sports coupe was actually launched in the exclusive – ahem - “Launch Edition”.

This model will be manufactured in just 1,000 numbered units: 400 are earmarked for Europe, Africa and Middle East, 500 for North America and 100 for the rest of the world. Alfa Romeo announced that the 4C “Launch Edition” will be priced at €60,000 (US$78,000) across all European markets, including VAT but excluding local taxes, and is available to order immediately (no word on U.S. pricing yet).

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Alfa Romeo 4C Engine Sounds and a Peek at its Digital Instrument Cluster

Over the past couple of weeks, we saw official photos and learned a lot about the new Alfa Romeo 4C, but the Italians are still keeping many details under wraps, which is where this spy video from KGP Photography steps in and comes into use. Read more »

Fighting Nemo in an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Sounds and Looks Like a Lot of Fun

Surprise, surprise; as it turns out, not everyone was stuck at home behind mountains of snow and blocked roads in Boston during this past weekend's winter storm "Nemo".

There was a certain driver enjoying the slippery roads and snow-covered parking lots in an Alfa Romeo – and mind you, not just any Alfa Romeo, but the 4.7-liter V8-powered 8C Competizione coupe.

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Watch a Kawasaki Undertake Alfa's New MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde SBK

The arrival of the new limited edition Alfa Romeo MiTo Quadrifoglio Verde SBK in the UK after its world premiere at last year's Paris Motor Show, sparked a promotional idea into the heads of the Italian brand; since the car is inspired and named after the Superbike championship, how about placing it together with a racing bike on the track?

Alfa Romeo called in precision driver Paul Swift and British Superbike rider Chris ‘The Stalker’ Walker to perform a neat stunt at the Silverstone circuit. Swift drove the Alfa over a ramp tilting it on one side so Walker could ride under it in a Kawasaki ZX-10R Ninja British Superbike before speeding out to the other side.

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Spied: Alfa Romeo 4C Coupe Filmed in Michigan

If there's one Alfa Romeo model that may come to the U.S. after all, it's the upcoming production version of the 4C mid-engine sports coupe concept that was first seen at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show.

A reader from the online edition of Autoweek magazine captured a heavily camouflaged prototype of the 4C testing on a Michigan expressway last Friday, January 11.

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Oh, Oh, Someone Just Ditched an Alfa Romeo 4C Prototype…

It's been a year and nine months since Alfa Romeo pulled the covers off the impressive 4C Sports Coupe concept at the 2011 Geneva motor show, and even though it had been initially suggested that we could see the final production model on sale this year, obviously that never happened.

Alfa Romeo officials have said that this may happen sometime in 2013, but with the Italian brand, one can never take these statements for granted – Alfa's on and off return to the U.S. market is a prime example…

Well, while we're waiting for the Italians to give us a date on the only interesting model it has in store for us , a driver in Italy spotted a camouflaged prototype of the 4C coupe -ahem- stranded on the side of a road.

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Alfa Romeo Orazio Satta Four-Door Coupe Design Study Revisited and Refined

Just like carmakers in real life, independent designers drawing conceptual studies on paper or on computer screens will often revisit their work and implement styling changes to evolve their projects and/or possibly even address criticism about certain aspects of the design.

This seems to be the case with Italian designer Marco Procaccini from MP Car Design and his Alfa Romeo Orazio Satta, which we first showed you back in September.

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Memory Lane: Classic 1970’s Alfa Romeo Giulia Super 1300

Some of you may be too young to remember (or find it hard to believe), but there was a time when Alfa Romeo rolled out rear-wheel drive mainstream model, which even in their base variants, were a treat to the eyes and the hands of drivers.

The Giulia that was launched in the early 1960s is one of those cars. Weighing just 1,000 kg (2,205 pounds), it was powered by an alloy DOHC four-cylinder petrol engine in 1.3- and 1.6-liter displacements with power outputs ranging from 74 to 100HP, coupled to a four or five-speed manual gearboxes.

At the time, the trend of updating models nearly three years after launch and then releasing a replacement in another two to three years was non-existent.

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Alfa Romeo Orazio Satta Study Proposes a BMW 6-Series Gran Coupe and Mercedes CLS Challenger

If you think about it, one of the few marques in Europe that has the dynamics, the name and history to truly compete against the dominant premium carmakers from Germany such as Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, in all categories and on a global scale, is Alfa Romeo. Which is probably why the VW Group has showed such an interest in the firm.

Too bad the Fiat Group never really allocated the sources or the time to rebuild and refocus the famed Italian brand as a real premium automaker.

In fact, last we heard, Sergio Marchionne has kicked the can down the road (again…) postponing Alfa Romeo's re-entry to the U.S. market and delaying many of its planned models like the 159 replacement.

But we're dragging away from our main story that is a design study from an old acquaintance of CarScoop, Italian designer Marco Procaccini, who sent us these renderings and a video of his newest project.

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Photos and Videos of the Alfa Romeos at the Goodwood Festival of Speed

Alfa Romeo, the famous Italian brand that should have been among the Fiat group's first priorities but which has been heavily neglected and steered towards the wrong direction over the years, had a strong presence at last weekend's 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed.

Among other impressive production models on show was a yellow-colored example of the built-to-order by Zagato, Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale that is based on the running gear of the V10-powered Dodge Viper ACR.

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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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