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Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
Remember the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione concept car? The V8-powered, carbonfibre-bodied, front-engined supercar everyone said Alfa should build? Now, over two years since the concept was revealed at the 2003 Frankfurt show, it really could happen writes John Simister.
'It is my dream to do it,' said Alfa's recently-arrived CEO, Antonio Baravalle. 'We have cut the budget for our advertising campaign and will do the 8C instead, because it is a perfect way to promote the Alfa brand. Sergio Marchionne [president of Fiat Auto] says if the figures add up, do it.'
The plan is to have a production-standard 8C ready for the Paris show at the end of September, and to take orders for a 500-car production run then. It will be a coupé, like the concept car, but another of Baravalle's 'dreams' is to make a Spider version later.
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Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
Final details of the construction are still to be worked out, but it will most likely be a carbonfibre body over a spaceframe chassis, like the concept. The engine will be based on the block used by the current Ferrari and Maserati V8s, and the end result will be 'more like Ferrari than Maserati' according to Baravalle. That means a flat-plane crankshaft and engine which screams instead of throbs. Target power is 440bhp, target price is as yet undisclosed.
Antonio Baravalle also revealed that Alfa Romeo will decide within the next month on the underpinnings for the forthcoming Alfa 149. The style has already been through customer clinics, but the engineering choice is between a modified version of the next Fiat Stilo/Lancia Delta platform or a shortened Alfa 159 base. Baravalle prefers the second option, because it would make for a 'purer' Alfa, but it depends on costs.
Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
A replacement for the Alfa 166, to be called 169, is also under consideration. It will be a joint venture with Alfa affiliate Maserati because, says Baravalle, the Modena company 'needs a car this size'. It will have a V6 engine, mounted longitudinally to give rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. If it goes ahead, the 166 will be the first rear-wheel drive Alfa for well over a decade.
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