To mark its own 80th anniversary and to celebrate Alfa Romeo’s 100th birthday, Pininfarina has released at the 2010 Geneva International Motor Show its proposal for a new Alfa Romeo Spider, one of the models that has defined Alfa Romeo for more than half its history and in which Pininfarina has had a strong guiding hand.

The Alfa Romeo 2uettottanta Concept is designed to be exciting and a delight to drive, for drivers looking for a mixture of extrovert entertainment, and the pleasure of life in the open air. The name, 2uettottanta, evokes the legendary Alfa Romeo Spider Duetto but also a very Italian product, which has become an export brand, representing the inexhaustible talent that the world associates with Italy. The Alfa Romeo 2uettottanta Concept reflects Pininfarina’s determination to look to the future with optimism following tradition, restating its excellence in design and its acknowledged capacity for aesthetic and technological innovation. It is a concept that represents an innovative approach, projected into the third millennium, to a topic that is firmly rooted in Pininfarina history, the 2-seater spider. And like the best Alfa Romeo sports cars to come from Pininfarina’s pencil, the Alfa Romeo 2uettottanta Concept exalts the driving experience and concentrates on the excitement of being at the wheel of an open car with a great aesthetic personality.

The Alfa Romeo 2uettottanta Concept is also a tribute to Alfa Romeo, which celebrates its centenary in 2010: the alliance between Alfa Romeo and Pininfarina is one of the most significant and durable in the history of the car, one of men and of passion, of design and cutting-edge technical solutions, which has generated an inestimable number of good-looking, innovative cars with plenty of temperament but with a predilection for sports cars and convertibles. The aim is to replicate all this with the Alfa Romeo 2uettottanta Concept.

For this project, the Pininfarina creative team were given carte blanche to express the values inherent in the Alfa spider “by Pininfarina”, the values that are deemed to have made the Giulietta Spider or the Duetto all-time classics. To achieve this result, the car was given a particular set-up, with a low centre of gravity and a passenger compartment that is very exposed so as not to isolate the occupants from the surrounding environment. The result is to bring the road “nearer” to the eyes of the driver and to increase the sense of dynamism even at low speed.

Source: Alfa Romeo

Drive an Alfa Romeo Spider 2.2 from R6850.00 per month Terms and conditions apply*.

Terms and conditions apply, offer valid while stocks last, offer ends 30 April 2010.

Source: Alfa Romeo

My view on this offer

This is rather a strange approach from Alfa, as these kind of special offers are usually reserved for slightly cheaper cars, advertising for only R1000/month or R2000/month etc. From first glance this doesn’t look like the greatest offer as R6800/pm is quite heavy, also noted is the Alfa Romeo Spider 3.2 for R8500/pm which is even heavier on the wallet.

The car is styling and a pleasure to drive but anyone looking for some kind of bargain is probably better off picking up a second hand version. There will be 70 000 to 80 000 on the clock but the money saved will be huge. I imagine anyone looking to buy an Alfa Spider new probably isn’t too worried about the price in the first place, so I don’t see Alfa’s target with this kind of a special.

Just in case there was ever any doubt, Alfa Romeo’s stunning Alfa 8C Spider supercar has been officially named as the Most Beautiful Car of the Year 2009 by Top Gear magazine.

Judged by a Top Gear panel consisting of TV, magazine and online teams – spanning 24 international editions – the awards recognise the most innovative and exciting cars to be launched over the past 12 months.

Described as ‘perfection’ by Top Gear, the 8C Spider’s good looks are more than skin deep. A responsive 4.7litre V8 engine produces an awesome 450BHP which is channelled through a sophisticated 6-speed F1-style paddle shift gearbox to the rear wheels, producing enough power to launch its occupants from 0-62mph in just 4.5 seconds, and on to a top speed of 181mph.

UK Brand Communications Manager, Damien Dally, said:

“There’s no doubt that the 8C Spider is a sensational supercar but to have the recognition of the Top Gear panel is a perfect way to end the year.”

Limited to a production run of just 500 examples, 35 Alfa 8C Spiders are destined for the UK, with most of them sold before you could say “bellissima”. Valued at around £174,000 (R2.1m) the chance of owning an example remains ultra exclusive, however the latest models in Alfa Romeo’s line up have taken inspiration from the Alfa 8C Competizione and Spider – such as the sporty compact Alfa MiTo and 2010’s Alfa Giulietta.

Source: Alfa Romeo

It’s official – the Alfa Romeo MiTo 1.4 TBi is one of just eight finalists in the SA Guild of Motoring Journalists / Wesbank Car of the Year for 2010. All the finalists will be put through their paces in a rigorous testing programme that takes place in February – the winner will then be announced at a glittering function on the 18 March. But win or lose, the fact that the Alfa MiTo has made it to the finalists’ list is in itself an outstanding achievement, as the South African Guild of Motoring Journalists could select from well over 100 all-new models that made their way onto our roads during 2009.

