With Ferrari's Fernando Alonso and Felipe Massa first and third fastest in Friday's F1 practice sessions which were held in mixed weather conditions at Hockenheim the Italian team appears to be close to the front running pace

Italian Welfare Minister Maurizio Sacconi will convene a meeting between Fiat Group and its unions next Wednesday in Turin as the row grows over the carmaker's plans to shift production of an important new model from Italy to Serbia

One of the oddities to grace the plush green lawns of the Hurlingham Club over the last three days has been the unusual Fiat 500-based battery-powered machine built by French firm Atomik Cars, which is making its UK debut

Buoyed by the Fiat Group posting an unexpected profit in Q2, CEO Sergio Marchionne has caused political upheaval and anger over the last forty eight hours by threatening to move production from Italy to Serbia

Personalities from UK TV, radio, sport and music will line up on the grid today to race Abarth 500s for charity at Silverstone in the BSM Centenary Abarth 500 Celebrity Challenge which will be fought out by modified road versions

ItaliaspeedTV: The star of the third round of the Trofeo Maserati GranTurismo MC which took place last weekend at the Brands Hatch circuit in England was undoubtedly Alessandro Pier Guidi who claimed two poles and two wins

For the Laguna Seca MotoGP weekend which gets underway today in California Fiat Automobiles and the Fiat Yamaha Team have revealed a new livery to celebrate the introduction in the U.S. later this year of the Fiat 500

One of the most ambitious projects this year will see a pair of driverless electric transport vehicles setting off from Rome today on a 13,000 km journey that will see then delivering their loads at the World Expo 2010 in Shanghai

ItaliaspeedPhotoStream: Following its presentation in Rome, the Vislab Intercontinental Autonomous Challenge is all ready to set off from Italy's capital city today aboard two special driverless Piaggio Porter electric LCVs

The Fiat brand's sales suffered during June thanks to continuing falls on the Italian and German markets and only the Punto made it into the European top-ten, down in ninth place, with the Panda vanishing from sight once again

At the same time as Fiat Group was announcing its second quarter results this morning the board of directors confirmed that they have approved the plans that will finally see the business split up into auto and industrial divisions

Enhanced driving thanks to improved engine power combined with smoothness is the aim of the new Novitec Tridente "Sport" compressor conversion for Maserati's flagship luxury sedans, the Quattroporte S and Sport GT S

ItaliaspeedPhotoStream: Maserati Quattroporte S/Sport GT S [Novitec Tridente "Sport"]

Fiat Group Q2: Back in the black with a second quarter profit of 113 million euros compared to a loss of 179 million euros during the same period last year, while revenues rose by 12.5 percent to 14.8 billion euros

Hockenheim, on paper at least, is more likely than recently visited venues to play to the strengths of the Ferrari F10 and the Scuderia is confident that with an improving car it can bring home a big points haul this weekend

In one hundred days time, on 28 October, the world’s first Ferrari theme park, and the largest of its kind, will open its doors to the public in Abu Dhabi wiith more than 20 rides and attractions beneath the 200,000 m2 red roof

ItaliaspeedTV: The Thai launch of the Maserati GranCabrio took place at the residence of the Ambassador of the Republic of Italy to Thailand, Michelangelo Pipan, in Bangkok's upmarket and commercial-focus Silom district

No rivals, no problems and a haul of 32 championship points: in short, this was the state of play for Alessandro Pier Guidi after Brands Hatch last weekend during the third round of the inaugural Trofeo Maserati MC one-make series

Maserati's latest model, the stylish, four-seat GranCabrio, has just arrived in Thailand, its official launch coming during an exclusive party held in the immaculate grounds of the Italian Ambassador's private residence in Bangkok

ItaliaspeedPhotoStream: Maserati GranCabrio - official Thailand launch at the residence of the Italian Ambassador, Silom, Bangkok (II)

With Jorge Lorenzo leading the championship and Valentino Rossi back after six weeks out through injury the Fiat Yamaha Team is in high spirits and looking forward to Laguna Seca this weekend a favourite race for all involved

ItaliaspeedPhotoStream: Maserati GranCabrio - official Thailand launch at the residence of the Italian Ambassador, Silom, Bangkok (I)

Maserati's Quattroporte S and GranTurismo S were the centre attraction of a lavish party at the Rockwell Tent Garden Plaza, Makati City, Manila as the Trident brand was formally introduced in the Philippines

The new track use only Ferrari 599XX and Marc Gené demonstrating last year's F60 single-seater were amongst the highlights as the second Ferrari Racing Days of the year took place at the Valencia circuit in Spain over the weekend

The Sachsenring provided a thrilling afternoon's racing, with Jorge Lorenzo finishing second and his resurgent Fiat Yamaha team-mate Valentino Rossi rounding off a remarkable return from injury to finish fourth by a mere whisker