Wednesday 13th September 2006

Alfa to build 8C concept

Curvy car powered by 4.7-litre Maser motor

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Rejoice! Alfa is to put the curvy 8C concept into limited production, according to Italian car site Quattroruote.

The car, propelled by a 4.7-litre 450bhp Maserati engine, will feature a six-speed paddle-shift gearbox and suspension that's also sourced from Maserati.

It was designed by Alfa Romeo Centro Stile and was first shown at last year’s Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, where Alfa Romeo was the featured marque, and more recently the car won this year’s Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance Design Award for concept cars.

Some 500 examples will be built starting next year, and it'll cost about £67,000.

Here's hoping it's more dynamic and sporting than the many gorgeous but faintly disappointing Alfas of recent times.

Links

• Quattoruote: Stile Alfa, cuore Maserati
• Related story: Alfa shows Spider concept

[smele]

Not a flappy paddle...

Is this a Ferrari engine at heart? Should be a cracking motor, but it is not exacly cheap. This must be almost twice the price of the next Alfa Romeo in the range.

[hendry]

I didn't think it was the spider they were utting into production, but the coupe:




These are production ready pics. It is beautiful, isn't it?

[jamieboy]

hendry said:

I didn't think it was the spider they were utting into production, but the coupe:

The quattroruote article says 'perhaps also the spider'.

It also says 'costare ben oltre i 100.000 euro' which babelfish translates as 'to cost very beyond the 100,000 euro' so I guess the £67,000 quoted might be a bit ambitious.

edit - I read that it's the same 'flappy paddle' as the Ferrari 599 (or very similar) and that hasn't come in for much criticism I don't think.

Edited by jamieboy on Wednesday 13th September 12:09

[mini_ralf]

Yes please.. I want one. I want one. I want one... Now where did I put that winning lottery ticket?

[Dr S]

Gorgeous piece of metal and hopfully dynamically up to speed as well (not like the Brera)...

[Dakkon]

A lovely looking car

[merlot]

But will they do RHD?

[scotty_917]

absolutely fabulous car and with Maserati's recent improvements in manufacturing it should be well built ....I'd have grave reservations though about the customer service you'd get from Alfa dealers in the UK; they're just not up to the standard expected of those shelling out £70k for a sportscar!

[TheYeti]

hendry said:

I didn't think it was the spider they were utting into production, but the coupe:




These are production ready pics. It is beautiful, isn't it?

Oh.................my..................god...........................

I had that same reaction when I first saw the pictures a year ago....................


Just trully, trully, trully stunning piece of kit. I think that has already gone straight into my top 5 of all time great looking cars.................its pretty close to the top too.

Oh, I am off to change my pants now.............sheesh..............

[philbob]

I guess if you don't get on with alfa dealers then get it serviced at a maserati dealer or ferrari dealer. Gorgeous car, I hope they don't screw this up and use cheapo plastics.

[sa_20v]

If the car stays the way it looks for full production, and I can afford to lose £25k on depreciation in the first year, I may well buy one! Awesome, a future classic?

Edited by sa_20v on Wednesday 13th September 13:15

[Fire99]

an amazing looking car!!!

Considering the safety considerations that have to go into a design, this is a work of genius....
I really hope the rest of the package lives up to the looks...

Now Mr BMW 6 series designer, this is what a Coupe should look like..

[96eight]

It makes the £100k Morgan Aero 8 Coupe (beautiful as it is) look expensive

[Piston-Ed]

A £67,000 Alfa you say? Which with some toys will be mid 70k...hmmm.

The cynic in me says that what clearly is a re-bodied Maser GT, with more liklely rust problems and lack of dealer service compared to Porsche/Ferrari, makes for an interesting purchase!

The petrolhead in me loves it though - purely for it's looks alone...hmmm, I see what you did there Alfa...

[wombat rick]

[redacted]

[droptheclutch]

Fire99 said:

an amazing looking car!!!

Considering the safety considerations that have to go into a design, this is a work of genius....
I really hope the rest of the package lives up to the looks...

Now Mr BMW 6 series designer, this is what a Coupe should look like..

Couldn't agree more! Damn, that's one beautiful motor!

[Dr S]

Fire99 said:

Now Mr BMW 6 series designer, this is what a Coupe should look like..

Didn't know the 6 series had actually a designer. It still looks more like an accident to me...

[bonedaddy]

Flippin' Gorgeous! If I had £67k to splash I'd be on that waiting list by now.

[neilski]

Now that is absolutely beautiful....

[tony*t3]

Its a beautiful design. However, so was the original Alfa Romeo Braer, and yet in the flesh thats been such a let down.... I hope this one is built truer to the concept....

Although, with a few minor styling changes and some flashy paint job, you'd be looking at a TVR....