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From MotorTrend
Back in 1995, with sales dwindling and its reputation in tatters due to poor build quality, Alfa Romeo left the U.S. market to nurse itself back to health. This followed the departure of Alfa’s parent company, Fiat, 11 years earlier, and since then most fans of Italian cars have been forced to buy used vehicles or admire supercars made by Ferrari, Lamborghini, or (since 2002) Maserati from afar.

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Powered by a retuned version of the 4.7L V-8 found in the Maserati Granturismo, the 8C Competizione’s 450-hp and 354 lb-ft of torque help rocket it from 0 to 62 mph in just 4.2 sec. 

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Featuring classically sensuous Italian styling (penned by current Audi designer Wolfgang Egger), a luxurious cabin, and a high-tech carbon body, Alfa’s new supercar provides a high-profile halo vehicle for the brand. Though at a cost of approximately $240,000 and with just 84 examples destined to cross the Atlantic, one that will be an extremely rare sight on American roads. 

If you’ve been saving up for a new Mercedes CL65 AMG but want something with a bit more Mediterranean flair, you may be out of luck. Even before it reaches U.S. dealers the “Quadrifoglio” brand’s two-seater has already sold out. Alfa is bringing more examples of its supercar stateside, in addition to a rear-drive sedan and BMW X3-sized crossover (among others), in the form of a drop-top 8C Competizione Spider — but those who want one will have to wait until 2010.

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[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="100" caption="Image by Getty Images via Daylife"][/caption]

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From MotorTrend 

The Fiat/Alfa saga has been going on for months now. We’ve been following it since March, when Marchionne first confirmed that Fiat Group wanted to return to the U.S. Since then, details have been scarce, but the basic plan appears to be to bring the Fiat 500 here first, then start bringing over Alfa cars. Fiat Group has been consistently quoted as saying Alfa will reach the U.S. in 2011 or 2012, and that a key element of the plan is securing a U.S. manufacturing site, likely in partnership with Chrysler or one of the other Detroit 3. While a deal has still not been announced, Marchionne appears to be confident enough in the plan to bump up Alfa’s return date. 

“In 2010 we should be there with distribution,” Marchionne told the ANSA news agency.

The announcement comes as a surprise, not only because no manufacturing deal has been announced, but because at the same time, Marchionne was quoted by the Apcom news agency warning about the instability of the auto market. 

“There is uncertainty everywhere, the market has lost its sense of reason,” said Marchionne. “We must look very carefully at the fourth quarter, and then we’ll be able to make a better estimate for 2009.”

Despite those concerns, Marchionne told Apcom that Fiat Group’s 2008 forecasts remain the same. The group is targeting net profit between 2.4 billion euros and 2.6 billion euros ($3.82 billion to $4 billion), or 1.90 euros to 2 euros ($3.02 to $3.18) per share.

While Fiat/Alfa-in-the-U.S. details are still hard to come by, when Marchionne speaks, we listen. Given everything he’s done for Fiat Group so far, if anyone can bring affordable Italian cars back to the U.S., he can.

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Just when you think you’re about to put a fine Italian sports sedan in your garage, they take it away again — after announcing Alfa Romeo would return to U.S. shores after a fifteen year absence, parent company Fiat’s plans to set up a local production facility and dealer network have suffered repeated delays. And now CEO Sergio Marchionne is moving back the quadrifoglio brand’s arrival date yet again, saying a launch won’t occur until at least 2011.

Flush with cash thanks its to business acumen and the success of its 500 hatchback, Fiat has been bucking global trends recently,posting strong sales and even increasing production. And while talks to build American-market Alfas at empty Chrysler factories appear to have fizzled, recently Marchionne declared that “in 2010 we should be there with distribution” in the U.S., and a tiny number of 8C Competizione supercars even went on sale this month. But it seems that even Fiat can’t avoid the economic turmoil currently hitting the auto industry, and in a recent analysts call the CEO was forced to go back on his previous statement, saying “it would simply be crazy to invest in bringing Alfa back to a depressed U.S. market.” Instead he says the brand now plans to return in 2011, when the market has hopefully improved.

With sales down dramatically and credit markets virtually frozen, many automakers are cutting back projects and selling off businessesin an attempt to survive until the economy rebounds. With even the world’s number one automaker Toyota feeling the pinch right now, convincing nervous American buyers to take a chance on an Italian brand last seen in 1995 could prove difficult. And while AmericanAlfisti are no doubt eager for their favorite automaker to return to the U.S. as soon as possible, they only have to wait a little bit longer — that is, as long as Fiat’s plans don’t change again.

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