Best news ever? Alfa Romeo to build new 8C and GTV
In news that will surely gladden all enthusiasts’ hearts, Alfa Romeo is set for a sports car resurgence with new versions of both the 8C and the GTV on their way. And that’s official, with the boss laying bare Alfa’s product plans and sales targets to 2022 at a conference in Italy today (1 June).
The new 8C will be a mid-engined coupe with twin-turbo petrol engine and electric motor on the front axle for a total of 700bhp and 0-62mph in under 3.0 seconds, says Alfa. With its carbon monocoque construction and – judging from the teaser image – beautifully flowing curves, it will reprise the 8C Competizione, the front-engined V8 coupe which was killed off in 2010.
A bigger shock is what Alfa has in store for the next GTV: this car is really growing up. The GTV for 2022 will be a two-door, four-seat coupe with 50-50 weight distribution, all-wheel-drive with torque vectoring… and 600-plus horsepower thanks to what Alfa is calling an E-Boost electric motor.
The E-Boost is just one prong of Alfa’s electrification plan that will also see hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) power in all seven new models due by 2022. By then, says Alfa, 100 per cent of its range will feature some form of electrification. Diesel Alfas? Forget them.
Forget also loss leaders like the Mito: Alfa doesn’t say so, but the baby doesn’t feature in the “new generation” model line-up. So what can we expect of new Alfas in the future? In what is a rare glimpse into a product-planning cupboard, Alfa chief Timoty Kuniskis was specific in what is coming at the FCA group meeting with big chief Sergio Marchionne in Balocco today.
As well as as the new 8C supercar and GTV coupe, Alfa will have a new Giulietta and a new Giulia in both standard and new long wheelbase forms – with electrification and sans diesel power. And a new Souder? Alas no mention of that.
What there most definitely is a mention of is the SUVs: the big-sellers that will be financing the new-model sports car splurge, just as other companies like Porsche have found. The hot-selling Stelvio has already done its bit to pull Alfa out of the mire; along with the well received Giulia the pair have helped see Alfa global sales climb from 66,000 a year in 2014 to a predicted 170,000 this year. A new Giulietta SUV below the Stelvio and a big new BMW X5-size SUV above it, plus a long-wheelbase version of the Stelvio itself, aim to drive total annual sales to 400,000 a year by 2022.
The sales turning point for Alfa may have been entering the SUV market but Alfa’s sporting spirit was re-energised by the little 4C in 2014, and the firm says its this car’s DNA on which the new range will be founded.
“What we’ve learned in the last four years is that when we stay true to Alfa DNA, we can stand out in any segment,” said Kuniskis.
"Alfa will deliver the sports car of each segment it enters. We know our future depends on staying true to our sports car roots; cars designed to represent the brand’s position and inspire the next generation of customers.”
Alfa Romeo
GTV
8C
