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I know some of our readers will disagree, hell, even some of the folks here at Carscoop will beg to differ, nevertheless, I'm going to say it: I'm utterly disappointed with the styling of Alfa Romeo's 4C Concept, which is slated to enter production in 2012. Alfa had a unique chance to redefine its design language with its first mainstream rear-wheel drive model in decades but instead chose to add the Mickey Mouse - bug face treatment to a body that looks awfully similar to the Lotus Elise.
The specific styling cues may work for the 8C Competizione but if you ask me, the 4C looks just as silly as the MiTo does. Granted; the true essence of the 4C Concept lays under the skin and in particular the mid-engine / rear-wheel drive architecture, but would it be much to ask for some of that styling magic Alfa Romeo has served us over the years?
As always, feel free to agree or disagree in our comments section below.
When the Nissan Versa was launched in Australia as the Tiida, many automotive watchers were excited by the prospect of blending Renault’s European flair with Nissan’s Japanese reliability. “Here,” they said, “Is a car that’ll please everyone.”
What they got was a narrow-bodied subcompact with so-so styling, a plasticy dashboard, a shocking lack of equipment and an overinflated price tag. Not to mention Kim Cattrall in the TV spots. If this sounds strangely familiar to our older readers, you’re right on the money. Twenty-three years before the crossbred Tiida hit Australian shores, another mongrel was being birthed in Europe.
It was 1983, and Alfa Romeo had just launched the Arna, an acronym for “Alfa Romeo Nissan Autoveicoli”. The Arna was essentially a N12 series Nissan Pulsar / Cherry with the engine, transmission and front suspension from Alfa’s popular if rust-prone Alfasud. Built in Alfa’s new Pratola Serra factory near Naples, the Arna had the mechanical reliability of the Alfasud and all the style and grace of the Cherry.
In other words, it was a dog.
Although it was available with either of Alfa’s 1.2L or 1.5L flat-four boxer engines, the fact remains that it was a dull Japanese hatchback built by the same uncaring, unionized Italian labour force that had built the Alfasud. In one final irony, the Arna was deported exported to Japan as the Nissan Pulsar Milano, probably giving the Japanese peoples their first (and last) taste of ‘80s Italian engineering.
The Arna died a quiet death in 1987, replaced with the Pininfarina-designed Alfa Romeo 33. The 33 was by no means a great car, though after the Arna, many Alfaistas would have welcomed an yearly rail pass with open arms. Nissan continued to sell the Cherry / Pulsar in Europe, though never met great success in Europe’s highly competitive subcompact car market until the launch of the K11 Micra in 1992. For both manufacturers, the Arna was a miserable failure, remembered only by auto watchers such as yours truly.
Alfa Romeo's MiTo sport hatch will soon get a big brother in the form of the 147's replacement that abandons the firm's numerical system in favor of the more 'sensual' Milano name. Spied here on film at Nurburgring, the Milano is still under heavy disguise but it is evident that the hatchback's styling will be influenced by the smaller MiTo which in turn was inspired by the 8c Competizione.
Based on Fiat's new C-Evo platform, the Milano will be offered with an extensive range of turbocharged petrol and diesel engines producing up to more than 200 horsepower. The five-door model will compete in the premium hatchback market along with the Audi A3 and BMW 1-Series.
The Milano's official presentation, which has been constantly delayed due to various reasons including the economic slowdown, is now expected to take place either at the Frankfurt show in September or, most likely, at next year's Geneva Salon. For more details and spy shots of the Milano, click here to read our previous post.
Welcome to the story of the Alfa Romeo Nuvola Prototipo, one of the most gripping concepts to wear the famous Visconti Serpent badges in the past two decades. Unveiled for the first time at the Paris Motor Show in 1996, the Nuvola Prototipo was named after Tazio Nuvolari, the legendary Italian motorcycle and racecar driver who competed for Alfa in the 1930s.
The Nuvola had all the essential ingredients of a proper Alfa Romeo sports coupe - a beautifully crafted body and interior, classic proportions, a dedicated chassis and enough power to put a smile on your face.
Of course we would have preferred a rear-wheel drive setup, but its four wheel drive layout is much less of a compromise (for a sports car) than if power was transferred exclusively to the front axle.
Unlike modern days Alfas that are built around less exciting (8c Competizione excluded) hardware pulled out of the Fiat Group’s parts bin, the Nuvola made use of a separate, tubular spaceframe to which the mechanical components were attached. The designers' plan was to use the same architecture on different bodies to cover various niches.
"A welded high strength steel tubing spaceframe brings the benefits of lightness, high torsional rigidity, excellent ride quality and maximum passenger protection as well as low cost of manufactures," Alfa said at the time.
Power came from a front-mounted, twin turbocharged version of Alfa's standard 2.5-liter V6 delivering 300 ponies to all four (18-inch) wheels, with the car said to complete the 0 to 100km/h sprint in the low five second-range.
The Nuvola was penned at Centro Stile Alfa Romeo under the watchful eye of Walter de Silva, who is currently Head of Volkswagen Group Design. As with any proper sports car, the goal of the designers was to stir emotions.
Measuring 4.29 meter (169 inches) in length, the Nuvola is sleek yet muscular, classic yet modern - all at the same time. The two seater show car made several references to Alfa Romeos of the past from the 8C 2900 to the 6C 2500 Villa d’Este, the Giulietta Sprint Speciale and the 1900 Sprint. Notable features include the futuristic luminous diode technology used for the slim, horizontal rear lights and the tires, which had a special pattern created for Alfa Romeo by Michelin.
The 'favoloso' exterior was matched by an equally stunning two-tone interior crafted in leather with aluminum and chrome accents. Sport pedals and a wooden steering wheel are also on the menu, with a finely crafted leather bag acting as storage between the driver and passenger.
While the concept never made it to production, it's styling legacy lives on as the Nuvola prefigured the shapes and surface treatments of Alfa Romeo’s -then- new aesthetics. Take a close look at the pictures and you’ll discover design cues that can even be seen in today's Alfa Romeo models.
Overall, we'd say it's pretty impressive how well the styling of the concept has withstood the test of time and a pity that Fiat's higher-ups never gave it the green light.
Unless you plan on visiting Alfa Romeo's historic museum in Arese, Italy, to see it in person, the closest you'll get to the Nuvola is through a die-cast scale model like the one we found on eBay Italy. True, it’s not the real deal, but probably better than nothing.
A few months back we showed you Marco Procaccini's Vittorio Jano design study for an Alfa Romeo 159 replacement (see here). The slinky fastback notably featured an aggressive front end treatment and a C-Column / rear glasshouse design somewhat reminiscent of the Lotus Evora.
Now Marco is back with a more practical Sport Wagon variant of the Vittorio Jano which -in theory- is 50 mm longer and 10 mm taller than its saloon sibling.
The Sport Wagon features a face lifted front bumper with LED running lights a la the HSV E2 series and a rear end profile possibly inspired by the Peugeot 308 SW wagon.
You can see more pictures and video of the Vittorio Jano Sport Wagon below.
The specific styling cues may work for the 8C Competizione but if you ask me, the 4C looks just as silly as the MiTo does. Granted; the true essence of the 4C Concept lays under the skin and in particular the mid-engine / rear-wheel drive architecture, but would it be much to ask for some of that styling magic Alfa Romeo has served us over the years?
