Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione.....'Authentic Emotions'

[Insoc]

How about this...

The car does outsource... Why? It would cost Alfa (Fiat) too much to create a whole new engine for this "Halo" car. Fiat owns everything, and they want new Alfa Blood. So they use what they have at their resources, and of course all of their companies will make use of the results. Maserati may get a new chassis, that was designed by egineers working at Alfa, for Fiat... And MAYBE Alfa will get a new car from the potential success of the 8C, if Fiat decides it will help sales...

All of this is because Fiat wants it that way. And Alfa stands a damn good chance to change from this, as well as the other companies they own...

Also, Alfa is a brand name, a company. The cars we love so much are based on decisions made by people that ran the company and engineers they hired. So all this discussion is pointless, since Fiat has decided to call this an Alfa, that is what it is. And if Fiat calls this an Alfa, this helps the Alfa image. Fiat used the resources they had to make a "Halo" car they felt was a modern interpretation of Alfa's great name.

If we want to call it a Maserati, or a Ferrarri or an Alfa, it really does not matter, because they are all Fiat, and this is the end of the circle. The better way to look at it, is that this is the best damn thing to happen to Alfa in a long time, and if it succeeds, it can only mean better things for the name, owned by Fiat... Fiat is a brand name no different then the old Milano Alfa days, they just have different ideas on car manufacturing then they did. So we just have to decide if we LIKE the 8C, not who made it. We already know that... Why does a name really mean so much? Because we base design and quality on that name, and this is a Hell of an Alfa...

Why is this concept so difficult to understand?

[Berlinista]

If a name meant so little I would drive anything else that offers what I want/look for in a car. Not the usual Alfa rustbucket that ALWAYS has something going wrong, no matter how much time you send on the thing. Alfa for me is much more than just a car brand. It's a lifestyle, a pivotal point in my social life with likeminded people. It's a hobby, half my income, and much much more besides. Why is THIS concept so difficult to understand? Because of this, I do not feel the 8c is an Alfa but a marketing ploy. Which is something I don't fall for. So disregarding the cars perceived merits AS A CAR, I still say: no thanks. Not for me.

[Berlinista]

As said, Alfa's have always been expensive, over in the states as well as over here. In ''73 you could buy a Jag 3.2 XJ, leather, inline six, fully loaded, or for the same money an Alfa berlina. Cloth upholstery, poor four and all. Still, they sold quite a lot of them. Further back the 911 was about the price of a Bertone coupe. Still they sold a lot of Alfa coupes.
The cars were bought on merit, not on price. Merit based on history, driver satisfaction,individuality, maybe even quirkyness. As for the Giulia and berlina, certainly not on looks.
Alfa used to make cars THEIR way, from an 6C1750 all the way to a 75.
You didn't have to agree, but thats what you got.
That it didn't make business sense is something else entirely.
Now I hear people saying an 8C makes business sense. Sure....
As I said before, Alfa should look to another market entirely, looking at it their way.
As for discussions on Ferrari/8C/Maser interchangeability, check out the info on the new ferrari Dino. Guess what platform? Guess what engine?
Just saw the dutch Autoweek mag....

[Chi Si Dici]

This is by far the best topic I can imagine, I'm hooked on this BB stuff. Can we go back and address the reason some think that a $200,000. car makes no sense and that it has NO merit to where Alfa neds to go? I take you back to '68 and '69. Alfa Romeo desides to put in production the 33 Stradale (most expensive production car sold that year, including Ferraris). Do any of you recall the accepted approval / commisioned by Alfa Romeo to the following design firms: '68 Pininfarina designs the "P33 Roadster", then in '69 they come up with the sick "33/2", in '68 Bertone creates the trend setting "Carabo", in the same year Giugiaro's (Italdesign) creates the "Iguana". As crazy and beautiful these concepts designs where in that period, they are the reason Alfa built the "Montreal" and "Stradale". Image is EVERYTHING!! The best thing that can happen to Alfa Romeo would be to loose naysayers that have owned Alfa for a while and cannot get over and accept that "our" marque was at one time the greatest marque. Get over it, accept a fresh start. Anyone that can put "M3" next to their identity is not and can never be an Alfista.

