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Alpine A110 vs Alfa Romeo 4C Review | Two sports cars enter

YORKSHIRE, U.K. – A proven ability to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory is all part of Alfa RomeoÂ’s romantic charm. With bodywork like red satin draped over a carbon fiber tub and the promise of a mid-engined, Italian exotic for Cayman money, the 4C was certainly a bold vehicle to relaunch the brand to the American market. Pebble Beach types could appreciate its inspiration in the gorgeous, minimalist Alfa Romeo coupes of the past. Everyone else could kid themselves it was basically a baby Ferrari, never mind the fact it only had 237 horsepower and a four-cylinder engine. At first blush, the 4C was a riot, and remains so in the Spider form itÂ’s still sold in. And it gets the blood pumping in the way a fling with an exotic Italian should, especially compared with the Germanic 50 shades of gray alternatives. I can remember the thrill at driving one back in 2014, its Italian license plates making it feel all the more exotic. It may only have cost $60,000, but it hogged attention like a Ferrari worth four times that. The fun didnÂ’t last. As seductive as the fundamental formula was and still is, time and more measured eyes ultimately found the 4C to be lacking. The ugly, fat-rimmed steering wheel turned out to be a useful visual metaphor for the feel it delivered, simultaneously under-geared and punishingly heavy, especially at low speeds. At higher ones the kickback was violent enough it needed quarter-turn corrections even traveling in a straight line. And the binary power delivery smothered whatever finesse there might have been in the chassis. Its on-limit handling, on track and in the wet, was spooky. Shocked, I called a friend with an old Exige and asked to drive his car along the same route. That I concluded youÂ’d be better off with a 10-year-old Lotus definitely didnÂ’t win me many friends in Milan. Which begs the question: What does the apparently similar Alpine A110 do differently to have earned such overwhelming praise among the same reviewers here in Europe who damned the 4C? Performance stats are comparable, as is the AlpineÂ’s pricing in markets in which it is sold. Both tap into the nostalgia and heritage of their respective brands, not least in the historic long-distance European road rallies both excelled in.

Best in Show: 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta wins at Pebble Beach

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. — Well over 200 vehicles from 17 countries competed for Best in Show honors at the 2018 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, but there could be only one winner: the 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta you see above. The deep blue bodywork of the vehicle was first seen at the 1938 Berlin Motor Show, and the vehicle was recently restored to its original show condition. This Alfa Romeo is owned by David and Ginny Sydorick. "This car is one of only five built, and it has recently been completely restored, taking a huge amount of effort and dedication from all those involved," said Sydorick after the win. The '37 8C 2900B Touring finished ahead of a 1929 Duesenberg J Murphy Town Limousine and a 1948 Talbot-Lago T26 Grand Sport Figoni Fastback Coupe for the golden ribbon. This is the third time an Alfa Romeo has won the coveted Best in Show trophy at Pebble Beach, the first an 8C 2900B Touring Spider in 1988 and the second an 8C 2900B Touring Coupe in 2008. Last year's winner was a silver and blue 1929 Mercedes-Benz S Barker Tourer. Related Video: Featured Gallery 1937 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Touring Berlinetta: Pebble Beach Misc. Auto Shows Alfa Romeo Automotive History Coupe Luxury Special and Limited Editions Classics Pebble Beach

The hottest modern sports cars rendered as rally racers

The modern-day World Rally Championship a monumental amount of fun to watch – I should know, as I recently was lucky enough to head to the UK to watch WRC Wales Rally GB – but even the most monstrous of the current WRC cars are based on fairly pedestrian European hatchbacks. Back in the heyday of rally, the Group B era in the 1980s, much hotter cars were the basis of even more incredible competition machines, for the most part. Take the exotic Ford RS200, or the Lancia Delta S4 with its twin-charged engine. And the hatchback-based Group B cars were bonkers, too. So what would some of our favorite modern cars look like if Group B had never ended? A British site named CarWow hired an artist to reimagine everything from the Rolls-Royce Wraith to the Porsche 911 as a retro-inspired rally car, and they were kind enough to let us share the results in the gallery above. The gallery features an Alfa Romeo Giulia in Martini livery, an Audi TT in classic Ur-Quattro colors, a Fiat 500 Abarth sporting massive flares and a hood blister full of auxiliary lights, a new Ford Mustang in RS200 livery, a Lancia Delta in Alitalia colors, a Porsche 911 in Rothmans livery, a Renault-Alpine in classic blue, a Rolls-Royce Wraith tribute to the Jules cologne Corniche Coupe, and a relatively modern-looking VW Touran. So far, the favorite around the office is the incredible Mercedes-Benz S-Class that is an homage to the wonderful 300 SEL 6.8 AMG "Red Pig" that essentially put AMG on the map. Check out the gallery above and see which one you like the best. Related Video: