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News

A Century of Alfa Romeo Passion on Display

If you want to understand why Alfa Romeo is more than just another badge, walk into Hall 7.2 at Retromobile and follow the red. The Italian marque’s stand at the 50th anniversary edition of the Paris classic-car show isn’t just a display—it’s a rolling autobiography, told in aluminum, leather, and gasoline fumes.

This year’s Retromobile is the biggest yet, but Alfa Romeo has built something closer to a shrine. Called “Roads of Emotion,” the exhibit links some of the company’s most evocative machines—from a 1950s racing prototype to a brand-new Tonale crossover—into one continuous narrative: the joy of driving, no matter the decade.

For a brand that built its reputation on steering feel and mechanical poetry, it’s a message that still rings loudly.

From Movie Star to Motorsport Royalty

At the center of the display sits the 1600 Spider “Duetto” (1966), the curvaceous roadster that made Alfa Romeo a pop-culture icon long before influencers existed. Designed by Pininfarina as a clean break from the Giulietta Spider, the Duetto’s smooth, boat-tailed shape looked like nothing else on the road when it arrived. Its reputation was sealed when a young Dustin Hoffman drove one through California in The Graduate, with “Mrs. Robinson” playing in the background. Few cars have ever been so effortlessly cool.

Alfa Romeo 1600 Spider “Duetto”

Sixty years later, the Duetto still radiates the same romantic appeal: small, light, and built around a rev-happy four-cylinder that turns driving into an event rather than a commute.

Then there’s the opposite end of Alfa’s personality spectrum: the 33/2 Periscopica (1967). This was the opening chapter in Alfa Romeo’s most successful sports-racing dynasty, a car that helped launch a decade of victories at Le Mans, the Targa Florio, and beyond. The Periscopica gets its nickname from the giant roof-mounted air intake that feeds its 2.0-liter V-8, and it looks every bit as wild as it sounds. It debuted by winning its very first hill climb, which is about as Alfa Romeo as it gets.

Alfa Romeo 33/2 Periscopica

If that car represents Alfa’s racing glory, the 750 Competizione (1955) shows its experimental side. Built as a potential 1500-cc sports racer, it used a heavily modified Giulietta engine and an Abarth-built chassis wrapped in Boano bodywork. Only two were ever made. It’s weird, rare, and deeply fascinating—the kind of machine that could only come from a company willing to take big technical risks in the name of speed.

Old Souls, New Skin

Next to all this history sits something unexpected: the new Alfa Romeo Tonale. In most classic-car halls, a modern SUV would feel out of place. Here, it feels deliberate.

The Tonale, especially in its Sport Speciale trim with Rosso Brera paint and 20-inch wheels, is Alfa Romeo’s attempt to translate its DNA into a form today’s buyers actually want. It has Brembo brakes, one of the quickest steering racks in the segment, and a chassis tuned to feel alive instead of numb. Whether powered by a diesel, a mild hybrid, or a 270-horsepower plug-in hybrid with all-wheel drive, it’s meant to drive like an Alfa, not just look like one.

And that’s the point of the whole exhibit: Alfa Romeo isn’t pretending its past was better. It’s saying its future still matters.

Preserving the Soul

Behind the scenes, Alfa Romeo Classiche and Stellantis Heritage are doing the hard work of keeping that soul intact. Their programs certify, restore, and authenticate vintage Alfas, from issuing original build sheets to performing full factory-level restorations. Through the Reloaded by Creators initiative, Alfa even sells factory-restored collector cars, including a limited run of 4C coupes honoring DTM champion Nicola Larini.

It’s a reminder that heritage, when done right, isn’t nostalgia—it’s stewardship.

What makes Alfa Romeo’s Retromobile stand special isn’t just the cars. It’s how clearly they connect. From the Duetto’s wind-in-your-hair freedom, to the 33/2’s racing ferocity, to the Tonale’s modern tech-infused sportiness, everything points back to the same idea: driving should stir something inside you.

In an era when many cars feel like appliances, Alfa Romeo is still betting on emotion. At Retromobile 2026, surrounded by some of the greatest machines it has ever built, that bet feels like a sure thing.

Source: Alfa Romeo

News

Italy’s Twin Supercar Soul Takes Over Paris

At Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, where Rétromobile celebrates its 50th birthday in a haze of carburetors and nostalgia, a very different kind of history is being written. Ultimate Supercar Garage—the show-within-a-show dedicated to modern excess—has handed the spotlight to something new, something unapologetically Italian, and something wildly ambitious.

It’s called BOTTEGAFUORISERIE, and it’s what happens when Alfa Romeo and Maserati decide that regular supercars simply aren’t enough anymore.

For the first time ever, the two legendary brands are sharing a motor-show stage, and they didn’t come quietly. Four machines—each rarer and more intense than the last—stand under the same roof:
Alfa Romeo’s New 33 Stradale and Giulia Quadrifoglio Luna Rossa, alongside Maserati’s MCXtrema and GT2 Stradale. This isn’t a lineup. It’s a statement.

Bottega, Not Factory

The name BOTTEGAFUORISERIE isn’t marketing fluff. “Bottega” means workshop, and the whole idea is to treat each car less like a product and more like a commissioned piece of mechanical art. Think Savile Row tailoring, but with carbon fiber, V6s, and downforce instead of wool.

This philosophy is already paying off. Maserati says 80 percent of GT2 Stradale buyers are choosing Fuoriserie customization, proving that in the modern supercar world, individuality is the ultimate luxury.

And nowhere is that more obvious than in Paris.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio Luna Rossa: The Sailboat Slayer

Let’s start with the most exclusive four-door you’ll probably never see: the Giulia Quadrifoglio Luna Rossa. Just ten examples exist, and every single one is already spoken for.

Born from Alfa Romeo’s partnership with the Luna Rossa America’s Cup team, this is the most aerodynamically aggressive Giulia ever built. A carbon-fiber aero kit—front canards, underbody vanes, side skirts, and a towering rear wing—creates five times more downforce than a normal Quadrifoglio. At 300 km/h, it presses itself into the pavement with 140 kg of aerodynamic grip.

That’s not a styling package. That’s physics.

Inside, the racing-boat theme continues, with Sparco seats inspired by the team’s flotation gear and dashboard trim made from actual Luna Rossa sail material. It’s weird, wonderful, and very Italian.

Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale: A Legend, Reborn

If the Giulia is extreme, the New 33 Stradale is emotional. This modern resurrection of Alfa’s 1960s icon is limited to just 33 cars, all sold before most people even knew it existed.

Under the skin is a 630-hp twin-turbo V6, enough to launch this sculpted two-seat coupe to 100 km/h in under three seconds and on to 333 km/h. But numbers aren’t the point here. This car exists because Alfa Romeo still believes beauty and performance should be inseparable.

The Paris show car wears a deep green livery inspired by classics like the GTA and the outrageous Bertone Carabo, reminding us that for Alfa, color isn’t decoration—it’s identity.

Maserati MCXtrema: A Track Weapon With a Tailor

Then there’s the MCXtrema, a car that barely acknowledges the concept of public roads. Built in only 62 examples, it’s the most powerful track-only Maserati ever, with 740 hp from a Nettuno-based twin-turbo V6.

The version in Paris is a perfect example of what Bottegafuoriserie is about. Its blue-and-white matte livery references the iconic MC12, while the number 77 on the door honors its owner’s lucky digit. Inside, it’s all business—telemetry, rear-view camera, and a cockpit that feels more Le Mans than Monte Carlo.

It’s a racing car for collectors who want something no one else has—even in a world of extreme supercars.

