Category: Exotic Sports 
Price Range: No data available
Looks unbelievable, sounds even better. Huge speed, exquisite interior
Lifeless steering, very stiff ride, handling quite tricky on the limit
Better to look at than to drive, but still a wonderful experience. Shame it has no bearing whatsoever on any planned future Alfa production car
It has been a long wait, 15 years to be precise, since Alfa Romeo's last limited edition supercar, the SZ, disappeared for good. In that time there have been some quick Alfas, some good-looking Alfas but not one that truly deserves the one title that was once the birthright of every product from the Torinese firm: that of the true driver's car. The 8C Competizione is here to change all that.
But before we're consumed by the release of one-and-a-half decades of pent-up frustration and become overwhelmed with enthusiasm for what appears to be one of the most exciting Alfas ever, let alone of the modern era, let's first see what we're dealing with.
The 8C is named after a famed 30s Alfa sports racer and simply means it has eight cylinders. You may see it as cynical brand exploitation or regard it as simply the revival of an evocative name from the past.
What the name does not reveal is just how little Alfa Romeo there actually is in the 8C. Its shape is the work of Fiat's in-house Centro Stile design studio, while the platform it sits on is an abbreviated version of that used by the Maserati Quattroporte. It's built by Maserati, uses a Maserati engine (which is actually assembled by Ferrari), a Maserati paddle-shift gearbox and even Maserati suspension.
Does any of this matter? To the 500 who have already slapped down £30,000 deposits, ensuring this limited-edition supercar sold out long before anyone even drove one, almost certainly not. When the time comes - and deliveries start in early 2008 and last for two years - each will willingly pay around £111,000 for their 8C in exchange for being able to drive one of the most distinctive, evocative and just plain beautiful cars on the road.
It's quick too, not least because its trim 1,585kg shape is cannoned down the road by a 4.7-litre V8 turning 450bhp at 7,000rpm. The engine is a derivation of the 4.2-litre motor used by all current Maseratis and while its use in the Alfa is unique for now, it will soon be popping up under Maserati bonnets too.
Where it differs from the Maserati and, indeed, any production car from the Fiat Group, including Ferrari, is that its svelte, preposterously gorgeous body is made entirely from carbon fibre. Not only does this save an estimated 80kg, it also substantially lowers the car's centre of gravity. The central core of the car is steel and related to that used by Maserati for both the Quattroporte and GranTurismo, but it has been cut and shut to shorten its wheelbase and, in this regard at least, it is unique.
The 8C is a strict two-seater and the combination of siting the gearbox between the rear wheels and an 88-litre fuel tank means boot space is near enough non-existent. There is, however, a substantial ledge behind the seats for which Alfa Romeo will happily sell you some tailored luggage.
The cockpit itself is largely successful. The thin bucket seat holds your body well, all the controls look and operate like quality items and the view down the bonnet to the gently jutting wings is highly evocative. Only the ugly instruments and horrible central electronic readout spoil the sense of occasion.
