Alfa Romeo is reportedly going ahead with the on-again-off-again production version of the gorgeous Brera, which is expected to be the successor to the ageing GTV. The Milanese marque is also currently deciding on the future of the 8C Competizione.
Alfa Romeo is reportedly going ahead with the on-again-off-again production version of the gorgeous Brera, which is expected to be the successor to the ageing GTV. The Milanese marque is also currently deciding on the future of the 8C Competizione.
Fiat Auto recently put up a multi-million budget for the development of advanced four-wheel-drive systems and a raft of advanced diesel and petrol engines. Alfa Romeo is expected to enter the SUV market in the next three years and will further raise its profile with a head-turning coupé and cabrio and perhaps even a Ferrari-challenging supercar based on the 8C Competizione.
According to , Alfa Romeo has also developed a hybrid spaceframe-monocoque version of the all-new “Premium” platform. “They (Alfa Romeo) have even created a new type of ‘rolling chassis’, which can be used for relatively short production runs of high-end bespoke models,” the magazine reported.
The Alfa Romeo Project 939C Brera has been dubbed the successor to the GTV by industry sources and consists of the new Premium platform – which is used for the lower structure – and a bespoke upper structure developed from the steel spaceframe technology pioneered by Fiat on the Multipla and Stilo.
Although the strong flavour of the concept, which was unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show in 2002, has been retained, the final car will have a shorter wheelbase than the upcoming 157/8.
The spaceframe upper structure is said to have dramatically changed the proportions of the top half of the car and made it easier to build a stiff structure for the roofless Spider version.
Wide-bodied below the shoulder line, the sides of the Brera’s cabin slope inwards. The rear hatch is steeply raked and, in contrast with the concept, the production version gets a proper side window. ItalDesign’s original used a door so long that it was only separated from the wrap-around tailgate by the rear pillar.
The interior will be very similar to that of the 157/8, although the Project 939C will have unique door trims, steering wheel, seats and detail trim improvements such as chrome bezels etc.
The Brera has a transversely mounted engine and gearbox and sources say the new Alfa Q4 four-wheel-drive transmission could be standard on all versions. The entry-level engine could be a new 142 kW 2,2-litre direct-injection petrol engine. Two diesels will be available: a 2,4-litre five-cylinder unit and three-litre V6.
The V6 petrol engines, including a 3,2- and 3,6-litre powerplants, will be based on the new General Motors global unit. The unconfirmed GTA-badged Brera could deliver as much as 300 kW courtesy of UNIAIR – “a new induction system that mimics BMW’s Valvetronic technology by both dispensing with the throttle bodies and controlling the engine’s inlet valves electronically,” Autocar reported recently.
UNIAIR reportedly improves power and torque outputs as well as cutting emissions. Eventually, it will be fitted to all Alfa engines and is even said to be under development at Ferrari.
Meanwhile, the future of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is being considered.
Last year’s Frankfurt Show star could go into production if the public responds enthusiastically to the projected price of the vehicle. Alfa expects the 8C Competizione would cost the equivalent of between R800 000 and R1,2 million, which is more than originally envisaged. As part of the ongoing cost-cutting investigations, the carbonfibre monocoque bodyshell will be dropped. The upper body structure will still sit on Alfa’s clever split-frame chassis (and use some of the Premium platform’s running gear), but may now be built using Fiat’s steel spaceframe technology.
At the moment, the three prototype cars are fitted with a 305 kW version of the 4,3-litre V8 Maserati engine, but there is also a supercharged version that delivers over 340 kW. The 8C could also use a version of Ferrari’s new 360 kW 4,3-litre F430 engine, although it is widely feared within the Fiat Auto hierarchy that the newcomer could steal sales from Maserati.
