RE: Alfa 8C Competizione: Showpiece of the Week

[louiebaby]

I mean it's beautiful, but the convertible is even better...

[sr.guiri]

Wow, she's a beauty!!!

20K on a suspension upgrade - Mug!!! There's a man who doesn't know how to turn a spanner

[JMF894]

Plug Life said:

1781cc said:

To me, the 8C was this generation's SZ

Both gorgeous

SZ gorgeous? Is it you Stevie Wonder?

SZ

Like and ugly woman with a great body.................

You still would, just not very often.

And you wouldn't tell your mate.

[thegreenhell]

sr.guiri said:

20K on a suspension upgrade - Mug!!! There's a man who doesn't know how to turn a spanner

Or is it more a case of a man paying a top suspension company to design, develop and manufacture a bespoke set of springs and dampers because there are no off-the-shelf options for this car? You can't just bolt on a set of £500 Chinese coilovers bought off ebay.

[WCZ]

next door neighbor had one, looked very pretty
he hated how it drove and sold it a few years later, can't remember how much he said he made on it

[Charlie_1]

sr.guiri said:

Wow, she's a beauty!!!

20K on a suspension upgrade - Mug!!! There's a man who doesn't know how to turn a spanner

Further proof that the world is full of idiots and quite a lot of them frequent this site

[MarkM3Evoplus]

WTFWT said:

My old car...

Written about extensively here: https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?t=70...

A beautiful car with a soundtrack to die for.

What have you got now? Did you scratch the Mk1 Vanquish itch?

[wab172uk]

£225,000

Someone's been sniffing Glue !

[MarkM3Evoplus]

£225K is a lot of money, but if I had the cash, I would be sorely tempted.

Sometimes it's more than just how fast a car goes or dynamically competent on a circuit, otherwise a Type R Civic may be valued more.....but it's not, and never will be

[Robert-nszl1]

I owned one of these, and while very beautiful I never really bonded with it. Most will see the beauty and sound, I could cope with the ride and handling, but found it was the gearbox I didn't like at all, and it felt far too wide on b roads. The interior was OK but flimsy. The bit though that I struggled with most was the fear factor associated with driving a car whose bodywork was made from a single piece of carbon fibre. The prospect of damaging it was scary! My '72 Alfa GTV as fettled by Alfaholics is much more fun and cost rather less!

[iSore]

crit71 said:

"the 159 a fairly ordinary replacement for the 156" ......seriously ??. The 159 was anything but ordinary. And the Ti version had epic handling and a chipped 1.9ltr JTDM was a fantastic drive with loads of punch.

The 159 was nothing special. Very pretty, quick enough in a straight line but insanely heavy and with that ridiculous quick rack, heaved about as it changed direction. A 3 Series E90 would run rings around it.

Not a bad car by any means but not especially great either.

I had a 2.4JTD on extended test just after they were launched btw, and had a 320d SE hire car from my insurance company for 6 weeks.

[iSore]

Jonesy23 said:

I still think the red is the best colour to show off the shape. And it's a great shape.

As for the handling being a bit iffy and some of the engineering being typically Italian; try to think of any of the true Italian classics that weren't flawed in some way. Some of them are utter dogs of cars if you actually try to use them. Best to think of it as a beautiful object not as a means of transportation.

The Montreal. The handling was average at best, but as an object of lust? I could sit in it and just look at it all day. Stunning. I hope Alfa follow up the Giulia with more seriously good cars and become the firm they used to be.

[s m]

1781cc said:

Plug Life said:

SZ gorgeous? Is it you Stevie Wonder?

I think it is, in a unique way, I agree it’s not traditionally pretty or sleek but there wasn’t anything else like it at the time either and it just blew me away when I saw it. It has its own charm and appeal.

I have to say I’d rather have an SZ and the change than this. The handling was fairly sorted on the SZ out the box and I love the boxy looks and V6 sound

[Giles-qonxg]

I have had a spider since 2016 and it really is a car for those who value it beyond traditional top trump metrics. There are 10x more bmw z8s in the world to put the rarity into perspective. Are there any other modern cars that went to production and were limited to 500 or 1000 for the pedants? Genuine question I can’t think of any outside of the megasupercars in recent history - Alfa Romeo basically seeded Ferrari so to have a Ferrari block in a modern Alfa has a lovely back story to it from a historical perspective - and yes the gearbox is crap but the sound is incredible when you want it

[Doofus]

I've never got the looks of these. Like the later 4C, they look stunted, as if they were photographed side-on, from the front and from the back) and the photos were then resized to 100% high and 80% wide.

[Giles-qonxg]

anonymous said:

[redacted]

True - maybe the car appeals more to those who look at classical design and less focus on all the other aspects of car. I guess I would rather have an aeromax than a Ferrari or a Lamborghini so maybe I’m just weird. Either way I’m glad they built them

[Pericoloso]

These look rather good in the Pearl white too.

[howardhughes]

to quote 'Brick Top' : In the quiet words of the Virgin Mary... come again?

225K ??? Not a chance.

[ReaperCushions]

Doofus said:

I've never got the looks of these. Like the later 4C, they look stunted, as if they were photographed side-on, from the front and from the back) and the photos were then resized to 100% high and 80% wide.

Agree completely. I used to think they were the best looking car ever made. I don't think they have aged well at all and look oddly out of proportion.

[Classic Alfa Ltd]

They are way better to drive than a certain Mr Clarkson led people to believe (after he "tested" it in torrential rain!). The owner of that car (a certain Mr Nick Mason) still has it - he likes it so much! Check out the reviews at the time by Evo, Autocar, Car magazine, Road and Track etc. (all available on line) - don't believe second hand repeated tales by people who've never driven one! They're not just a pretty face!!