The Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione
Published: 19th September 2003
Alfa Romeo 8C
A Sports Car That Delivers 'Authentic Emotions'
Daniele Bandiera, President of the Alfa Romeo Business Unit, presented an exciting concept car to the international press this morning. It is called the '8c Competizione' and it joins the other important novelties displayed on the Alfa Romeo stand at the 60th Frankfurt International Motor Show: the new Alfa 166 (also having its world preview), the Alfa GT, the new 156 and Sportwagon, and the GTV and Spider models with their recently revamped styling and features.Designed and developed at the Alfa Romeo Style Centre, this prototype
will become a true brand icon, evoking a great sports car tradition
of which the name is part. In the Thirties and Forties, the '8c'
signature that returns here, identified the racing and road cars
that were equipped with the new eight cylinder engine developed
by the famous engineer Vittorio Jano. The term 'Competizione' on
the other hand, is a tribute to the 6C 2500 Competizione, the sports
coupé driven by Fangio and Zanardi in the famous Mille Miglia
race in 1950.
So '8c Competizione' is not an invented name, but a clear reference
to Alfa's racing history. And of course the Alfa Romeo legend was
created to a great extent by the victories its cars achieved on
race courses all around the world. There were so many of them that
alone they represent a long, fascinating chapter, made of men and
competitive spirit, engines and cutting edge technical ideas. The
protagonists of the inestimable human and technological heritage
that is responsible for today's beautiful cars, full of character
and, above all, capable of combining the beauty of the styling with
the pleasure of driving them.
Let us admire then the captivating, original lines of this carbon
fibre 2-seater, and its extremely generous measurements: 1900 mm
wide, 4278 mm long and 1250 mm high, with a wheelbase of 2595 mm.
The body is given extra dynamism by the horizontal furrow cut into
the side above the front wheelarch.
