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Alfa Romeo’s future model range is set to be topped by a large sedan or SUV from 2027 – bringing plans announced more than a decade prior to fruition. Alfa Romeo is developing a new flagship electric car for launch in five years’ time – but the company is yet to decide if it will be a sedan or SUV. Speaking to global media including Reuters and Autocar on Friday, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato confirmed a new flagship model will be developed in the US for launch in 2027 – the same year the company’s model range is due to go electric-only. “Our offer for a large size vehicle must fit international markets – American, Chinese, European,” Imparato told media, as quoted by Reuters . However, Alfa Romeo has reportedly not finalised the car’s body style, though Imparato’s comments suggest it will blur the line between a BMW 5 Series -styled sedan, and a BMW X5 or X6 -style SUV. Above: The current mid-size Alfa Romeo Giulia. “Knowing that the DNA of Alfa Romeo is...

An extremely rare coach built Alfa Romeo 155 that was never sold in Europe. Here’s an Alfa Romeo you probably know nothing, or very little, about. The Alfa Romeo 155 Ti.Z is a coach-built, low-volume special edition that actually made it to production, even if it never went on sale in Europe. The story goes that legendary Italian car designer Ercole Spada proposed the project while working at legendary Milan-based design studio, Zagato . Spada was already a seriously accomplished car designer when he joined the studio in 1993. He was BMW’s chief stylist in the mid-1970s, helping with the design of the now-iconic BMW E34 5-Series. In the 1980s, he led Italian design and engineering house  Institute of Development in Automotive Engineering  (I.DE.A Institute) putting his pen to everything from the 1992 Alfa Romeo 155 to the 1993 Nissan Terrano II . Interestingly, it’s the Alfa Romeo 155 that Spada would revisit. Now in 1993 – and recently installed as Zagato’s c...

Apple appears to still be considering an autonomous electric car, after reportedly hiring one of Lamborghini’s top engineers. Tech giant Apple has reportedly signed a former Lamborghini engineer to join the development team of its long-rumoured autonomous car. News agency Bloomberg reports Apple has employed the head of Lamborghini’s chassis and vehicle dynamics division to join the management team of its autonomous electric car . Luigi Taraborrelli worked for Lamborghini for more than two decades, most recently on chassis handling for supercars such as the Huracan and Aventador , plus the Urus SUV, according to his LinkedIn profile . The responsibilities of Mr Taraborrelli’s role in the Apple electric car project remain unclear. The news comes less than three months after Apple hired a former Ford executive for its autonomous car project, joining a team of engineers from car companies such as Tesla , Volkswagen , Ford , and Mercedes-Benz . Earlier reports have...

The re-launched Chery brand is set to join Australia’s electric car market, with a 450km-range rival for battery-powered MGs and Hyundais. Above: Petrol-engined Omoda 5 pictured throughout. Chinese car maker Chery – which returns to Australia in late 2022 after departing seven years ago in the wake of an asbestos recall – has indicated it plans to introduce a rival for Australia’s most-affordable electric car before the end of next year. The new electric car – based on Chery’s first new model for Australia, the Omoda 5 small SUV – will compete with the MG ZS EV , Hyundai Kona Electric and BYD Atto 3 . Production of Chery’s first Australia-bound electric car is due to begin in September next year, ahead of first arrivals in Europe – and possibly Australia – by the end of 2023. MORE: China’s Chery aims for Top Five in Australia in five years, first car due this year Executives in China provided few details of the new model to Australian media last week, however in...

US car giant General Motors is reportedly losing $US5 million a day as passengers are slow to embrace it autonomous ride-share service. General Motors’ ambitious move into an autonomous ride-sharing business in the US has cost more than $US5 billion – with losses continuing to mount at a rate of $US5 million a day. Slow acceptance of the Cruise project in San Francisco – and delays in approvals for its driverless Origin model – are the main drivers of the epic losses. The latest setback came as General Motors began charging for Cruise rides in its Chevrolet Bolt electric cars for the first time. It has also been hurt by reports of crashes involving Cruise automated taxis, and brief traffic snarls caused by Cruise-operated hatchbacks. Even so, General Motors chief executive Mary Barra is still upbeat about the long-term prospects for Cruise as a potential $50 billlion-a-year business. She said increasing demand for automated vehicle services and technology would al...

