Alfa Romeo 4C Trademark Filed, Marque to Return to US

Alfa Romeo will once more grace the streets of the U.S. with its fashionable wheels and seductive curves decking out the new 4C by the end of 2013, and the 4C trademark was issued on April 10, according to a news release posted by the U.S. Federal News Service.

The Alfa Romeo 4C will be the first car designed for U.S. sale in almost 20 years from the Alfa Romeo division of Italian automaker Fiat SpA. The 4C, planned for a 2013 release in the U.S. will be closely followed by a 2014 Giulia sedan based on the Dodge Dart platform, according to Businessweek. Fiat owns Chrysler Group LLC which makes the Dart.

The production version of the Alfa Romeo 4C may be debuted at the 2013 Geneva auto show, an anonymous source told Businessweek.

Fiat showed a concept of the 4C at the 2011 Geneva Auto show and plans to make 2,500 units a year, according to Auto News. The European version of the car will cost roughly €50,000 ($66,040), but there is not news on the U.S. price.

Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne plans to rejuvenate Alfa Romeo to make it more competitive in the luxury market, according to Businessweek. A key part of this plan is restoring Alfa Romeo sales in the U.S. The Alfa Romeo 4C will lead the charge in the U.S. and will go into production in May 2013 at Fiat's Maserati plant in Modena, Italy. Fiat reportedly plans to increase Alfa Romeo sales to 400,000 by 2014, up from just 150,000 in 2011.

All of Fiat's 2011 net income came from Chrysler, and Fiat lost roughly €500 million in Europe last year.