The Ford Focus ST is being discontinued due to its noncompliance with Euro-5 emissions standards.
Tag Archives: Alfa Romeo Brera
Tuned Car of the Year: Winner
Although very late, we admit, we finally reveal our Car of the Year winners with one category presented each day. We begin with the Tuned Car of the Year.
And the winner is:
Special Edition Alfa Romeo Brera Released
Alfa Romeo has teamed with fashion specialists Italia Independent to create a special edition Brera.
On the outside, it gets a titanium paint shade, 18″ turbine style wheels, red-brake calipers and an aluminum fuel cap.
The inside gets some changes as well. There are carbon fibre bits everywhere, along with black leather and red stitching, as well as some Italia Independent logos.
As for the underpinnings, the car is available with either a 2.2L four-cylinder engine developing 185hp or a 3.2L V6 putting out 260hp. You can choose between FWD and AWD as well.
Only 900 units will be made, and they will be sold in Europe, Japan and Australia. Pricing starts at about 41,000 USD for the 2.2 and 57,000 USD for the 3.2.
This looks interesting, but I’m not too sure about that paintjob, looks a bit odd on the pictures.
Source: Autoblog
Car of the Year Nominees: Part 1
So then, you voted for Car of the Year awards, and we’re organizing them.
Alfa Launches 147 Successor
Alfa Romeo has unveiled its successor to the 147. As I posted earlier, the name was under dispute, but they’ve settled on calling it the Giulietta.
It will released in 2010 as part of Alfa’s celebrations of their 100th anniversary. Company bosses believe it come become Alfa’s best-selling car ever.
The car will be made as a five-door only. The rear door handles have been cleverly disguised (See if you can spot them).
The suspension is MacPherson struts up front and a new multi-link design at the rear.
There will be three different designs of 16, 17 and 18-inch wheels: Thick-spoke, multi-spoke and Alfa’s “telephone dial” design.
Engines on offer include a 120hp 1.4L gasoline and a 170hp 2.0L diesel. All engines will be turbocharged and have four-cylinder. There will later be a 230hp Cloverleaf model, which I’m definitely looking forward to. All cars will be front wheel drive, and will come with either a five or six-speed manual gearbox. Autocar mentions nothing about an automatic, but I presume one will be available. Not that I’d want one. Fiat is working on a semi-auto twin-clutch alternative to add to the Giulietta.
All Giuliettas will come with automatic start-stop as standard.
Alfa Romeo aims to make over 100,000 units a year. They say it is too early to predict pricing, but they claim it will be very competitive compared to its main rival, the VW Golf.
Very few pictures have been released, but so far it looks quite nice. I’d still prefer that they use the 159/Brera front styling instead, but this isn’t too bad.
Source: Autocar
Alfa Launches 147 Successor
Alfa Romeo has unveiled its successor to the 147. As I posted earlier, the name was under dispute, but they’ve settled on calling it the Giulietta.
It will released in 2010 as part of Alfa’s celebrations of their 100th anniversary. Company bosses believe it come become Alfa’s best-selling car ever.
The car will be made as a five-door only. The rear door handles have been cleverly disguised (See if you can spot them).
The suspension is MacPherson struts up front and a new multi-link design at the rear.
There will be three different designs of 16, 17 and 18-inch wheels: Thick-spoke, multi-spoke and Alfa’s “telephone dial” design.
Engines on offer include a 120hp 1.4L gasoline and a 170hp 2.0L diesel. All engines will be turbocharged and have four-cylinder. There will later be a 230hp Cloverleaf model, which I’m definitely looking forward to. All cars will be front wheel drive, and will come with either a five or six-speed manual gearbox. Autocar mentions nothing about an automatic, but I presume one will be available. Not that I’d want one. Fiat is working on a semi-auto twin-clutch alternative to add to the Giulietta.
All Giuliettas will come with automatic start-stop as standard.
Alfa Romeo aims to make over 100,000 units a year. They say it is too early to predict pricing, but they claim it will be very competitive compared to its main rival, the VW Golf.
Very few pictures have been released, but so far it looks quite nice. I’d still prefer that they use the 159/Brera front styling instead, but this isn’t too bad.
Source: Autocar
I Now Officially Love Autodelta
Why? Because it turns out, and sorry for not finding out earlier, that along with the modified 159 they released earlier, they also did a Brera S.
The damn thing is gorgeous, and now it’s got some power to go with it. By bolting a supercharger to the engine (Along with an intercooler), they’ve managed to up the power from 260hp to 347 rampaging, Italian stallions. Torque has gone up from 322Nm to a staggering 435Nm. To make it handle as well as it looks, they’ve fitted it with a limited-slip diff, and there is a new, adjustable suspension kit, so you can choose between performance and comfort (4o different settings to be exact). That differential better be damn good though, because while the 159 might be AWD (Note the might, as it could be FWD, not quite sure), this is definitely FWD, and so much power, and especially torque, to the front wheels can provide insane results.
Now then, I’m going to get a change of pants, and then I’ll go look for my cheque book.
Source: Autoblog