Official: New Alfa Romeo Spider to be Based on the Next Mazda MX-5!

In a surprise announcement that is bound to excite Alfa Romeo fans, the Fiat Group and Mazda revealed today that they have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development and production of a new roadster model for the Mazda and Alfa Romeo brands based on the rear-wheel drive architecture of the next MX-5.

"The study calls for both Fiat and Mazda to develop two differentiated, distinctly styled, iconic and brand-specific light weight, roadsters featuring rear-wheel drive," the two automakers said in a joint statement, adding that each car will be powered "by specific proprietary engines unique to each brand".

According to the plan, the next Mazda MX-5 and Alfa Romeo's successor to the Spider will be manufactured at Mazda’s Hiroshima plant in Japan, with production for the Italian model to begin in 2015.

With the exception of the limited production 8C Competizione Spider (2008-2010) and the RZ (1992-1994), the last time Alfa Romeo had a roadster with a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout was the classic Spider built from 1966 to 1993. This particular model was featured in the 1967 movie The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman.

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Official: New Alfa Romeo Spider to be Based on the Next Mazda MX-5!

In a surprise announcement that is bound to excite Alfa Romeo fans, the Fiat Group and Mazda revealed today that they have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the development and production of a new roadster model for the Mazda and Alfa Romeo brands based on the rear-wheel drive architecture of the next MX-5.

"The study calls for both Fiat and Mazda to develop two differentiated, distinctly styled, iconic and brand-specific light weight, roadsters featuring rear-wheel drive," the two automakers said in a joint statement, adding that each car will be powered "by specific proprietary engines unique to each brand".

According to the plan, the next Mazda MX-5 and Alfa Romeo's successor to the Spider will be manufactured at Mazda’s Hiroshima plant in Japan, with production for the Italian model to begin in 2015.

With the exception of the limited production 8C Competizione Spider (2008-2010) and the RZ (1992-1994), the last time Alfa Romeo had a roadster with a front-engine, rear-wheel drive layout was the classic Spider built from 1966 to 1993. This particular model was featured in the 1967 movie The Graduate with Dustin Hoffman.

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Marchionne Gives North America Priority Over Europe for Alfa Romeo's Future Plans

Fiat-Chrysler CEO, Sergio Marchionne, announced that he will appoint a boss for the Alfa Romeo brand exclusively for the North American market. This is because the Italian carmaker’s return to the US after a 17-year absence will be his top priority, relegating Europe, in which Alfa’s sales are disappointing, to second place.

“We are going to target the US market first and work our way back to Europe”, Marchionne said in an interview with Autonews Europe. “We have run market tests on the desirability of the Alfa brand in the US and, not withstanding our long absence from the market it’s still one of the best brands in the world. I think we need to go back and grab it.”

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Alfa Romeo Lays Out Product Plans Until 2014, Readying a New RWD Saloon with a V6 Engine

Out of all the mainstream brands included in the Fiat Group and Chrysler LLC portfolio, Alfa Romeo has the most potential to achieve a global reach and bring in some much needed cash and sales. The Italian company's boss Sergio Marchionne is well aware of this and that's one of the reasons he doesn't want to sell Alfa Romeo to Volkswagen, despite Ferdinand Piechs' persistent efforts.

However, one of the most pressing problems with Alfa Romeo is the constant delays, be that for the successors to models like the 159 series or the company's long-awaited return to the U.S. market.

Suffice it to say, there's no way of being sure that the Fiat Group has managed to sort out the time schedule-related problems when it comes to Alfa Romeo. Nevertheless, at a recent event for investors, the Fiat Group introduced an updated plan for the Milanese brand, which it hopes will revitalize Alfa Romeo through the presentation of new models.

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U.S. Fiat Dealers Disappointed by New Decision to Delay Alfa Romeo's Return

American fans of the Alfa Romeo brand are not the only ones to be upset by the Fiat-Chrysler alliance's most recent decision to delay the scheduled return of the Italian automaker to the States. So are the company’s newly launched Fiat dealerships that were expecting the brand to launch in late 2012.

While Fiat and Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne never put it in ink, the company had told its 130 Fiat dealers in the USA that they would likely get Alfa Romeo cars as part of their franchise.

