Will Alfa Romeo’s new supercar be able to take on Ferrari and Porsche?
Turbocharged, mid-engine coupe, called 8C, to be part of Italian carmaker’s plans to have supercars and sports cars form 5 per cent of global sales by 2022
Alfa Romeo is to produce a supercar that could go up against the likes of Ferrari, McLaren, and Porsche.
The forthcoming coupe, which will be called the 8C, will run on a turbocharged, mid-engine and use an all-wheel drive, electric-drive system, the Italian car maker said on Friday.
Total output will equal at least 700 horsepower, according to the report, with a 0-60mph (96.5km/h) sprint time of less than 3 seconds. No top speed was announced.
Alfa’s news came packaged with the report that the Fiat-owned brand will also launch more SUVs and another “speciality” model as well, a Giulia-based coupe called the GTV.
The supercar component comes as a bit of a leap for a brand that is just returning in full force to American soil, where luxury sport utility vehicles (SUVs) and crossovers – cars that combine the characteristics of SUVs and hatchbacks – dominate.
The bulk of the eight cars Alfa has promised to make for America in the next few years are indeed large. And last year the Giulia saloon and Stelvio SUV received high marks among consumer and critical reports.
So it might be more likely that the brand will keep producing new things that could compete with Porsche’s bestselling Macan or Jaguar’s excellent-value F-Pace.
We know our future depends on staying true to our sports car roots. We have learned that when we stay true to Alfa DNA, we can stand out in any segment
Yet, global sales are providing a strong foundation for innovation, rising more than 160 per cent in the past four years to 170,000 units expected to be sold in 2018 compared with 66,000 units sold in 2014.