Alfa Romeo 8C back on!
The V8-powered, carbonfibre-bodied Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, introduced in concept form at the 2003 Frankfurt show, might now enter production after all
The plan is to have a production-standard 8C ready for the Paris motor show at the end of September, and then to take orders for a 500-car run. Final details of the construction are still to be worked out, but it will most likely be a carbonfibre body over a spaceframe chassis, like the concept. The front-mounted engine will be based on the block used by the current Ferrari and Maserati V8s, and the end result will be 'more like Ferrari than Maserati' according to Baravalle. That means a flat-plane crankshaft and an engine that screams instead of throbs. Target power is 440bhp. A replacement for the Alfa 166 is also under consideration as a joint venture with Alfa affiliate Maserati. It will have a V6 engine, mounted longitudinally to give rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive. JS
