More exciting than all its numbers combined
In retrospect, the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione proved to be a bit of a tease. This super-limited-production sports car was meant to establish the beachhead for this fabled marque’s return to U.S. shores in 2008. More accessible models would follow two years later, and these impressed driving enthusiasts. But the segments in which today’s Alfas compete are brutal and, lately, the brand has been struggling in the U.S.
While the excitement that the 8C Competizione was real, and continues to be real for those who have one, it appears unlikely that we’ll ever see another Alfa like it. In fact, most people in America will probably never even see the 8C, as just 84 coupes and 35 Spiders made it to the U.S. Gooding & Company is offering one of the 84 coupes at its Pebble beach auction, a one-owner car with 6,400 miles and a $240,000-$280,000 pre-sale estimate.
When Alfa Returned to America
Using a $250,000 semi-exotic sports car to stage a comeback for a brand known in the U.S. for far more affordable sports cars and sedans was, perhaps, not the brightest marketing idea. Add to that its spectacularly bad timing with the Great Recession looming. And then add the subsequent merger that created the sprawling Fiat Chrysler Automobiles empire (which later became the even larger Stellantis empire).
FCA put Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Ferrari and Maserati under the same big umbrella as Chrysler, Dodge, and Jeep. Ferrari was later spun off as its own stock-issuing company. But we digress. Forget the weird business background and focus on the magnificent if imperfect Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, because it deserves the attention.
Italian Bloodline with a German Accent?
The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione was, at its core, a Maserati GranTurismo with an engine developed and built by Ferrari. The 8C’s design came from Alfa Romeo Centro Stile (design center), and specifically, Wolfgang Egger. That’s right, a German designer created one of the most beautiful Italian exotics of the period.
The 8C had been shown as a concept at the 2003 Frankfurt Auto Show and remains, as then, simply stunning. It seems to channel the spirit of the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale and Giulia TZ of the 1960s, along with some Ferraris from that period, yet it is not an imitation of anything.
The Family Chips In
Alfa Romeo did not pull the 8C Competizione out of thin air. And, for the record, the “Competizione” part of its name was merely to evoke the marque’s rich racing history, not recreate it. The 8C was a front engine GT in the spirit of the great Ferrari and Maserati coupes of the 1950s and 1960s.
There was much more than a suggestion of Ferrari and Maserati personality in the 8C. The car was based on a shorter wheelbase version of the Maserati GranTurismo platform (104 inches vs. 115 inches for the Maserati). Under the hood was a different version of the Maserati’s V8, which was developed and built by Ferrari.
The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione used carbon fiber for the body, which helped drive the price so high. The $250,000 entry was indeed ambitious at a time when the Ferrari F430 GTB started at under $200,000. Adding some confusion, Alfa had to sell the 8C through Maserati dealers in the U.S., since there were no Alfa dealers here at the time.
What’s In A Name?
Alfa buffs immediately recognized the 8C name as an homage to pre-WWII Alfa Romeo racers and sports cars. The badge simply stood for the 8-cylinder engine. In the modern 8C, that meant a 4.7-liter version of the Ferrari-designed-and-built F136 V8 from the Maserati GranTurismo. (In that car, it was a 4.2-liter engine at the time.) The Alfa kept the cross-plane crankshaft like the Maserati, rather than Ferrari’s flat-plane crankshaft.
Rather dissect the technical distinctions between the two types, consider V8 sounds. A high-performance cross-plane V8 issues a muscle car-like burble at idle and emits a deep roar under acceleration. A flat-plane V8, in contrast, fires like two four-cylinder engines running together, giving a sound like a pair of Japanese superbikes running side-by-side.
The 8C used a dry-sump oil system, which would be essential for assuring proper lubrication under intense track driving, if one were to subject the car to such activity. The engine was rated at 444 horsepower and 347 lb-ft. of peak torque. A single-clutch six-speed robotized manual paddle-shift transaxle was mounted ahead of the rear wheels to give the car a 50:50 weight balance.
More Exciting Than Numbers Can Say
The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione impressed in the cockpit, where it won praise for the craftsmanship of the carbon fiber and aluminum trim and webbed leather. The rare Alfa posted solid numbers, including 0-60 in 4.5 seconds and a 180-mph top speed, but it was not strictly a “numbers car.” Motor Trend said, “Gun the 8C from a standstill and it revs to its 7500-rpm redline with so much sonic splendor its owners likely won’t even care what acceleration numbers it achieves.” Noting there were quicker cars for much less money, the magazine said, “An off-the-floor Corvette Z51 could spank the 8C without breathing hard, for about one-fifth the cost, yet the Alfa remains a soulful and thoroughly scintillating machine.”
And that is why 84 people bought one in the U.S., along with 35 8C Spiders. Total production was 500 coupes and 329 Spiders, so you’ll find these cars in other countries.
A One-Owner 8C
The 2008 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione offered by Gooding & Company comes from the original U.S. owner, who drove it just 6,400 miles. He ordered the car with the optional fitted luggage, leather headliner and transmission tunnel, full interior carbon package, red-painted brake calipers, Bose audio system, navigation system, and cloverleaf fender badges.
The second owner will be getting quite a car.
