Alexandre
The words Spider and Alfa Romeo are inseparable. It's hard not to think back to all the models that have made history, from the Spider Coda Longa to the more contemporary 4C Spider. Well, good news, Alfa Romeo is working on it... but there won't be enough for everyone...
After the craze generated by the very exclusive Alfa Romeo 33 Stradalewhich bridges the gap between the past and the future of the Italian brand, gave CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato the opportunity to confirm the launch of further limited editions. We immediately thought of a spider. Indeed, since the 33 Stradale is based on a Maserati MC20, it's only logical that Alfa Romeo should launch a new model based on the MC20 Cielo.
However, Alfa Romeo has denied that it intends to produce a 33 Spider. In fact, this one is a tribute to the 1967 model, and there's no question of making any variations.
The future Alfa Romeo Spider will therefore be a tribute to the bodywork of another model in Alfa Romeo's history. What we do know is thatit should be called 4E... for 4 electric motors?
In any case, let's not be too hasty. The Centro Stile Alfa Romeo team will be working on the subject between now and the end of next year, for a model that will be probably not presented before 2027... the year when all future Alfa models will be 100 % electric.
And while it's still a limited edition model managed by the new Bottega Alfa Romeo, we know there won't be one for everyone...
I'm happy to leave it to Fredo, so he can tell us what he thinks.
As for the 33, I can understand why, but given that the V6 isn't dead, there's nothing to stop us releasing a Montreal or other models based on the Giorgio in ultra-limited series. Que sera, sera
An electric version of the 4C? This would mean an extreme reduction in battery weight - the original model weighed less than 900 kilos...
I think this is the biggest problem to date. Like the mc20, which was supposed to come out electric from the start, and now won't until 2025... when you consider the weight of a bmw i4 or the new peugeot 3008, which weigh over 2 tonnes... that's what's probably slowing down the project. A Fiat 600 weighs just over 1.5 tons, but there's more room for batteries than in a mc20.
Alexandre... the most catastrophic example... is Lotus because they've flat-out disintegrated the brand with their Hypercar, SUV and limousine! A HORROR 😫
This objective of relative lightness (let's not dream, we'll never go under a ton, but 1.2 tons would be good enough) is only achievable with solid-state batteries that can double density while maintaining cycle capacity, and which are not yet industrialized, hence the vague date of presentation of this model and its characteristics...
Under 1,500kg in the electric range is the weight of a city car... in the internal combustion range the weight of a saloon. A Lotus SUV weighs 2.5 tons dry, a sedan 2 tons dry. I don't see the progress in that, sorry. When you see a Caterham that weighs 606 kilos fully loaded and a Future that weighs more than twice that (1190 dry)... you can really talk about total regression in all areas.
Once again, it's all about the result, and it's a real catastrophe.
We're no longer in the throes of delirium... but in the throes of nightmares, to say the least.
895kg dry weight and 700kg for the Scara73. Unfortunately, even Caterham's future Seven couldn't manage under 1190kg (twice the weight of the current version), yet all the lightweight materials on the car-building market went into the design.
If Alfa manages to hold 1500kg with nothing but carbon, magnesium or even Inconel, that would be an immense feat.
I think the future one will simply be a clone of the MC20 Fulgore, so we're likely to get close to 2 tons unless we adopt the Koeninseeg.... system. It all depends.
There is the current Seven, which is electric and has gained 100kg (700kg) but its range is downright derisory and the rear trunk doesn't even exist anymore because of the battery 🪫.
All electric Alfa Romeos in 2027? They really want to kill Alfa Romeo.
We need to stockpile combustion engines to last until the next deadline, 2035, when there should be no more combustion engines on sale.
If you have stock in your garage, it will last longer.
Let's face it, when Alfa announces 100% of electrics in 2027, they're only talking about new models. The other internal combustion models released before then will of course still be on the market. One might even wonder, with the current lobbying by Stellantis, whether it won't be "100% of new models will have at least one electric version"...
Except that by 2027, the new versions of the Giulia and Stelvio will be electric models, as will the B-SUV (which will also have a PureTech combustion version, which will be even worse than the electric variant of the e-2008 and Jeep Avenger). That leaves the Tonale, or at best the PHEV version, or to be sure, the current small engines with very little power. That's not much of a choice when it comes to combustion engines.
Special series like the 33 Stradale or a Spider version inspired by the 4C are good for image, but not for everyone, and not affordable either.
Stellantis via Jean-Philippe Imparato has just announced the continued use of the 2.9L twin-turbo V6 after 2025, and we also know that FPT will produce the new 2.2L diesel at Pratola Serra as of next year (sending the BlueHDI into retirement), confirming what we all already knew: that PSA is a poor engine builder. Management navigates at the whim of changing legislation, and we've become accustomed to big gaps between product plan announcements and their concrete realization...
Which means that the 2.9 twin-turbo V6 is extended by two years (or more). But in any case, it's not for the French, with the scandalous malus of
At €60,000, we won't be able to treat ourselves (unless we find a good bargain).
But that's a political choice that Alfa Romeo, Maserati or Abarth can do nothing about... You can't reproach our favorite brands for adapting to legislation; if they do, it's to survive. The good news - it does exist: I've just seen the new BMW X2, and it's a further achievement in ugliness... With any luck, Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos will soon be out the door following the failure of the B-SUV, and Klaus Busse will be designing a beautiful Giulietta for us...
Stanislas
If people want a new car, many of them will drive with foreign plates, and the French state will go to hell!
I'm glad to have left this country, which is walking on its head, and its citizens, who spend their time being strung along like pearls without batting an eyelid (we call this the ostrich syndrome).
The V6 will last until at least 2035.
BMWs are getting uglier and uglier, and that's nothing new: between the XXL grilles on the M3/M4, the new M2, which is disgusting, and their electric models, which are even worse. I've just seen a video of the new X2, and it's horrible. Except that the average buyer and design go hand in hand. The proof is that they buy Citroens, Peugeot SUVs, BMWs, and the countless other horrors on the market.
Of course, Alfa Romeo and Maserati don't decide the anti-combustion policies of countries like France.
The problem with the latest M2... it's an M3 in disguise and the power has been lowered, so I find it hard to understand why, because the models before it were totally different. What do bmw customers do? Well, they simply buy an M3.