The Fiat-Chrysler alliance appointed a total of 130 Fiat dealers across the States, most of which already had a Chrysler store. The company gave dealers the permission to incorporate temporary showrooms in their existing Chrysler facilities, but required them to build separate and permanent stores by the end of 2012.

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Popular Mechanics Compiles List of 1980s and 1990s Dreams Cars Priced under $6,000

Popular Mechanics has put together a list of 1980s and 1990s cars, which it claims, back then could be considered by many as "dream cars", but today can be found on eBay for under US $6,000. We can't say we fully agree with the term "dream cars" for some of PM's choices as they're not exactly the hottest vehicles ever made, but, hey, they represent some weird decades.

Just be sure that you can mend a thing or two under the hood, otherwise you should be wary or better yet, increase your budget. Hit the jump to read about the cars that made it into Popular Mechanic's list and why not, tell us what your choices would be from the era with a budget up to $6,000.

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Alfa Romeo 6C 3200 Cento Study with 156 GTA Heart

[Updated with an official statement] Just landed in our mailbox is this teaser sketch of the Alfa Romeo 6C 3200 Cento spider created by a Dutch/Italian design company called "1754 Fuori dell' ordinario" to celebrate the automaker's one hundred year anniversary.

Details remain sketchy for now but the design firm said that the styling was inspired from Alfa's historic racers and production roadster models, while the 156 GTA's 250HP 3.2-liter V6 would be the power of choice of the spider were to be produced. We've sent an email to the company for more information, so we'll update the story as soon as we hear back from them.

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Alfa UK Adds New Turbo Engines and Special Version to Brera and Spider Range

Following the unveiling of the new 200HP 1750 TBi petrol and 170HP 2.0 JTDM diesel powerplants in the 159 range late last year, Alfa Romeo UK is now adding the two engines to the Brera coupé and Spider convertible range.

In addition to the new powerplants, the company is also introducing to the UK market the new limited edition trim level "Italia Independent" on both derivatives of the sports car.

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Alfa Romeo's 2010-2014 Product Plans Include New Giulia and Spider, but no Succesor for Brera. U.S. Sales Start in 2012

Here we go again; the Fiat Group today announced plans to revive Alfa Romeo with a raft of new models that will also play a key role in the relaunch of the brand in the U.S. market (how many times have we heard that before?) by 2013.

Fiat Group CEO Sergio Marchionne said that Alfa Romeo will launch seven new models from 2010 to 2014 starting with the new Giulietta that will receive an extensive facelift in 2014.

The next newcomer from Alfa will be a replacement for its BMW 3-Series rivaling 159 that will be named Giulia.

Set to arrive in 2012, the Giulia will be based on an existing Fiat platform (most likely, a wider and longer version of the Guilietta's new platform). It will be offered in four-door sedan and station wagon variants and according to the plan, it will mark the return of the Alfa Romeo brand in the States.

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Geneva's Pininfarina Alfa Romeo 2uettottanta: Funny Name, Seriously Cool Spider Replacement

Pininfarina's Alfa Romeo spider has debuted in Geneva, and it now has a name: 2uettottanta. Built to commemorate Alfa Romeo's centenary and Pininfarina's own 80th birthday, the 2uettottanta spider is an eye-popping look at the gorgeousness that could be a possible roadster from Alfa Romeo to replace the current Spider.

The 2uettottanta is built for "those looking for a mixture of vanity, entertainment, and the pleasure of life in the open air", and Pininfarina seems to think a production 2uettottanta-based Duetto would go well with a side of 1,750cc turbocharged 4-cylinder ("positioned longitudinally, an obvious reference to the '1750 Veloce' of 1968"). I'm inclined to agree.

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Pininfarina Pops out a New Sketch of its Celebratory Alfa Romeo Spider

Pininfarina has just released a second sketch of its take on a possible new Alfa Romeo Spider. Much like Bertone's Pandion, Pininfarina's yet-unnamed concept has been commissioned in order to celebrate Alfa Romeo's hundredth birthday (and Pininfarina's own 80th birthday).

Alfa reps have said that both concepts are exactly that -- concepts; as in, not gonna be built. However, rumors (and hopes) have been circling of a possible Duetto revival, and from the looks of things Pininfarina is doing its damnedest to get its take on the idea at the very least fan-approved.

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