Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
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The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is a
sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
produced by Italian automotive manufacturer
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
between 2007 and 2010. It was first presented as a
concept car A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or ...
at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show and later offered for sale for the 2007 model year. The name refers to the eight-cylinder (''cilindro'' in Italian) engine (8C) and
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
's racing pedigree (''Competizione'', Italian for 'competition'). The company received over 1,400 orders for the 8C after the official announcement that the car would enter production. However, only 500 customers ended up with the 8C Competizione and another 329 with the 8C Spider, bringing the production total to 829 cars.


2003 concept car

The 8C Competizione was first shown to the public at the
Frankfurt Motor Show The International Motor Show Germany or International Mobility Show Germany, in German known as the ''Internationale Automobil-Ausstellung'' (''IAA'' – International Automobile Exhibition), is one of the world's largest mobility shows. It cons ...
in 2003. Designed by
Wolfgang Egger Wolfgang Josef Egger (born 13 February 1963) is a car designer from Germany, a former Audi Group head designer, and currently a BYD Group head designer. Biography Egger was born in Oberstdorf, Germany, and studied Design at the International C ...
at Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, the lines of the twin seater are meant to echo the styling of Alfa Romeo automobiles of the 1950s and 1960s, and the "Competizione" name is a reference to the 1948 6C 2500 Competizione, which competed in the 1949 and 1950
Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...
race and secured third position both times. It was in the latter of these two races that the car was driven by
Juan-Manuel Fangio Juan Manuel Fangio (American Spanish: , ; 24 June 1911 â€“ 17 July 1995), nicknamed ''El Chueco'' ("the bowlegged" or "bandy legged one") or ''El Maestro'' ("The Master" or "The Teacher"), was an Argentine racing car driver. He dominated t ...
and Augusto Zanardi. It won the 1950
Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 1955 ...
. A 3.0-litre prototype was built but not produced. These 6C 2500 models were among the last vehicles with links to the pre-war cars. The concept was purely meant to be a styling exercise with no drive train.


2007 production version

During the ''
Mondial de l'Automobile 2006 The 2006 Paris Motor Show ('' Mondial de l'Automobile'') took place from 30 September to 15 October 2006, in Paris expo Porte de Versailles, Paris, France. Introductions Production cars * Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione * Audi A3 1.8 TFSI * Audi A4 ...
'', Alfa Romeo announced the production of the 8C Competizione (500 units). The production version is very similar to the concept; the biggest difference to the exterior being the rear-hinged
hood Hood may refer to: Covering Apparel * Hood (headgear), type of head covering ** Article of Academic dress#Hood, academic dress ** Bondage hood, sex toy * Hoodie, hooded sweatshirt Anatomy * Clitoral hood, a hood of skin surrounding the clitori ...
. Other minor changes included the front lights, which used Xenon lamps, a standard wiper system, a mesh side vent, and the wheels, which had a design that mimicked the cloverleaf logo. The car came standard in Alfa Red or Black colours. Pearl Yellow and the Special Competition Red were also available as an option. Paint-to-sample colors were also available for an additional charge, and so, the cars were produced in a wide range of colours, such as white, with a
Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...
range (Fuji White, Blue Avio, Blue Oceano, Grigio Nuvolari) and a
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
range (Blue Pozzi, Vinaccia ). The bodyshell is made of
carbon fibre Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
, produced by ATR Group. The carbon fibre body is fitted to a steel chassis, made by Italian company ITCA Produzione. Final assembly took place at the Maserati factory in
Modena Modena (, , ; egl, label=Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese, Mòdna ; ett, Mutna; la, Mutina) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern I ...
. An 8C Competizione was featured on the main sculpture at the 2010
Goodwood Festival of Speed The Goodwood Festival of Speed is an annual motorsports festival featuring modern and historic motor racing vehicles taking part in a hillclimbing, hill climb and other events, held in the grounds of Goodwood House, West Sussex, England, in l ...
. One of the two remaining Alfa Romeo P2s was also part of the display.


Powertrain

The car uses a unique platform that shares several components with the Maserati GranTurismo. The powertrain features a Ferrari/Maserati derived cross-plane, wet sump lubricated 90°
V8 engine A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder piston engine in which two banks of four cylinders share a common crankshaft and are arranged in a V configuration. The first V8 engine was produced by the French Antoinette company in 1904, developed and us ...
assembled by
Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...
. The top engine performance figures may be summarized as a maximum power output of at 7,000 rpm and a peak torque of at 4,750 rpm (80% at 2,500 rpm) with an engine redline of 7,500 rpm and rev limiter of 7,600 rpm. The V8 engine has variable timing, intake valves and a compression ratio of 11.3:1. The six–speed
transaxle A transaxle is a single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission, axle, and differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual and automatic versions. Engine and drive at the ...
gearbox has computerized gear selection by means of paddles on the steering column and may be used in Manual-Normal; Manual-Sport; Automatic-Normal; Automatic-Sport and Wet modes. The gearbox can shift gears in 175 milliseconds when the Sport mode is selected. The car also features a limited slip differential.


