Originally Posted by automobilemag

TURIN, ITALY -- A well-known ex-chief designer for a major global automaker was on the flight from Paris Charles DeGaulle to Aeroporto Caselle, of the Northwestern Italian industrial town that put the "T" in Fiat. Was he consulting to Alfa Romeo? Would he share the trip to the hotel in a Fiat MPV driven veloce style, like all the automaker's hired drivers, by a man hoping to step in if Ferrari needs a replacement for Felipe Massa? Not quite. After catching up with him walking off the airplane in Turin, I was reminded that said ex-design chief lives in this part of the world. He was returning home after attending the Shanghai motor show. How was it?

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Pretty boring, he says. There's nothing memorable about the indigenous design of the world's largest automotive market. One thing's for sure; China is no Italy. Executives and the upper-middle class here may have long abandoned the local brands, as they have in most of Europe and North America, for Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Audi. Alfa Romeo, fortified by its connection via Fiat with Chrysler, its upcoming Mazda joint-venture, and perhaps, most important, by Audi parent Volkswagen Group's unwanted advances, is preparing to fill the gap between commodity cars and those German premium brands with a level of style and brio that should be as enticing to the right potential customers as any new luxury feature. The Alfa Romeo 4C is Fiat/Chrysler's reset button for the brand. Alfa makes no apologies for its polarizing design, and whether you like or hate the 4C's design, you'll be challenged not to think of it as sex on wheels. No Ferrari or Lamborghini of recent vintage has managed to make function over form look quite like this. Take the rear shoulder line that flows off the rear pillar and the backlight. Alessandro Maccolini, Alfa's chief exterior designer, says it's at that precise height to accommodate the rear vents that start behind the doors and direct air around the back for aerodynamics. After the shoulder line's sharp crease, the fender gets curvy and voluptuous again, and the result is tumblehome that will make Bob Lutz jealous. The sideview mirrors, he says, are mounted at the right point on the doors to avoid interrupting that airflow to the rear intake, and even the door sheetmetal is rounded around the mirrors' bases for optimal aerodynamics. Creases in the 4C's hood flow into the familiar triangular grille. The underbody has its own set of little wings designed for aerodynamics and downforce. The round taillamps recall Alfa's gorgeous midengine 1967-71 33 Stradale, although the donor car is the MiTO, on which Alfa already uses the heritage cue. That backlight, which covers the 1746-cc turbo four from the Giulietta (it's called the "1750 Tbi" in some markets) is another 33 Stradale heritage cue, one that's more obvious when the rear lid is open, and one you won't find on the MiTO. The rear lid has a thin aluminum prop-rod rather than the gas-filled shocks you might expect, and Alfa says this helps keep the weight down. There is some trunk space back there, aft of the engine; probably enough for a roll-on or one-and-a-half. This car is all about light weight. Dry weight is just 1973 pounds, the result of its carbon-fiber monocoque, all-aluminum engine, composite body panels, and lack of superfluous gadgetry. The 1750 Tbi has been tweaked to 240 brake horsepower (European), up five horses over the Giulietta's engine, and 258 lb-ft, an extra 7 lf-ft. Redline is 6500 rpm.

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You Can't Prop Up a Brand on a Mid-Engine Sports Car Alone
The Rest of Alfa's U.S.-Bound Lineup Giulietta: The four-door hatchback's architecture, longer and with wider tracks, is the basis of the Dodge Dart and 2014 Jeep Cherokee. Currently one of just two Alfa models available in Europe, along with the MiTO, the Giulietta launched in late 2009. It's due for a makeover before it is imported here next year as a '15 model. 2C Spider: This is the pure, two-seat sports car that Mazda will build on its next-generation Miata in Hiroshima, but with a Fiat-sourced engine, about one year after Mazda begins production of the Mark IV Miata. The irony is that it was the Mark I Miata that drove Alfa Romeo from these shores in the mid-'90s. C-SUV: Expected to be a high-style crossover/utility vehicle based on the '14 Jeep Cherokee, which gets its bones from the current Giulietta. Anticipated for calendar '15 as a 2016 model. Giulia: Confirmed -- this will be the name used for the rear-wheel-drive sport sedan that will share its architecture with the SRT Barracuda. This is a smaller platform than the RWD Chrysler 300/Dodge Charger and Challenger architecture, which will suit the Giulia well, though it may be a bit bigger than the 159 sedan/wagon replacement we had expected. It has been described as an "E-segment" sedan, which means it will be closer in size to the BMW 5-series than the 3-series. It's reportedly slated for late '15 as a 2016 model. We expect the Alfa Giulia to seriously undercut the 5-series' sticker, however, with a base price likely in the $30-35,000 range.

Originally Posted by 4c.alfaromeo.com

Alfa TCT dry twin-clutch transmission with Launch Control

Reaction promptness is key for performance. This is why the Alfa TCT dry twin-clutch transmission features an innovative Launch Control function to optimise vehicle systems and exploit all the available acceleration.

Originally Posted by jaspergtr

Dual Clutch!!!

And only weighs 895kg?