Pontiac Fiero Control Arm on 2040-parts.com

Alfa Romeo will reportedly become standalone company

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne plans to turn Alfa Romeo into a standalone company, Automotive News Europe reports. Marchionne is expected to announce wide-ranging plans for the brand on May 6 which will see Alfa Romeo become a stand-alone legal entity within Fiat-Chrysler, with a publicly disclosed profit and loss statement. Alfa Romeo is currently part of Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A., which also contains Lancia, Fiat Professional trucks and vans and the Abarth performance brand.

General Motors names Mary Barra to head global product development

General Motors named Mary Barra head of global product development on Thursday, succeeding Tom Stephens, who was named global chief technology officer of the automaker on Wednesday. An engineer, Barra, 49, is the first woman to hold the top product development job at GM. Since 2009 she has served as vice president of global human resources for GM--a key post as the automaker restructured and emerged from bankruptcy protection.

Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 (2011) first pictures and video

This is the new Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0, a 493bhp race car for the road. Think of it as the ultimate 911 – it brings together the brilliant chassis of the GT3 RS, the lightweight secrets learnt on the GT2 RS, and the stonking 4.0-litre six cylinder engine that powers the GT3 RSR racer. This Porsche 911 GT3 RS 4.0 sounds like quite a package… It is, and topping the list of impressive highlights is a new 4.0-litre flat-six engine.