Performance

The 8C Competizione is fitted with specially developed 20-inch tyres: 245/35 at the front and 285/35 at the rear, wrapped around perforated wheels crafted from fluid moulded aluminium. The brakes of the car, which are
Brembo Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy. History Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...
carbon ceramic In materials science, ceramic matrix composites (CMCs) are a subgroup of composite materials and a subgroup of ceramics. They consist of ceramic fibers embedded in a ceramic matrix. The fibers and the matrix both can consist of any ceramic mat ...
units have been called "phenomenal" by ''
Road & Track ''Road & Track'' (stylized as ''R&T'') is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. It is owned by Hearst Magazines and is published 6 times per year. The editorial offices are located in New York, New York. History ''Road & Track'' (often ab ...
'' magazine, with a stopping distance of , when travelling at an initial speed of . The official top speed is officially quoted to be but it might be higher, with estimations that it could be around according to the ''Road & Track'' magazine.


8C Spider


2005 Spider concept

At the 2005
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance The Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance is an automotive charitable event held each year on the Pebble Beach Golf Links in Pebble Beach, California. It is widely considered the pinnacle event of its kind and one of the most prestigious car events in ...
, Alfa Romeo unveiled the 8C Spider, a roadster version of the Competizione coupé concept presented in 2003. The Spider concept was built by
Carrozzeria Marazzi Carrozzeria Marazzi was an Italian coachbuilding company founded in 1967 and is located in Caronno Pertusella, in the province of Varese, Lombardy. The company was established by Carlo Marazzi (with sons Serafino and Mario) and employees from ...
. Production of the 8C Spider was confirmed by Sergio Marchionne on September 25, 2007. It was announced that the Spider would be built in a limited production run of 500 units and would cost around US$227,000 (€165,000), considerably more than the coupé version.


2008 production version

The production version was unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. Production of the 8C Spider began in 2009, in Modena, with Maserati in charge of manufacturing the cars as with the coupé. While 500 cars were originally to be produced, due to the impact of the Recession, only 329 Spiders in total were produced, each priced at €199,000 (£174,000) excluding taxes. 35 of 329 Spiders were destined for the United States. In the United States the 8C Spider had a base price of US$299,000. In the October 2011 issue of ''
Evo (magazine) ''Evo'' is a British automobile magazine dedicated to performance cars, from hot hatches to supercars. History In 1995, then Harpenden-based farmer and property developer Harry Metcalfe had become involved in car tests for magazine publishers, ...
'' the 8C Spider won the title of the 'Best Sounding Car'. Alfa Romeo claims that the 8C Spider's top speed is , which makes it slightly slower than the coupé version. The brakes on the Spider are
Brembo Brembo S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of automotive brake systems, especially for high-performance cars and motorcycles. Its head office is in Curno, Bergamo, Italy. History Brembo was established in Paladina, Italy on January 11, 1961 ...
carbon-ceramic units. The Spider has a two-layer electrically operated fabric roof. The windshield frame is made of carbon fibre to try to maintain a 50/50 weight distribution.


Coachbuilt variants

The 8C spawned several bespoke versions from renowned
coachbuilder A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
s
Carrozzeria Touring Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera is an Italian automobile coachbuilder. Originally established in Milan in 1925, Carrozzeria Touring became well known for both the beauty of its designs and patented superleggera construction methods. The bus ...
and
Zagato Zagato is an independent coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ft)- 11,000 of ...
.