The MiTo has been a success for the Alfa Romeo brand in South Africa with an average of 30 new MiTos per month finding new homes. This year, the MiTo range will be expanded with a 100 kW and 127 kW engine version (both revolutionary Multiair 1.4 turbo units). The 127 kW version will badged Quadrofoglio Verde and befitting its flagship status it will boast sportier styling, dynamic chassis mods plus a few other luxury add-ons. The newcomers are expected to debut in the 2nd quarter (April/May).

Of course, though, the really big news for Alfa Romeo in 2010 will be the launch of the much-anticipated Milano. This Golf-sized, five-door will set the proverbial cat amongst the hatchback pigeons thanks to its exquisite architecture and Multiair-based engine line-up. The SA line-up is not yet finalised but will most likely include two models at launch – a 127 kW 1.4 Turbo version and a range-topping 170 kW 1.8 Turbo Multiair (likely to be badged Quadrofoglio Verde). ETA is between 3rd & 4th quarter (October) – afterall we don’t want to steal any of the Soccer World Cup’s thunder!

Source: Alfa Romeo

This is truly a red-letter year – the shroud of secrecy surrounding Alfa Romeo’s most highly anticipated new C-segment hatch has finally been lifted. It’s name? The Alfa Romeo Giulietta, possibly one of the most evocative names in motoring history.

The all-new Alfa Romeo Giulietta will be presented to the world at the forthcoming Geneva Car Show early in 2010. Sales of the new model will start in Europe in spring gradually be extended to all the major markets. Its South African debut is planned for the third quarter around October.

In the Centenary year, the name is a tribute to an automobile myth and Alfa Romeo. Produced by the Alfa Romeo Style Centre, the Alfa Giulietta is a sports car capable of expressing great agility on the most demanding routes whilst providing comfort on everyday roads.

Combining sportiness and elegance, the Alfa Giulietta is the result of Alfa Romeo’s new direction in style and technology – an approach that started with the 8C Competizione supercar and which recalls the brand’s glorious past while projecting its traditional values of technology and emotion into the future.

Source: Alfa Romeo

Extreme, exclusive, refined. Meet the Alfa Romeo 8C spider, the car everyone wants. No fewer than 1800 orders rained in, on spec, as soon as it arrived. In Alfa Romeo we were forced to make a painful decision and establish that 80 cars will be sent to Italy, 100 to Germany, 40 to United States, 40 to the United Kingdom, 50 to Japan and the remainder to Russia, the Arab Emirates and Asia.

The Alfa Romeo 8C Spider is a gem of style, technology and performance: a road car that peforms like a racing car. The 450 HP 4.7 litre, eigh cylinder engine can reach a top speed of 292 kilometres per hour and accelerate from zero to one hundred in 3.7 seconds. Other exclusive details include a steel frame and carbon body.

On the road price: EUR 213,250.

Source: Alfa Romeo

Alfa’s sports star, the Alfa MiTo, has arrived in South Africa.

For nearly one century, Alfa Romeo has stood as an indisputable symbol of motoring design and Italian sporting style, as well as a towering example of engineering and mechanical excellence. The MiTo is the first car to be built since the 8C Competizione – Alfa Romeo’s icon of style and technology, from which it borrows certain characteristic traits. Alfa Romeo MiTo represents the ultimate expression of Italian style, welcoming yet sporty, with high material quality and scrupulous attention to detail.

The greatest thought has also gone into defining the dimensions, which add up to a compact and dynamic shape that nicely fulfils the requirement for downsizing, one of the buzzwords of present-day motoring design. Downsizing actually means improving energy efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions and simplifying driving and parking around town. But this new approach to construction does not preclude sportiness. Quite the opposite: the Alfa Romeo MiTo is the best demonstration that the two requirements can be reconciled.

The car’s proportions also make a very clear statement that this is a true sports car – it measures 4.06 metres long, 1.44 metres high and 1,72 metres wide – without giving up anything in terms of driving comfort. Indeed the excellent interior space distribution makes for an outstanding amount of room for both driver and passengers.

Launched in a sexy and powerful 114Kw 1.4 turbo engine, Alfa Romeo MiTo 6-speed gearbox offers generosity with a lively temperament, developed of course by the world renowned Fiat Powertrain Technologies.

The Alfa Romeo MiTo is a strong, compact car with dominion of the road and an emphatic personality of its own…but you’ll only truly understand its strength, power and style once you get inside.

Source: Alfa Romeo