I would much rather see a 169 based on a Maserati platform. Thank god you can't take anything seriously from Fiat these days...
Fiat chief: Alfa Romeo could benefit from Tata-Jaguar acquisition
Filed under: Jaguar, Land Rover, Earnings/Financials, Alfa Romeo, FIAT
The upcoming Alfa Romeo 169 flagship sedan is slated to be based on a modified platform from sister-company Maserati, but a potential tie-in with Jaguar could provide an interesting alternative.
A report from British magazine Autocar recalls that Alfa's parent company Fiat initially expressed interest in acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford, but decided to pass in favor of focusing on the rejuvenation of its own divisions instead. However, Indian automaker Tata, which is tipped to have placed the winning bid for the English marques, shares close relations with the Fiat Group. The Italian auto giant advised Tata on its acquisition bid, and the partnership could stand to benefit the Alfa Romeo division.
Borrowing a platform and powertrain from Jaguar could, according to Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne, lead to a "stunning" rear-drive Alfa 169, while optimizing the cost to benefit ratio for the Italian automaker. As Autocar points out, Land Rover's existing American dealership could also prove an irresistible asset for Alfa Romeo's imminent return to the US market.
[Source: Autocar]
More...
The upcoming Alfa Romeo 169 flagship sedan is slated to be based on a modified platform from sister-company Maserati, but a potential tie-in with Jaguar could provide an interesting alternative.
A report from British magazine Autocar recalls that Alfa's parent company Fiat initially expressed interest in acquiring Jaguar and Land Rover from Ford, but decided to pass in favor of focusing on the rejuvenation of its own divisions instead. However, Indian automaker Tata, which is tipped to have placed the winning bid for the English marques, shares close relations with the Fiat Group. The Italian auto giant advised Tata on its acquisition bid, and the partnership could stand to benefit the Alfa Romeo division.
Borrowing a platform and powertrain from Jaguar could, according to Fiat chief Sergio Marchionne, lead to a "stunning" rear-drive Alfa 169, while optimizing the cost to benefit ratio for the Italian automaker. As Autocar points out, Land Rover's existing American dealership could also prove an irresistible asset for Alfa Romeo's imminent return to the US market.
[Source: Autocar]
More...
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Rear drive is good.
Quiet! RussianM3_dud (sic) might hear!!
Seriously though, I think if they based the 169 off the Maserati platform it'd be a bit too expensive for the market they're aiming for...the 169 should be "5 Series" range right? Don't know though, maybe it'd work.$$. Why spend money to develop your own, when you can save cash and time by partnering with someone who's developed one already?
I'm still waiting for jimcra to chime in....I think he predicted this strategic partnership about a year ago. Amazing.
#5. They would be as unreliable as Jaguars.You forgot #4: They would be available to rent.
Best regards,
...oh wait...they already are!!! I guess this is one aspect that didn't/wouldn't change.
I've heard that the current and immediately previous generations were both bloody good!
In any case, FIAT already converted most of the modern Alfas to share many design attributes with a car like the Mondeo. Subjective comparisons aside, the 156 and Mondeo are really not world's apart. So I fail to see how the above quote should strike fear into our hearts. If Ford had acquired Alfa, there's at least a chance that we'd have had access to them for the past decade and that they wouldn't have migrated almost their entire lineup to FWD. Heck, with Ford's financial trouble we could probably have gotten them with 0% financing and "below invoice"!GianniB said:
Enrique, Thanks for supplying the quote! I'm still wonder how he managed that prediction.
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