Zagato TZ3 Corsa

The Alfa Romeo TZ3 Corsa is the track version of the TZ3 (hence the name TZ3 Corsa, Corsa meaning race in Italian) built to celebrate 100 years (a century) of
Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...
in racing. The Corsa is a
one-off In the field of vehicles authorized to drive, a one-off vehicle is a vehicle that was manufactured only once. The production of unique vehicles is reduced to one unit in each case. The easiest cases to analyze are those of cars and motorcycles. Un ...
car that was first presented at, and won, the 2010
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este () is a Concours d'Elegance event in Italy for classic car, classic and vintage cars. It takes place annually near the Villa d'Este (Cernobbio), Villa d'Este hotel in Cernobbio, on the western shore of Lake Como ...
in
Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
. This unique car, based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, was made for German collector Martin Kapp and is not intended for sale or for competitions. The car weighs due to its carbon fibre chassis and hand beaten aluminium body. A 4.2 litre dry sump V8 engine is fitted to the TZ3 which is rated at . The car has a 6-speed automated manual gearbox and is able to attain a top speed of over . It can accelerate from 0 to in 3.5 seconds. The chassis is a carbon-fibre monocoque with some tubular elements. The suspension setup, front, and rear, are double wishbones, with pushrod actuated coil springs. The dampers installed are provided by
Öhlins Öhlins or Öhlins Racing AB, is a Swedish company that develops suspension systems for the automotive, motorcycle, mountain bike and motorsport industries. Approximately 97% of all production is exported and Öhlins has distribution in over 50 ...
. The similarly-named Alfa Romeo TZ3 Stradale is not based on the 8C, as it was made after production of the 8C had ended, instead of being based on the Dodge Viper ACR.


Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring

The
Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring The Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring is a two-seater coupé, built by Carrozzeria Touring in 2013. It is based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. The model name is derived from the Disco Volante of the 1950s. Equipped with a front-central eng ...
is a two-seater coupé, built by Carrozzeria Touring in 2013. It is based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. The model name is derived from the
Disco Volante The term ''Disco Volante'' (Italian for ''flying disc'' or ''flying saucer'') may refer to; * ''Disco Volante'' (Mr. Bungle album), a 1995 album by the band Mr. Bungle * ''Disco Volante'' (Lisa album), a 2009 album by singer Lisa * ''Disco Volan ...
of the 1950s. Equipped with a front-central engine of 4.7 litre of displacement, it delivers and of torque. The Disco Volante is rear-wheel-drive with a six-speed
automated manual transmission The automated manual transmission (AMT) is a type of transmission for motor vehicles. It is essentially a conventional manual transmission but uses automatic actuation to operate the clutch and/or shift between gears. Many early versions of t ...
. The transmission is a
transaxle A transaxle is a single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission, axle, and differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual and automatic versions. Engine and drive at the ...
with a
limited-slip differential A limited-slip differential (LSD) is a type of differential that allows its two output shafts to rotate at different speeds but limits the maximum difference between the two shafts. Limited-slip differentials are often known by the generic tr ...
, while the suspension is
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quadrilateral and made of aluminium. The car is able to accelerate from 0 to in 4.2 seconds and can reach a top speed of .


Spyder

A Spyder version of Disco Volante was presented at the
Geneva Motor Show The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva. The show is hosted at the Palexpo, a convention centre located next to the Geneva Cointrin International Airport. The Salon is organised by th ...
in March 2016. A limited series of only seven cars were manufactured. This is based on
Alfa Romeo 8C Spider The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is a sports car produced by Italian automotive manufacturer Alfa Romeo between 2007 and 2010. It was first presented as a concept car at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show and later offered for sale for the 2007 model ...
chassis.


Production numbers, markets and notable owners

The 8C Competizione was built in a limited production run of 500 units, and Alfa Romeo originally earmarked the entire production among several specified markets (see table). The entire production of 500 cars quickly sold out. The 8C marked Alfa Romeo's return to the American market in 2008, after withdrawing in 1995. The first 8C was delivered to an Italian customer in October 2007. The first American-market 8C was seen in November 2008, wearing "001 USA" registration plates. The car was purchased by film director and stock exchange magnate James Glickenhaus, also known for being the owner of the
bespoke The word ''bespoke'' () has evolved from a verb meaning 'to speak for something', to its contemporary usage as an adjective. Originally, the adjective ''bespoke'' described tailor-made suits and shoes. Later, it described anything commissioned t ...
Ferrari Enzo The Enzo Ferrari (Type F140) is a mid-engine sports car manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer Ferrari and named after the company's founder, Enzo Ferrari. It was developed in 2002 using Formula One technology, such as a carbon-fibre ...
-based P4/5. The 8C's production run was completed by the end of 2008. The last Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione was delivered to the United States to an Italian-American car collector from the Boston area. The late Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne owned both an 8C Competizione and an 8C Spider. Fiat President and owner John Elkann also owns an 8C Competizione in a special livery called Blu Oceano, which is part of the Maserati color range.
New York Mets The New York Mets are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of Queens. The Mets compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) East division. They are one of two major league ...
player Yoenis Céspedes drove a cherry red 8C Competizione to training camp in Florida in February 2016.


References


External links


Alfa Romeo 8C CompetizioneAlfa Romeo 8C Spider
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione 8C Competizione Sports cars Coupés Flagship vehicles Cars introduced in 2007 2010s cars Front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive vehicles