Imagine your dream car. What might it include? Lightweight carbon-fiber construction, high-tech engine behind the seats, legendary Italian badge on the nose…. The thing is, that usually means a big fat price tag that runs well into the six figures, if not seven. But while this latest Italian sports car is set to include all those ingredients, its price point is set decidedly lower.

We’re talking about the Alfa Romeo 4C, the nimble-looking little number that debuted in delicious matte red at the Geneva show last year, and in liquid-metal finish in Frankfurt just a few months ago. Rumors have been circulating of its imminent production ever since its debut, but now the blokes over at Top Gear say that have the final details on good authority.

According to the report, Fiat has crunched the numbers and figured out how it can produce the 4C while neither breaking the bank nor spoiling the formula. And so the supercar is set to begin testing in the new year and hit the market in the next. And the price? £45,000, according to TG, which equates to about K at today’s exchange rates. To put that into perspective, consider that is the same starting price in the British market as the Porsche Cayman S – a model which starts here at K.

The Cayman is an ambitious target, but the 4C promises to be both smaller and lighter. A new direct-injection turbo four will drive 230 horsepower to the rear wheels via a dual-clutch gearbox for a 4.5-second sprint to sixty, but is tipped to yield more powerful versions with as much as 300hp on tap and even a roadster version later on.

That last bit promises to be easier to pull off thanks to the carbon-fiber tub – engineered by Dallara – to which aluminum sub-frames will be attached front and rear. The Italian chassis constructor is best known for its racing cars, but also developed the KTM X-Bow, which could in and of itself give us the best idea of what to expect if and when the 4C assumes the place originally reserved for the 8C Competizione in finally heralding Alfa’s return to the North American market.

Alfa Romeo 4C speeds into production with £45,000 price tag originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 16 Dec 2011 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Josh Clason (he of the Depth of Speed series) is teaming up with eGarage. Two great flavors that will certainly taste great together. Clason and eGarage plan to bring us plenty of visual automotive delight, and the duo have just realized a teaser clip of what’s in store.

Verbally, the pair are mum on what’s coming up. The teaser video, however, speaks volumes. We’ve seen the JDM Legends machines before, but the rest of the video takes on everything from rat rods and lead sleds to modern high-horsepower Bentley coupes. Click past the jump to watch the video.

One warning for the easily offended; there is a brief swear shown on screen. Don’t laugh… some have rather sensitive work environments, and we don’t want anyone getting in trouble.

Continue reading Depth of Speed’s Josh Clason teaming up with eGarage

Depth of Speed’s Josh Clason teaming up with eGarage originally appeared on Autoblog 5.0 on Fri, 05 Aug 2011 16:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Classic cars change hands all the time. What brings them to the spotlight is usually one of several factors. It might have a track record distinguished by race wins. It might be in particularly good shape. It might have had a starring role in a major motion picture. It might be a particular rarity from a small production run, or maybe it served to showcase the manufacturer’s offerings at a major auto show. Having all these factors come together on one specific automobile is a rarity, but that’s what we’re looking at with this stunning 1955 Ferrari 750 Monza Spider.

One of only 35 built, Ferrari displayed this Spider at the 1955 Brussels Motor Show, after which it was brought to America by famed importer Luigi Chinetti who sold it to his rival Porsche importer John von Neumann in Los Angeles. Neumann set the Monza on an aggressive race program up and down the West Coast that saw it win twice and score another nine podiums at various sportscar racing events, bringing on board, among others, no less a talent than Phil Hill to man the wheel.

Most notably, the car was driven by Fred Astair in a fictionalized post-apocalyptic grand prix in the movie On The Beach. Since then, chassis 0492M has been part of several prestigious collections, but after a comprehensive two-year restoration is now heading to the auction block at Pebble Beach, where RM Auctions will be putting it up for grabs with prices reportedly expected to top million. With a 260-horsepower 3.0-liter DOHC four similar to that found in the 500 TRC that RM sold for million at Villa d’Este, this Monza Spider is described by one noted Ferrari expert as the best she’s ever seen.

Follow the jump for more details in the auction listing and scope out the spectacular high-resolution images in the gallery for a closer look.

Continue reading ’55 Ferrari 750 Monza speeds from show stand to race track to silver screen to auction block

’55 Ferrari 750 Monza speeds from show stand to race track to silver screen to auction block originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 30 Jun 2011 19:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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