Although Fiat has already slammed the door in Volkswagen's face regarding the latter's willingness to buy the Alfa Romeo brand, VW is still making plans for Alfa's future.
Reports from abroad suggest that Volkswagen would like to bring the boxer engine layout back into Alfa Romeo's portfolio and that it would do this via Porsche's new flat-four power plant that's being created for Porsche's forthcoming entry-level roadster.
Not only would this realise mass-production benefits but the engine would certainly be a good fit for the production version of the 4C concept that was shown at the Geneva show this year - not that there is much wrong with Alfa's own 1750cc turbopetrol engine for that matter.
Speaking of Geneva, Ferdinand Piech used VW's press conference at the show to crawl under Fiat's skin once again, making the bold claim that VW would quadruple Alfa Romeo sales within five years if the marque was sold to them.
Of course, Fiat remains adamant that its prized possession is not for sale, a spokesperson exclaiming: "We shut the door in their faces and now they're trying to get in the window." Shame on you, VW.