Maserati GT2 Stradale: Race Car, But Make It Livable

Finally, there’s the GT2 Stradale, the road-legal evolution of Maserati’s GT2 race car. With 640 hp, a 2.7-second sprint to 100 km/h, and a top speed over 320 km/h, it’s the fastest and most powerful internal-combustion Maserati ever built for the street.

It’s also 60 kg lighter than the MC20 it’s based on, sharper in every response, and still elegant enough to wear a trident on its nose without irony. This is Maserati proving it can still build a proper driver’s car in an era increasingly obsessed with software.

A New Italian Power Duo

Underneath all the carbon fiber and couture paint, BOTTEGAFUORISERIE represents something bigger. Alfa Romeo and Maserati aren’t just sharing a booth—they’re sharing a future.

In a supercar world dominated by tech giants and billion-dollar hypercars, these two Italian brands are betting on something more human: craftsmanship, heritage, and emotional design, blended with modern performance.

And judging by the crowd around their stand in Paris, that gamble is paying off.

If this is what happens when Alfa and Maserati join forces, the rest of the supercar world should be very, very nervous.

Source: Stellantis

NEW CARS

Mercedes-AMG Tests a Secret New Performance Coupe in Subzero Sweden

Even under full winter camo and the weak, bluish light of a Scandinavian January, some cars can’t hide what they are. And whatever Mercedes-AMG is currently hammering through the snowbanks near the Arctic Circle is not just another cold-weather mule—it’s a statement. Wide, low, and aggressively planted, this unnamed prototype looks less like a development car and more like a warning shot.

Mercedes-AMG has brought its next big idea north to Sweden, where temperatures plunge far below zero and roads alternate between polished ice and powdery snow. It’s here, in one of the harshest environments on Earth, that engineers validate everything from throttle response to drivetrain durability. Batteries, gearboxes, suspension bushings, electronics—if it survives here, it’ll survive anywhere. But this isn’t just about testing. This is about proving a point.

At first glance, the silhouette hints at the new CLE coupe, Mercedes’ slick replacement for the old C- and E-Class two-doors. But look closer and the relationship becomes more philosophical than literal. The track looks wider. The stance looks meaner. And the whole car radiates the kind of intent normally reserved for AMG’s most extreme products. This isn’t a CLE with a sport package. This is a CLE that’s been through AMG’s fight camp.

The reason for all this drama? This car will be the second entry in Mercedes-Benz’s new Mythos series—a lineup designed not for mass production but for collectors, connoisseurs, and anyone who thinks “limited edition” should actually mean something. These are halo cars, meant to push design, performance, and desirability beyond what even AMG’s already wild regular lineup offers.

The first Mythos model, the Mercedes-AMG PureSpeed, set the tone. With no roof, no windshield, and a design that looked like a modern Le Mans car escaped into traffic, it was a bold, borderline unhinged take on what a Mercedes performance car could be. This second Mythos entry, while more conventional in shape, appears to be no less extreme in ambition.

Mercedes is keeping the technical details locked down tighter than a Nürburgring lap time, but the brand has already confirmed what the visuals suggest: a powertrain worthy of the Mythos badge. Expect something very loud, very fast, and very much engineered to sit above the CLE AMG models in both performance and prestige. This won’t be a numbers-chasing special. It will be a character car—something designed to feel as dramatic as it looks.

And that’s why it’s being frozen, slid, and stress-tested in the Arctic. A Mythos car can’t just be powerful; it has to be unflappable. Whether blasting across an autobahn at 180 mph or carving through a frozen Swedish test track, it needs to deliver the kind of confidence that justifies its exclusivity.

In a world where high-performance cars are becoming increasingly digital, electric, and restrained, Mercedes-AMG’s snow-covered prototype looks refreshingly analog in spirit. Big presence. Big ambition. Big attitude.

Whatever AMG is about to reveal, one thing is already certain: when the camo finally comes off, it won’t be subtle—and that’s exactly the point.

Source: Mercedes-AMG