Monday 29th November 2010

Alfa Romeo 8C: You Know You Want To

An Alfa that's a good investment? Shurely shome mishtake?

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This draws its inspiration...

Following the excitement of finding a nice Alfa Romeo GTV for Shed of the Week a fortnight back, Shed has become addicted to that feel-good-factor that only an Alfa can bring.

Fortunately, Shed can break out of its £1k straight-jacket budget for once, because he's come into some money - thank a Qianlong dynasty vase for this. Now he finds himself in rather more rarefied territory, eyeing up a recent Alfa Romeo 8C.

It shares its ethos with the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900(b), which raced at Le Mans. Its streamlined body gave it a notable advantage over the open-topped competition, before - you guessed it - mechanical problems forced it to retire.

...from this

Cloaked in carbon fibre, this latest interpretation of the Alfa 8C has exclusivity (only 500 have been built), good looks and impressive performance figures (0-60mph in 4.5secs and a 181mph top speed) on its side. Oh, and a growling 450bhp 4.7-litre V8.

With its ideally configured running-gear - engine mounted behind the front axle and gearbox at the rear - the 8C should also handle (even though, for some reason, it doesn't really). Still, the 8C's low production run and all that heritage means, remarkably, this is an Alfa that makes sound economic sense, with used cars currently being offered for £130k, £20,000 over the original list price.

Alternatively, this Ferrari 599 GTB HGTE has shed more than £60,000 of its value since early 2009. As an investment, then, it's clearly not a great choice, but it's certainly quick, with its 6.0-litre 611bhp V12 lump delivering 205mph potential. The 599's power is controlled via a quick-shifting sequential 'box, sophisticated 'magnetorheological' semi-active dampers, and an HGTE handling pack - the combination of which leaves the 8C seeming rather primitive.

But, if you thought a Ferrari was a quick way to throw away your money, take a look at the Aston Martin DBS.

Aston's mighty 510bhp V12 might make a fine high-speed GT, and purists will love this car's manual gearbox, but the used market has been cruel to this particular Aston DBS, and it's lost £50k in a mere 1650 miles. Ouch.

Shed, it seems, has found a modern Alfa Romeo that's a better investment than a Ferrari or an Aston. As to whether it's a better car or not, that would be another question entirely...

[ArranAshman]

The initial message was deleted from this topic on 29 January 2011 at 10:52

[soad]

Do like that 599 too. Still bloody expensive, mind you.

[ZOLLAR]

Saw an 8c at the MPH/classic car show recently in the NEC, It was absolutely gorgeous.
Certaintly would be in my list of cars should the National lottery decide to make me a winner

[Daniel1]

it would be a tough call between the Aston and Alfa. Have to be the convertible though....

[Jgtv]

Lottery win tonight would result in me getting a coupe, a convertible and one for when both of those two have broken down.

Best looking car for sale in recent history for me.

[SmartVenom]

Alfa is a great looking car and probably better than anything else in recent years, but I have to admit when I sat in one at auction I was a little unimpressed with the interior. It just seemed a little cheap. That's why I didn't bid on it, honest. From memory it didn't sell either.

[oggy85]

Same happened with the BMW Z8, exclusivety makes a good investment.

[James Dean]

This does it for me. All the cons of a convertible, but with better handling than the 8C Competizione as well.

Edited by James Dean on Friday 26th November 16:16

[homerjay]

James Dean said:

This does it for me. All the cons of a convertible, but with better handling than the 8C Competizione as well.

Edited by James Dean on Friday 26th November 16:16

i appear to have a quarter chubb now...

[Agent Orange]

Not a great surprise. There are a few things that increase the desirability of classic or collectible cars for example, but not limited to:

Racing pedigree
Rarity
Provenance (god I HATE that word - so bloody pretentious)
Desirability due to beauty or historical significance (ie. the Veyron is an engineering masterpiece). etc.

Most current Ferrari's and Astons don't score that highly in the first two and may only score highly in the last. 1 out of 4 doesn't cut it.

The 8C will definitely tick rarity and beauty and possibly provenance. 3 out of 4.

[k-ink]

8C's are on the way down at last then. They peaked at £250k at one point. Maybe in ten years...

[snowy slopes]

Nah, doesnt do anything for me, i'd rather have the aston

[soad]

Yes, i like what i see- beautiful lines, nicely styled.
Plenty of go too, soundtrack to please.

No funds for one though.

[Atrophy]

I wouldn't ever buy an Alfa, i see more of them broken down by the side of the road than road cones on the M1 widening project

[k-ink]

Aston's are lovely, but they are simply too common just like every other VW Bentley, Gallardo, and all the usual suspects. The best thing about the 8C is the looks, but closely followed by the fact you'll probably never see more than one on the roads.

[johnpeat]

I get the feeling that 8C prices are a bit of a smokescreen - the car is rare-enough for people to put mad values on them and not be called-out on it.

e.g. it might seem they sell for high prices - but are they actually selling at all??

If you want horrific depreciation tho - there are thousands of worse examples in the classifieds, esp where the original owner has been stupid and ticked ALL the boxes. Cayennes, M6s, RS6s and almost anything 'tuner' or 'modified from new' shedding huge chunks of their value having covered relatively few miles.

But anyway - I smell a rat with 8C values - a rat you won't discover until you try to sell.

Edited by johnpeat on Friday 26th November 17:12

[clorenzen]

Complete agree with the previous post. The 8C price is a smokescreen with big differences in ask/buy prices. Also the buildt quality is really poor. Try to line up a V8 Vantage and an 8C next to each other and there is a world of difference. I tried that at HWM Walton on Thames that sell both marques and the attention to detail on the Aston is in a different league.

[SHare]

Atrophy said:

I wouldn't ever buy an Alfa, i see more of them broken down by the side of the road than road cones on the M1 widening project

Mind giving the banks a heads up while your back there in the 80s?


Cracking car, if only I had £130k to 'invest'.

[Chris71]

Normally I'm an Aston man, but the 8C is just so close to aesthetic (and aural) perfection.

[footsoldier]

clorenzen said:

Complete agree with the previous post. The 8C price is a smokescreen with big differences in ask/buy prices. Also the buildt quality is really poor. Try to line up a V8 Vantage and an 8C next to each other and there is a world of difference. I tried that at HWM Walton on Thames that sell both marques and the attention to detail on the Aston is in a different league.

Do you know what the spread is on an 8C?

i've been keeping an eye on prices for last few months - nothing seems to have sold, and prices dropping to sub £130k across the board, when only one was at that price a couple of months ago.

I think that financing LHD cars is also a problem at the moment, in case you are planning to run (or drive) off to the continent, which won't help.