Alfa Romeo Stelvio – Driven To Write

Maserati Grecale – The Passion of St. Giorgio

Stellantis, you are spoiling us!

In less than a couple of months we have witnessed the arrival of two new SUVs from the auto conglomerate’s revered Italian high-performance marques. We have, however, previously expressed reservations about the distinctly mass-market componentry underpinning the Alfa Romeo Tonale. As with the Alfa, this month’s debutant, the Maserati Grecale, represents a move downmarket for the marque, but the ingredients are rather more original and appetising this time around.

At its world premiere in the Alfa Romeo Museum, the Tonale featured two F1 racing drivers and brand CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato as presenter and host. In marked contrast, the Grecale had a duo of Italian actors in a film studio; Matilda de Angelis and Alessandro Borghi, with Maserati Design VP Klaus Busse^[1] cast in the straight man role, an unwitting butt of jokes, in the manner of a two-metre tall Ernie Wise. It’s either rather charming or just excruciating, like an overplayed piece of drama school coursework: are these actors really so beguiled by this overtly boastful, but ultimately rather shallow machine? Continue reading “Maserati Grecale – The Passion of St. Giorgio”

Stelvio!

What use has DTW’s South Yorkshire correspondent, Andrew Miles for hairpins?

Once a border between Italy and the Austro-Hungarian empire, nowadays oft-frequented by those choosing to wear multicoloured Lycra® whilst pedalling a two wheeled carbon fibre device. Also, for powered vehicles seeking hairpin heaven, the Passo dello Stelvio has, for practically two centuries, delivered.

Carlo Danegoni’s original pass contains over seventy hairpin bends, but suffers extended closure due to winter snows. In the Great War, fierce battles were pitched here in the Alps at practically 1900 metres above sea level. And of course it has now lent its name to that most bulbous of the Biscione’s range – the Stelvio SUV. It’s a decent moniker; trips off the tongue a little better than the Stilsferjoch for language-averse Brits, though how many Continue reading “Stelvio!”

Culture Club

Alfa Romeo stared success in the face with 2003’s Kamal crossover concept, but opted to pursue MINI instead. Was this Fiat Auto’s worst product planning decision ever?

2003 Alfa Romeo Kamal. Image credit: carttraction

Product will only get you so far in the auto business, but it certainly does help. It helps a great deal more when it is the right product, preferably at an opportune time. Successful product planning is a subtle art and a rock many a car company have stumbled messily upon, for exact science it is not.

In the immediate post-Millennium period, Alfa Romeo was in serious financial trouble, losing millions of Euros a day, despite having Continue reading “Culture Club”

The Company You Keep

Alfa Romeo’s choice of ‘brand ambassador’ is inspired – and telling, maybe in more ways than intended.

The new face of Alfa Romeo, in front of a non-Alfa Romeo, photo (c) Kinja

Unlike so many brand spokesmen, Giovanni Giorgio (or Hansjörg, as his mother referred to him) Moroder isn’t someone who caught the public eye for all the wrong reasons. He never starred in his own reality TV show or featured in any programme of this nature as a guest, nor did he enjoy a public, tabloid-filling affair of the romantic or other variety. Giorgio Moroder is merely a pop music legend. Which makes his appointment as ‘brand ambassador‘ for Alfa Romeo’s still relatively new Stelvio SUV appear rather canny.

Few people can lay claim to have not merely been part of popular culture, but to Continue reading “The Company You Keep”

What a Year It Has Been!! Part 2

As promised here is a very tedious run-down of the year’s news.

2017 Alfa Romeo Stelvio QF: Alfa Romeo UK

Launches, launches, launches. Alfa Stelvio. Range Rover coupe. Porsche 911 GT3. Renaultsport Megane RS. Porsche 911 GT2RS. Volvo XC40. Kia Stinger. Bugatti Chiron. Rolls-Royce Phantom. Aston Martin V8. Ford GT. Koenigsegg Regera. Audi A8. Bentley Continental GT. BMW X3. Lamborghini Urus. That’s the list according to one of the car magazines. DTW wrote about the Bentley and the Lamborghini and we didn’t really like them. We also didn’t much like the Stelvio, describing it as a tall Giulia, if memory serves.

If falls to me to

Continue reading “What a Year It Has Been!! Part 2”

What A Year It Has Been (Part 1)

So, there fades and fizzles 2017, nearly gone. Au revoir and good riddance. What can I remember without cheating by using Google Memories*?

Or without cheating and looking at a back issue of a car magazine? Unaided I can hesitantly say about the only stand-outs are something to do with a Toyota and an Alfa Romeo. AR launched the Stelvio this year** and many suppose it to be quite good. I haven’t seen one yet so I can’t say. I haven’t seen many Giulias either for that matter and it was launched, oh, what, two years ago.

Jaguar released images of the E-Pace and, again, one of those has not appeared anywhere near my district. Or maybe they aren’t on sale yet. Is that news? Or is it a real car? I am not sure***.

I can see as I struggle to Continue reading “What A Year It Has Been (Part 1)”