2009 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

2008 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione






2008 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione












The Competizione is based on a concept car first shown at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003, the twin-seater designed to herald Alfa's grand racing heritage. The 8C nameplate was one of the first to gain real credibility among aficionados, while the designation, Competizione, is a nod to the 6C 2500 Competizione driven by the legendary Juan Manuel Fangio and Alex Zanardi at Italy 's Mille Miglia in 1950.


The engine is the 4.7 liter Maserati V-8, familiar in the Quattroporte and new GranTurismo, but bigger in bore and stroke, crowned by new Alfa-developed heads and, with 450 horses, more powerful too. Some of the suspension and platform underpinnings are also Maserati borrowed, which is why the 8C is made in a Maserati factory not an Alfa Romeo one. As with all new-generation Maseratis, the engine comes from Ferrari, and is related to the V8 from the F430. So the 8C represents the first firm collaboration between three of Italy's greatest (all Fiat owned) sports car manufacturers: never before have we seen such an Alfa/Ferrari/Maserati "hybrid."

The sweeping body, with the vaguest hint of retro, is made entirely of lightweight carbon fiber, and mounted on a space-frame chassis. It sits atop a double-wishbone front and rear suspension. The overall package has a 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution. Weighing in at just 3100 pounds, expect the 8C to launch from 0-60 in just 4.5 seconds and top out at around 190 mph.

Much of the 8C Competizione's technology is racing-derived, the company claims, including the suspension and its aluminum brake calipers. The huge Brembo brakes sit behind 20-inch wheels and tires.

For a brand new car -- production has only just commenced in Maserati's Modena factory in northern Italy -- the 8C has been a motor-show fixture for over four years. It debuted at the 2003 Frankfurt show, previewing a delightful mix of '60s Alfa styling cues leavened with modern technology. The production version is little changed. The name also evokes a richer period for Alfa. The 8C 2300 of the 1930s was probably Alfa's finest prewar sports car, while the Competizione moniker harks back to the 6C2500 Competizione in which Juan-Manuel Fangio competed in the 1950 Mille Miglia

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