All posts in “alfa romeo 8c”

CAR adds details to Alfa Romeo’s five-year plan

Much of this month’s issue of CAR Magazine is devoted to Alfa Romeo and what we can expect from it in the next five years. Of course, they unfortunately went to print before FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne died (and it took a while for it to land in my mail box), so certain elements are bound to change in light of new leadership. Nevertheless, there are plenty of interesting tidbits to chew on.

First, there are a few more details regarding the Alfa Romeo 8C super car, which was confirmed during FCA’s recent five-year plan announcement. Unlike the last front-engined, rear-drive 8C, the new one would be mid-engined with the rear wheels powered by a version of the Quadrofoglio turbo V6 brought up to the 600-horsepower range, and some amount of electrification added to the front axle. CAR indicates a total output of around 800 hp and 660 pound-feet of torque. A carbon fiber monococque would help keep the weight down, and to keep cost down, reporter Georg Kacher posits its production will be farmed out to a third party like Dallara. Both pricing and performance will be interesting with the 8C: how much does FCA want Alfa Romeo to compete with Ferrari? Without Marchionne leading both, perhaps it won’t matter.

Then again, how much it wants Alfa to compete with Maserati might, as the future Giulia-based GTV coupe could do just that. Apparently, the coupe and convertible range is intended to compete with the entire breadth of the German two-door catalogue, from 4 Series and M4, to C- and E-Class Coupes. Presumably it’ll therefore be more than just a Giulia coupe. Regular, high-performance and plug-in hybrid versions are mentioned.

Finally, as was part of the previously announced five-year plan, there will be SUVs introduced on either side of the Stelvio. Apparently, it was originally thought that the smaller of the two would be produced on the cheaper Renegade/500X platform, but that has been nixed in favor of the Giulia’s “Giorgio” platform to maintain a higher degree of engineering sophistication. If so, good call. The bigger of the two new Alfa SUVs would also be on the platform, and since it’s been rumored that the next Jeep Grand Cherokee will be as well, it’ll be interesting to see how similar those two mid-size SUVs will potentially be.

There are many more Alfa insights from CAR, but as it’s restricted to print and not on their website, we can only urge you to swing by your local magazine rack and pick up the latest issue. They do good stuff. The issue’s very red.

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August 9, 2018 / Comments Off on CAR adds details to Alfa Romeo’s five-year plan
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Future Alfa Romeo 8C Could Get 800hp Hybrid Powertrain

Rumours have been circulating this week surrounding Alfa Romeo and the possible revival of the Alfa Romeo 8C. The badge was last used on Alfa Romeo’s 2 seater, front-engine supercar more than a decade ago, it looks set to return in 2021. The news is nothing new as in June earlier this year, it was widely reported that the late Sergio Marchionne had given the green light to the project as part of the company’s future product strategy.

Marchionne’s vision for the company was to offer two ‘specialty’ sector cars, a new Alfa Romeo 8C and a larger, Coupe style GTV. The latest set of rumours emanate from Car Magazine’s cover story which allegedly dishes the dirt on the development of the project.

The 2021 Alfa Romeo 8C will almost certainly be a two seater with a mid-mounted engine. It will be based around a carbon monocoque with the familiar 2.9 litre twin-turbocharged V6 providing power together with an electronic motor. The drivetrain is expected to be shared by the long-delayed Maserati Alfieri. Car Magazine suggest that the 600 hp petrol drive train and 150 Kw electric motor could generate power of around 800 hp.

The design team are said to be targeting a sub-three second 100 km/h sprint with a special E-boost system to achieve those figures. The 8C will undoubtedly receive four wheel drive with technical systems such as torque vectoring and advanced traction control.

The 2021 Alfa Romeo 8C will almost certainly be a limited production model, the last 8C was available with 500 coupes and 500 convertibles. Alfa Romeo will probably expect to sell more this time around, expect no more than 1,000 copies to become available.

The Alfa Romeo 8C makes sense for Fiat Chrysler these days. With Ferrari generating a huge amount of revenue for the group and with access to the legendary Italian company’s expertise, it shouldn’t prove too difficult to manufacture an ‘entry level’ supercar for Alfa Romeo. Hopefully it doesn’t end up like the Alfa Romeo 4C.

Our above renders were carried out by Yung Presciutti. The Car Magazine article linked above also includes some pretty interesting renders which combine elements of the Alfa Romeo 4C with the Ferrari 488 and LaFerrari!

August 9, 2018 / Comments Off on Future Alfa Romeo 8C Could Get 800hp Hybrid Powertrain
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Alfa Romeo 8C and GTV: Classic names revived as high-powered hybrids

BOLOCCO, Italy — There were grand plans for Alfa Romeo at FCA’s last five-year plan. By 2018, we were supposed to get eight new products, including a new “specialty” vehicle. In reality, we’ve gotten the Giulia and Stelvio. At this year’s follow-up, Alfa Romeo brand head Tim Kuniskis called the last plan ambitious, but he offered a new vision that was both more realistic and more far-reaching. Beyond doubling down on utility and electrified vehicles, by 2022 Alfa has plans to revive both the 8C and GTV names as high-performance hybrids.

Since 2014, Alfa sales are up 160 percent, with an estimated 170,000 vehicles to be sold in 2018. The North American market counts for 16 percent of that, up from nothing back in 2013. Future products will focus on Alfa’s current strengths: styling and performance. Look for new compact and full-size utility vehicles to slot on each side of the Stelvio. Plans for a larger sedan seemed to have been nixed, though a long-wheelbase version of the Giulia will make it to the ever-increasing Chinese market.

The most exciting news obviously comes from the return of the 8C supercar and GTV sports car. We have few details, but what we do know looks promising. The 8C will use a carbon-fiber chassis with a mid-mounted twin-turbo V6. More than 700 horsepower will be sent to all four wheels thanks to an electrically-driven front axle. The car should hit 62 mph in fewer than 3 seconds.

The GTV will be slightly more tame, though Alfa is promising more than 600 horsepower from its hybrid powertrain. The four-seater will also have all-wheel drive, torque vectoring and a 50/50 weight distribution. The brief teaser image shows a car that looks like a two-door Giulia, though it’s unclear if we’ll actually get a new coupe.

Electrification, autonomy and connectivity are coming, too. Obviously, the 8C and GTV will get electrified powertrains, but look for each Alfa Romeo model to have some sort of electrification available. Look for six plug-in hybrids with all-electric ranges of more than 30 miles. Level 2 and 3 autonomous systems are coming, too.

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June 1, 2018 / Comments Off on Alfa Romeo 8C and GTV: Classic names revived as high-powered hybrids
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