Alfa boss admits Giulia delayed by a few weeks

ALFA ROMEO BOSS Fabrizio Curci has admitted that engineering issues have delayed the launch of the Giulia “by just a few weeks”. He denied reports that the all-new car failed to pass European front, side and rear crash tests, causing a six-month delay.

“Not one single screw is a carryover,” he said. “This car is all new, and it is true that we wanted to launch this car with the right quality from the start, but that caused a delay of maybe some weeks, certainly not months. There is no more to say than that. The car is ready, and it meets every requirement that has been set for it by the regulators and by us.”

set for it by the regulators and by us.” In Geneva, Alfa revealed the standard Giulia models. These will be powered by a 197bhp turbocharged 2.0-litre petrol or a choice of two 2.2-litre diesels, with 178bhp and 148bhp.

All models will be rear-wheel drive as standard, but all-wheel drive will be available on some models. The Giulia will be launched in the UK this winter, with pricing expected to start at £26,000.

Buyers queue up for Bugatti Chiron

A TOTAL OF 180 Bugatti Chiron customers have already placed deposits of €200,000 (£155,000) prior to being given the spec of the car or driving it in any form. In total, 500 Chirons will be built if there is enough demand, at a rate of around one a week. The car should be on sale in various forms until 2024.

Bugatti CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer revealed that existing Bugatti customers will get first refusal on the car as a reward for loyalty to the brand and because their ownership indicates they won’t sell the car on to make money. “Interest has been exceptional,” said Dürheimer. “We have set out a clear policy of communicating with existing customers first, and the reaction has been amazing. One-third of the allocation has a deposit on before we have even told them the remarkable performance figures or even let them behind the wheel.

“The biggest order so far is for six cars, but we expect some busy days after the unveiling. We will see what the demand is, but it is a problem if we sell out too quickly — the quality of this car demands each one takes a week to be built. Our peak output will be 65 cars a week. Patience is required.

“We expect to earn new customers, too,” he added. “We have raised production over the Veyron by just over 10%, and, of course, Bugatti is earning new fans all the time.” The first customer will receive their Chiron, priced at €2.4 million (£1.9m), this autumn.

DB11 devines Aston

The new Aston Martin DB11 kicks off a product assault which will result in new versions of the Vantage and Vanquish being built on the same aluminium architecture

The DB11 made its debut in Geneva, and Aston has revealed that more than 1400 orders had been placed for the new £154,900 V12-powered 2+2 GT as of Thursday 3 March. Around 500 came from VIP customer preview events, the same again from people who saw leaked images online before the show and around 400 from Geneva itself.

Following the DB11 will be a new Vantage sports car, which is due late next year and should usher in Mercedes V8 engines to the Aston line-up. A new Vanquish will follow the Vantage, although whether it will be a performance GT or a full-blown supercar is still being decided.

Aston boss Andy Palmer also confirmed that the DBX, which will be built in Wales, would be based on an Aston-developed aluminium architecture and not from one sourced from another car maker. This model will be launched at the end of the decade.

Around that time Aston will also launch a new luxury Lagonda saloon, giving the firm three model lines. Palmer said the DB11 was a significant car, because DB Astons define the brand. As such, it was important to usher in new perceptions about Aston. “We need perceptions to go away

from those of old technology, old platforms, and the question of whether we can survive as an independent manufacturer,” he told Autocar. “Well, we’ve developed this as an independent company. There are no excuses in the technology. We’re covered. We can be very special in the things we want to be, in design, the aluminium body, the aero and ride and handling.”

Italdesign rethinks business strategy

DESIGN HOUSE ITALDESIGN is forging a new business strategy under Audi’s control following the departure last summer of its founder, 77-year-old Giorgetto Giugiaro.

The company is being reorganised around six “core competencies”, new boss Jörg Astalosch told Autocar. One of them is virtual design, in which a prototype or concept car goes from computer design to physical model without the usual clay model stage. The GT Zero electric supercar concept at Geneva was developed this way.

About 60% of Italdesign’s business is in engineering, with 25% building prototypes and 15% on styling work. Italdesign enjoyed a record year last year, with a turnover of €197 million (£153m), the bulk of the work being for VW Group companies. But Astalosch said the new strategy envisages more GT Zero concept was the first product of Italdesign’s new virtual design policy outside work.

Abarth breathes on Fiat 124 Spider

THE NEW ABARTH 124 Spider has been unveiled at the Geneva show and will go on sale in Europe in September, priced from €40,000 (around £31,000).

