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Alfa Romeo’s new Spider droptop will launch late in 2015 and eschew the retro styling of the 2uettottanta concept for a more contemporary aesthetic, it’s claimed, after the company struggled to make the Pininfarina design work alongside other high-profile models like the upcoming 4C. The Alfa Romeo Spider, a collaboration between the Italian company and Mazda, will share a far chunk of its construction with the new 2015 Miata/MX-5, and is expected to have a 168HP turbocharged 1.5 TB MultiAir engine, Autocar sources claim.

That’s different from the new Mazda drop-top, which is expected to use the Japanese company’s own engines. The Spider will have a single powerplant option at launch, it’s said, routing its power through a six-speed, dual-clutch auto gearbox; the engine will be mounted longitudinally so as to fit into the sub-1,100kg body.

Exactly what that body might look like is what’s been giving Alfa enthusiasts sleepless nights. For a start, the insiders say, it will be completely different to what Mazda prepares for the new Miata, though both will make considerable use of high-strength steel to keep weight down.

For the Spider, it’s expected to result in a roughly 4m long by 1.7m wide car, slightly longer in the process than the Miata, though both will have the same windshield and surrounding structure, front bulkhead, engine compartment, and front/rear axels. There’ll be “conventional” headlight clusters, rather than the outlandish lights of the 4C, and the traditional Alfa Romeo grill with “whisker” air intakes low down on either side.

According to the sources, the overall aim is to make a car with more mainstream appeal than the enthusiast-friendly 4C, including approachable suspension settings to make it “accessible” to everyday drivers. Again, that’s another area in which Alfa Romeo and Mazda are expected to go their own ways, with each company responsible for its own tuning and setup.

Even so, the 2015 Spider will be manufactured in Japan, alongside its Mazda cousin, with Alfa Romeo apparently close to signing off the final design by chief Marco Tencone. Pricing is still a mystery, however, though is expected to be lower than the roughly $55,000 the 4C is expected to come in at when it hits forecourts later this year.

2015 Alfa Romeo Spider goes modern, eschews “boat-tail” 2uettottanta is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2013, SlashGear. All right reserved.

Alfa Romeo has pulled the wraps off the final design of the 4C compact supercar, and in a world of lumpen hybrids and feckless luxo-barges, the rear-wheel drive coupé is a blast of gorgeousness we can’t wait to see on US roads this year. Little changed from the original 4C concept first shown in 2011, the Alfa Romeo 4C wraps a curvaceous full-carbon chassis and aluminum body around a new, 4-cylinder 1750 turbocharged all-aluminum engine, which the Italian car company promises will exhibit zero turbo lag.

The power is pumped through an Alfa TCT automatic twin dry clutch transmission, with optional paddle shifting. The driver also gets a new “Alfa DNA” selector control, which steps through the four driving settings: Dynamic, Natural, and All Weather, which have already been seen on the existing 8C Competizione, as well as a new Race setting for those doing some serious track work.

Under the hood, there’s dual continuous variable valve timing and Alfa’s unpleasantly named (but very clever) “scavenging control system” to chop away at turbo lag. The focus on driving continues inside, with a pair of bucket seats squeezed into the compact 2.4m wheelbase; the car as a whole is under four meters long, two meters wide, and 1.18 meters high.

Alfa Romeo’s aerodynamics team have actually managed to achieve a negative downforce coefficient, which – just as in proper race cars – means the 4C should be more stable the faster it’s going. Exactly how fast that will be is unclear, at this stage, with the marque yet to reveal performance numbers beyond a tantalising “less than 4kg/HP” weight to power ratio.

In short, its an admirable car to mark Alfa’s return to the US market, and hopefully the company will treat us with a competitive price, too, when it shows the 4C off at the Geneva Motor Show.

Alfa Romeo 4C finalized (and it’s stunning) is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

My day with Dan Sorger was winding down and the photographers were out joyriding on his bicycles when he beckoned me to look at something on his tiny, age-stained LCD monitor. Nestled in between a curling collection of Post-It notes was an anecdote about a wealthy Italian man which he began to read aloud, “Once upon a time, long ago …” According to the story he had spent an exorbitant sum of money to modify his prized Alfa Romeo. As a result, his family tried to have him declared insane and wrest control of his fortune. As the trial got underway, the judge asked to see the vehicle in question and, once he set his eyes on the custom-crafted aluminum body, he dismissed the case, declaring, “The search for beauty is the most natural thing in man.” The tale is allegedly the origin of storied automobile designer Ugo Zagato, but it’s the judge who is the real star and it’s his words that struck a chord with Dan, the founder and owner of DBC City Bike Design.

Continue reading Engineering a better bicycle with DBC City Bike Design

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Engineering a better bicycle with DBC City Bike Design originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 02 Oct 2012 15:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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