Alfa Romeo coming to Downey this fall

DOWNEY – The famed Alfa Romeo sports car from Italy will soon be for sale in Downey, according to city officials.

Alfa Romeo is part of the Fiat group of cars, which also owns a  majority stake in Chrysler and has the Champion Fiat dealership on Firestone Boulevard along the western edge of the San Gabriel River near the 605 Freeway. The cars could be for sale there as early as November, according to Brian Saeki, Downey’s director of economic development.

The Italian company is working on a new sports car, the Alfa Romeo 4c, to introduce to the United States market.

The Champion Fiat site was formerly a Dodge dealership. The city bought the land out of foreclosure and worked out a deal to sell it to the Fiat dealership. The former owner of the site, Lamberto Colon, has sued the city saying the city dragged its feet on development plans and forced the deal to go into foreclosure.  The suit is still pending.