Alfa will turn to the 4C to ensure no one can miss its return to the U.S. market.
With initial demand for the little 500 exceeding expectations, Fiat is laying out plans for an expanded line-up that will bring additional models to the U.S., according to the brand’s top American executive.
Meanwhile, sibling Alfa Romeo appears ready to use a production version of the wildly popular 4C concept car to help re-launch that brand here in the U.S.
Despite a two-month delay in getting the Fiat 500 to market, this past March, sales are running ahead of expectations, according to brand boss Laura Soaves. Demand for the manual transmission version are stretching availability of the gearbox from suppliers, she said during a dinner conversation on Monday.
Now begins the brand’s expansion, the 500C convertible facing its big test as journalists flood into New York for a first test drive. That will be followed by the high-performance Abarth edition and, then, a battery-powered version of the little 500.
Soaves has long suggested that what Europeans know as the Cinquecento won’t be the end-all-be-all for the U.S. version of the Fiat brand and she confirmed that another, larger model is now set to follow. In fact, it appears several products could give Fiat a much fuller showroom over the next several years.
But Soaves stressed that Fiat and its sibling American brands will live by firm guidelines to minimize any potential product overlap. And that means “We will be the small car brand,” said Soaves, explaining, “We will never have anything larger than a C,” a reference to a small car segment that includes products like the compact Chrysler 200 – or a Ford Focus or Honda Civic.
Soaves, who admits to getting home to Detroit from her launch duty travels every several weeks, is currently serving double-duty, not only overseeing Fiat’s rollout, but also acting as temporary boss of the Alfa brand.
The sporty Italian marque hasn’t had a U.S. presence in several decades and Fiat/Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne has been struggling to find the right formula for its return. In April, he decided to delay the launch because of concerns about the styling of the Giulia model that was to serve as its centerpiece. At its earliest, the fix won’t be ready for a couple years.
But that may not delay Alfa’s U.S. re-introduction at all, or at least not as much. Soaves told TheDetroitBureau.com that she thinks a better way to introduce a new generation of Americans to Alfa Romeo would be with a truly striking halo car, like the 4C, which was first shown at this year’s Geneva Motor Show.
The over-the-top prototype was one of the singular hits of the event, with long lines making it difficult to get a good glimpse.
Barely 13 feet long, nose-to-tail, the 4C features a super-lightweight body and uses a 200 horsepower 1.7-liter turbocharged four, the combination permitting a launch from 0 to 60 in less than 5 seconds, with a top speed estimated at 155 mph.
Don’t expect the emphasis to be on fuel economy, according to Soaves. The 4C would be a high-styled, high-performed halo car designed to make sure no one can miss Alfa’s revival.
Volumes would be modest, though an order of magnitude higher than the 150 copies of the larger Alfa 8C sold in the U.S. in an aborted comeback several years ago.
Timing? Soaves isn’t providing details – nor confirmation of what will power a U.S. production version of the 4C – but considering the redesigned Giulia was being aimed at a 2013 calendar-year debut, that suggests the small supercar will be here before then.