Certain variants of the Mazda 3 small car and CX-5 family SUV are no longer fitted with particular tech features – but have been hit with price rises of up to $700. Mazda Australia has quietly cut two technology features from certain high-grade versions of the 2022 Mazda 3 and Mazda CX-5 – while increasing their prices by as much as $700. The latest specification lists from Mazda Australia show high-grade GT SP and Akera versions of the CX-5 mid-size family SUV are no longer fitted with hands-free ‘kick’ functionality for their power tailgates, instead reverting to access only via the key fob, or a button on the tailgate. Meanwhile, the second-from-range-topping Mazda 3 G25 GT is no longer fitted with a 12-speaker Bose sound system, switching back to lower models’ eight-speaker unbranded stereos. The flagship Astina grades retain the Bose system. It’s understood ongoing parts shortages – including the semiconductors (computer chips) needed for modern cars – are to bla...

Want to stay up to date in the world of automotive news? These are the biggest stories from the past week. Each week we’ll keep you up to speed and bring you the ‘watercooler’ information of what has happened in the world of cars and motoring with the five biggest stories we’ve covered. Here’s what you need to know… Brand-new Jeep Wagoneer clips bridge – and loses Ah, the perils of being a big Jeep on a car transport truck. A brand-new 2023 Jeep Wagoneer, possibly on its way to its excited owner, had a somewhat tragic run-in with a highway bridge in the US state of Detroit. The nasty outcome was, of course, chronicled on social media for all to see. Check it out here . 2022 Ford Ranger Raptor: first shipment arrives in Australia, but there’s a catch Spotted: a truckload of new-generation Ford Ranger Raptors on the streets of Melbourne. While this week’s sighting – courtesy of an eagle-eyed enthusiast – sparked plenty of excitement amongst Ranger devotees, Drive ...

Made famous by its record-setting hypercars, Bugatti is trying to broaden its appeal by tackling the luxury market next. Hypercar manufacturer Bugatti plans to switch from record-setting hypercars to super-expensive luxury electric vehicles. Less than a year after Croatian electric manufacturer Rimac purchased a 55 per cent stake in Bugatti – with the remaining 45 per cent held by Porsche – the French brand has announced plans to offer more multi-million dollar road cars. Bugatti is best known for its 400km/h-plus Veyron and Chiron quad-turbo W16 machine, but is making the shift to electric power to future-proof itself. Headlining its new corporate identity is a simplified “EB” logo – the initials of company founder Ettore Bugatti. However, the new logo won’t be used on its vehicles. Instead the new badge will appear on the company’s new Ettore magazine, showrooms, and other corporate facilities such as the Molsheim factory in France. “We did not just create...

Cue jokes about electric police cars needing long extension cords or running flat during a pursuit. Now that’s out of the way, here’s why this Ford F-150 Lightning is a sign of things to come for law enforcement.  The Ford F-150 Lighting electric pick-up is reporting for police duty in the US. Although this is a concept car for now, Ford has equipped it with heavy-duty hardware designed to handle life on the front line. Heavy-duty seat coverings, a modified push bar, vinyl flooring, and a redesigned centre console – to accommodate radio equipment and other technology – are just some of the modifications made by Ford’s special vehicles police-car division. Ford is keen to reverse perceptions that electric cars aren’t suitable for police work amid concerns over range anxiety. On the contrary, it is rare for today’s petrol-powered police vehicles to go through an entire tank of fuel during a normal shift. The Ford F-150 Lightning’s driving range of 370km to 500km b...