The performance-focused version of the Fiat 124 Spider has been developed with the Abarth Racing Team and has more aggressive styling, a matt black bonnet, a limited-slip differential and a ‘Record Monza’ exhaust system fitted as standard.

It’s powered by a tweaked version of parent brand Fiat’s four-cylinder 1.4-litre Multiair II engine, which produces 170bhp and 184b ft of torque. It’s paired to either a six-speed shortthrow manual gearbox or a six-speed automatic with paddle shifters

Abarth claims a 0-62mph time of 6.8sec and a top speed of 143mph. The two-seat, rear-wheel-drive Abarth 124 Spider weighs 1060kg and has 50/50 weight distribution, according to the manufacturer, which also says the car’s power-toweight ratio of 160bhp per tonne is unsurpassed in this class.

The suspension set-up and damping have been tweaked from the standard Fiat 124, with the Abarth version getting double-wishbone front suspension and a five-link set-up for the rear, a system the Italian manufacturer says has been tuned to offer greater braking and cornering stability. It also has aluminium front brake calipers

The car will be a rival to the Mazda MX-5, on which it is based. The MX-5, with a list price of £24,295 in its topspec 2.0-litre guise, undercuts the 124 Spider by some way. However, the quoted performance figures for the Abarth beat those of the 158bhp MX-5, which has a 0-62mph time of 7.3sec and a top speed of 133mph.

As well as the road-going roadster, Abarth unveiled a prototype rally version of the 124 Spider at Geneva. It puts out 300bhp at 6500rpm and is set to make its rally debut next year

DS boss refuses to rule out all-electric supercar

THE DS E-TENSE supercar could make production as a halo car for the brand, although not for the foreseeable future, according to Carlos Tavares, boss of PSA Peugeot-Citroën, which owns DS.

The carbonfibre-bodied concept car was revealed in Geneva and its makers stressed that it had been made to production standards, including the allelectric drivetrain. The car also complies with all current crash test standards.

Asked if the concept would reach production, Tavares said: “In the next two years? No. It takes time to build a brand that has the pricing power to sell a big-ticket item like this. But I have learned in this business to never say never. I accept that we will need a halo car for the DS brand, but whether it will be this car, you must wait and see.”

The E-Tense is said to be capable of a 4.5sec 0-62mph time, a 155mph top speed and a 220-mile range, all claims that will be tested in independent drives after the show.

DS is expected to begin launching an all-new six-model line-up in mid-2018, with a large saloon and SUV tipped as the flagship models. Tavares has told DS bosses to build brand awareness through initiatives such as Formula E racing and to avoid heavy discounting.

“If we sell at discounts, we will spoil the long-term story of being the only French premium brand,” he said. “We must build profitability, not scale.”

Q2 previews edgier Audis Small SUV aims to woo a younger generation of buyers to the Audi brand with its fresh new design

Audi’s new Q2 was unveiled in Geneva and will go on sale this summer from around £21,000. It also reveals a new front-end look for Audi’s Q models.

Audi says the Q2 is aimed at young, urban drivers and hopes it will draw new customers. “Buyers in this segment have edgier desires,” said Matthias Link, the Q2’s exterior designer. “They have different aspirations from their parents, and we’ve tried to reflect that.”

The Q2’s front has a new single-frame grille with polygon details — a feature that will be adapted for all future Q cars — and headlights that are slightly more squared off than those of recent Audis. There’s also an R8-style blade on the C-pillar that can be had in different colours and changed by customers. The tail-lights also show a new design.

Audi claims the crossover’s roofline enables more headroom than in an A3, and clever packaging means the boot swallows 405 litres of luggage with the rear seats up and 1050 litres when down

The Q2 comes as a five-door, fiveseater, with front-wheel drive the default set-up. At launch, there will be three petrols and three diesels all between 1.0 and 2.0 litres and with outputs ranging from 114bhp to 187bhp. The most efficient diesel should do around 70mpg. A six-speed manual gearbox is standard, but an S tronic dual-clutch automatic ’box will be optional on some models.

Buyers will also be able to opt for quattro four-wheel drive, which comes as standard with the range-topping 2.0-litre engines. Audi says the Q2 can venture off road. When the ESC is set to its off-road mode, the drivetrain adjusts to work in slippery conditions. Inside, Audi’s optional virtual cockpit and head-up display will allow drivers to customise their displays.