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Alfa Romeo returns to F1 racing by sponsoring Sauber for 2018

Doesn't it feel good to see the Alfa Romeo emblem proudly displayed on a Formula One car again? It's been 30 years since Alfa Romeo had anything to do with F1 cars, as in the late '80s the manufacturer supplied engines to Ligier and Osella. Alfa Romeo even developed the first modern Formula One V10 engine, but that ended up in a 164 Procar instead of Ligier race cars. After a 30-year hiatus, it was announced in late 2017 that Alfa Romeo's brand would return to F1 racing by sponsoring Sauber. There isn't an Alfa Romeo engine in the 2018 Sauber C37, as it uses a current Ferrari power unit instead and Alfa Romeo's involvement is strictly about FCA's sponsoring the Swiss racing team. The drivers for 2018 are Charles Leclerc and Marcus Ericsson. Jorg Zander, Sauber's technical director, says: "The car philosophy is much different to that of the C36. The aerodynamic concept has changed significantly, and the C37 has several new features in comparison to its predecessor. We are positive that the new concept offers us more opportunities and will help us to make improvements during the course of the season. The 2018 Ferrari engine will also give us a boost in terms of our performance. We hope that we will make progress with the C37 and that we are more competitive compared to 2017." Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Image Credit: Sauber F1 Team Motorsports Alfa Romeo Ferrari Racing Vehicles F1 FCA

Italy forces Alfa Romeo Milano name change — call it Junior now

The Alfa Romeo Milano is no more, and in its place lies the Alfa Romeo Junior. This tiny Alfa crossover – that wonÂ’t be sold in the U.S. – was only revealed just last week, but Alfa has already been forced to change the name at the request of the Italian government. WhyÂ’s Italy telling its beloved Alfa Romeo brand it canÂ’t use the “Milano” name? It comes down to where the car is being built, and the Milano/Junior will be built at AlfaÂ’s plant in Tychy, Poland. According to ItalyÂ’s Industry Minister, Adolfo Urso, “A car called Milano cannot be produced in Poland. This is against the law.” Said law aims to stop the sale of products that have Italian-sounding names but are not actually produced in Italy. "This law stipulates that you cannot give indications that mislead consumers,” Urso continued. “So a car called Milano must be produced in Italy. Otherwise, it gives a misleading indication which is not allowed under Italian law." Alfa Romeo sent out a press release today in response to the government criticism, agreeing to change the MilanoÂ’s name to Junior. That said, Alfa had plenty to say and still believes the Milano name to be a lawful one. “Despite Alfa Romeo believing that the name met all legal requirements and that there are issues much more important than the name of a new car, Alfa Romeo has decided to change it from “Milano” to “Alfa Romeo Junior” in the spirit of promoting mutual understanding,” the companyÂ’s statement reads. “The Alfa Romeo team would like to thank the public for the positive feedback, the Italian dealer network for their support, journalists for the enormous media attention given to the new car, and the government for the free publicity brought on by this debate." The name Milano was actually chosen through feedback from the public, as Alfa polled ItalyÂ’s citizens on what it believed the little SUV should be called. “Milano” was the winning name, and it makes a whole lot of sense considering AlfaÂ’s history began in Milan, Italy. Of course, “Junior” speaks to AlfaÂ’s history, as well, harkening back to 1966 with the Alfa Romeo GT 1300 Junior. Course, none of this has much of an impact for what weÂ’ll see on Alfa Romeo lots in the U.S., as the Junior wonÂ’t be sold here. ItÂ’s an entertaining turn of events, though, and if youÂ’re curious to read AlfaÂ’s response in its entirety, you can find it here.

Alfa Romeo drops its Giorgio platform as it electrifies for the future

Alfa Romeo, a storied Italian automaker with a tremendous amount of goodwill from the automotive enthusiast crowd, is about to go through yet another major transformation. According to reports, including this one from Automotive News Europe, newly appointed Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato told Italian journalists during a roundtable event that all future vehicles from the company would be electrified and built on a new platform known internally as the STLA large-vehicle architecture that will be shared across brands under the Stellantis umbrella. "We are working on the Large platform of Stellantis and we will no longer use the Giorgio,” Imparato said. “We must take advantage of the volumes to take all possible opportunities and bring an EV range to Alfa Romeo, but always with the touch of Alfa Romeo.” That means the well-regarded Giorgio platform that currently underpins Alfa Romeo's only two mainstream products, the Giulia sedan and the Stelvio crossover, will come to an inglorious end. That's a shame. The Giorgio platform didn't just cost Alfa's previous parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles millions of dollars to engineer, it also gave the company a duo of vehicles that arguably drive better than anything else in their segments. Forbes reports that the Giorgio platform won't be entirely abandoned, as it will reportedly be integrated into the rest of the Stellantis portfolio in some way. We don't know exactly what that means, but perhaps it lives on in heavily modified form as the basis of crossovers and SUVs like the upcoming Jeep Grand Cherokee, which Jeep calls a completely new platform but one we believe shares engineering with the Giorgio. We also think it will underpin the upcoming Maserati Grecale. As for the future of Alfa Romeo, the next model coming from the brand is the Tonale, which was delayed by Imparato in order to get its plug-in hybrid powertrain just right. Tonale will use a platform shared with current Jeeps. Rumors suggest an even smaller crossover called the Brennero is on the way, also using a hybrid drivetrain. Past that, we'll just have to wait and see — Imparato says new 5-year and 10-year plans are currently being finalized. In any case, we doubt there will be any significant updates to the Giulia or Stelvio as the brand moves all its resources to its electrified intentions. Related video: