Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione is a sports car produced by Italian automaker Alfa Romeo. It was first presented as a concept car at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show and later released for sale for the 2007 model year. The name refers to the eight cylinder (Cilindro in Italian) engine (8C) and Alfa Romeo's racing pedigree (Competizione, Italian for 'Competition').The 8C Competizione was introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2003. The lines of the twin seater are meant to echo the styling of Alfas of the 1950s and 1960s, and the "Competizione" name is a reference to the 1948 6C 2500 Competizione,^[6] which competed in the 1949 and 1950 Mille Miglia race and came third both times. It was in the latter of these two races that the car was driven by Juan-Manuel Fangio and Augusto Zanardi. It won the 1950 Targa Florio. 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.^[7]

Powertrain

The car uses a modified Maserati platform and powertrain (Maserati 4200, GranTurismo) and features a Ferrari/Maserati derived 90 degree cross-plane^[11] wet sump^[12] lubricated 4.7-litre V8 assembled by Ferrari.^[3] The top engine performance figures may be summarized as a maximum power of 331 kilowatts (450 PS) at 7000 revolutions per minute, a peak torque of 480 newton metres (354 lb·ft) at 4750 rpm (80% at 2500 rpm) with an engine redline of 7500 rpm and rev limiter of 7600 rpm.^[13] The V8 engine has variable timing intake valves and compression ratio of 11.3.^[14]

The six–speed transaxle gearbox has computerized gear selection by means of levers behind the steering wheel and may be used in Manual-Normal; Manual-Sport; Automatic-Normal; Automatic-Sport and Wet modes. The gearbox can shift in 175 milliseconds when using Sport mode.^[15] The 8C also has a limited slip differential.

Performance

It is fitted with specially developed 20 inch tires: 245/35 at the front and 285/35 at the rear, fitted on perforated rims in fluid moulded aluminium. The 8C brakes have been called "phenomenal" by Road & Track magazine, with a stopping distance of 32 metres (105.0 ft), when travelling at an initial speed of 97 kilometres per hour (60 mph).^[13] The official top speed is announced to be 292 kilometres per hour (181 mph) but it might be higher, with estimations that it could be around 306 kilometres per hour (190 mph) according to the Road & Track magazine.^[16] An Alfa Romeo engineer also stated that it is faster than the announced top speed.

2008 production version

Production of the 8C Spider began in 2009, in Modena, with Maserati in charge of building the cars. As previously announced, 500 cars will be built, each priced at €175,000 (US$241,000) excluding taxes. The production version was unveiled at the 2008 Geneva Motor Show. 35 of 500 Spiders are going to United States.^[26]
Alfa Romeo claims that the 8C Spider's top speed is 290 kilometres per hour (180 mph), which makes it slightly slower than the coupe version. The brakes on the Spider are Brembo carbon-ceramic units.^[27] 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.