1988 Alfa Romeo Spider "21,000 Mile Time Capsule, Stunning Car, No Stories!!!" on 2040-cars

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Abarth 1000 SP is a retro-styled Alfa Romeo 4C

With the whittled-down Fiat lineup in the U.S., you might've forgotten about the brand's sporty division Abarth. But the brand is still active, still selling sporty Fiats in Europe, and now it has created a one-off roadster to celebrate its racing history. It's the Abarth 1000 SP, and it's styled and named after a 1966 race car that won its class at the 500-kilometer Nurburgring race that year. As other news outlets have noted, it's pretty obvious the Abarth 1000 SP is a restyled Alfa Romeo 4C (also disappearing from both the U.S. and overseas markets), even if Abarth doesn't say so specifically. That's not a bad, thing, though, being both an impressive sports car and one bearing the kind of curves that are perfect for the lines of the original car. The 1966 car's low pointy nose, curvy fenders and myriad vents and scoops fit great, and we also dig the exposed roll bar and cut-down rear cowls. The rear bumper maybe looks a little awkward, but overall, we think it's a well-executed car. Mechanically, it seems unchanged from the 4C. It has the same 1,742-cc turbocharged four-cylinder making 240 horsepower and sitting in the same carbon fiber and aluminum chassis. As such, it should probably be called the Abarth 1740 SP or 1700 SP rather than 1000, since the original was named after the displacement of the modified Fiat 600 engine it used. The car is just a one-off, so you won't be able to purchase one, but you might be able to see it at a European car show or museum someday. Related Video:

Listen to the 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio's howling Ferrari V6

There's a lot that makes the 2019 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio special, from its name to its handling. But arguably its biggest claim to fame is the twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 under the hood that was derived from a Ferrari engine. It makes 505 horsepower and 443 pound-feet of torque, and all that grunt goes through an eight-speed automatic transmission on its way to the rear wheels. Being a Ferrari-related engine, it has a suitably impressive exhaust note. Pop it into "Dynamic" mode, and the exhaust opens up. It's plenty loud with higher revs, but quiets down on the highway, avoiding much drone. The note is unique, with a deeper tone than you might expect from the Prancing Horse brand. It also has rippling crackles that occur more naturally than some of its consistently popping competitors from Germany. Take a listen for yourself with the video above.

Stellantis earnings rise along with EV sales

AMSTERDAM — Automaker Stellantis on Wednesday reported its earnings grew in 2022 from a year earlier and said its push into electric vehicles led to a jump in sales even as it faces growing competition from an industrywide shift to more climate-friendly offerings. Stellantis, formed in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler and FranceÂ’s PSA Peugeot, said net revenue of 179.6 billion euros ($191 billion) was up 18% from 2021, citing strong pricing and its mix of vehicles. It reported net profit of 16.8 billion euros, up 26% from 2021. Stellantis plans to convert all of its European sales and half of its U.S. sales to battery-electric vehicles by 2030. It said the strategy led to a 41% increase in battery EV sales in 2022, to 288,000 vehicles, compared with the year earlier. The company has “demonstrated the effectiveness of our electrification strategy in Europe,” CEO Carlos Tavares said in a statement. “We now have the technology, the products, the raw materials and the full battery ecosystem to lead that same transformative journey in North America, starting with our first fully electric Ram vehicles from 2023 and Jeep from 2024.” The automaker is competing in an increasingly crowded field for a share of the electric vehicle market. Companies are scrambling to roll out environmentally friendly models as they look to hit goals of cutting climate-changing emissions, driven by government pressure. The transformation has gotten a boost from a U.S. law that is rolling out big subsidies for clean technology like EVs but has European governments calling out the harm that they say the funding poses to homegrown industry across the Atlantic. Stellantis' Jeep brand will start selling two fully electric SUVs in North America and another one in Europe over the next two years. It says its Ram brand will roll out an electric pickup truck this year, joining a rush of EV competitors looking to claim a piece of the full-size truck market. The company plans to bring 25 battery-electric models to the U.S. by 2030. As part of that push, it has said it would build two EV battery factories in North America. A $2.5 billion joint venture with Samsung will bring one of those facilities to Indiana, which is expected to employ up to 1,400 workers. The other factory will be in Windsor, Ontario, a collaboration with South KoreaÂ’s LG Energy Solution that aims to create about 2,500 jobs. The EV push comes amid a slowdown in U.S.