[dretceterini]

If image is everything, how come Alfa's best year ever for all of North America was only 8500 cars? Bottom line is no one in the real world cares.

[Denny164l]

It would awsome if FIAT opened up the old Arese plant and started up the REAL Alfa Romeo engine. To me all the Arese really needed was instead of belt timing chain timing thats really the real advantage this GM engine has over the Arese. But the Arese had a better power peak the camshaft phaser that the new GM brings is pretty cool, but the Arese has the Alfa Soul!!

[silverspider]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dretceterini If image is everything, how come Alfa's best year ever for all of North America was only 8500 cars? Bottom line is no one in the real world cares.

[Chi Si Dici]

All I have to say is, "Denny" stop smoking!

To answer the good Dr., what does Alfa selling 8,500 cars have to do with my quote as "Image is EVERYTHING"? What I'm refering to is what a concept car can do for a marquee image. The 8,500 cars sold by Alfa in the US has nothing to do with the topic. The impression I get from the Dr. is that he likes to say "B" if others say "A", just because. Did Alfa sell Giuliettas by the thousands back in the late sixties? How does a marque promote image when self proclaimed Tifosis reminding you that the end of the world is around the corner. I am not interested in owning a car that the mass approves of. If Alfa Romeo sold cars tommorow, I would be first in line to purchase a new Brera. Why, because it's an Alfa, not because their could be a piece here or there from GM, or that it shares a door handle with a Saab. Celebrate the marque, come to Chicago for AROC's 2008 National Convention. There will be new Alfa Romeos available to drive on the track. Think positive, good things will follow.

[kroehl]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dretceterini If image is everything, how come Alfa's best year ever for all of North America was only 8500 cars? Bottom line is no one in the real world cares.

[MottoGuzzi]

Has anybody heard about euro dealers charging $40,000 just to reserve a place
on a list to buy the 8c?
V6 Power Rules

[pgicante]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MottoGuzzi Has anybody heard about euro dealers charging $40,000 just to reserve a place on a list to buy the 8c? V6 Power Rules

[Chi Si Dici]

A few years back, Giugiaro stunned the world with the amazing Brera concept. I remember lusting after it's scissor doors, chocolate leather interiors and dreamed about a sizzling Italian V8 under the hood. While the Brera in it's original conception would have been out of most Alfistis realm, the production model sure came pretty close to it's origin.

While some argue that the 8C is an excersize without benefit to Alfa and it's future lineup, I believe that its unique design will be a platform for future Alfa sports cars.

While studying Architecture in Chicago, the debate was always about "what if" the Tribune Tower Competition at the turn of the century was given to European Modernists in lieu of traditionally "safe" designers mimicking Gothic Architecture. Most would agree that Chicago's landscape would have changed dramatically. We would not have waited 75 years for the revival of Moder Architecture.

What the 8C will do for future "automotive architecture" will unduobtedly change the landscape of automotive design! It's impact will be addressed throughout all levels of design. Alfa Romeo has always been in the forefront of new ideas, the lines of the 8C will elevate emotions even of marquees that bare little. Look at it's lines and you will not see a pep-boys plastic scope as you see in a Lamborghini Murceilago. Notice the tear drop side windows, well, Ferrari's Pininfarina has already microfished them. Have you seen better wheels on a Ferrari? Does the body look like it belongs? Are the tail-lights simply pure or do they look Japanese like the 430's?

Just because some of us may never own one, doesn't mean we cannot dream. I know, some of you are just offended they didn't use a GM engine. Moreover, how about re-creating a Bizzarrini and calling it an Alfarrini. Come on guys, are you really offended they used an Italian engine?

Keep this in mind. Fiat is the equal of how GM is structured. Their top model is Ferrari (Cadillac), then it has Maserati (Buick), then Alfa (Olds), followed by Lancia (Pontiac) and at the bottom of the list Fiat (Chevy). Does it make perfect sense to outsource engines from others or should Fiat re-create what it already has, an amazing V8! To me, after all the years of hearing about a GM V8 under an Alfa hood, having a Maser/ Ferrari engine beating under an Alfa is GREAT news. What most Americans cannot understand is that in Italy, first we give tifo to our own brands, evrything after that it doesn't really matter. Just say "Minchia" and give it a try.

[sakiss]