I still remember the first time I saw a C8 Alfa Competizione parked outside a small garage near London, and it stopped me in my tracks.
This isn’t just another Alfa Romeo it’s a supercar with a story that runs back to the 33 Stradale, one of the most splendid shapes ever put on four wheels.
The car uses a transaxle layout, meaning the front engine sends power to a rear-mounted gearbox, giving it true rear-wheel drive balance, and that single detail tells you everything about how seriously Alfa Romeo took this project.
The 8C first showed up as a concept car at the 60th Frankfurt Motor Show back in 2003, and the reaction from both professionals and Brand enthusiasts was instant excitement. People were thrilled to see Alfa Romeo return to rear-wheel drive after years away from it.
Years later, driving one through south London traffic past the old Croydon airport, stuck at endless traffic lights I understood why: even idling in fully automatic mode, with the V8 burbling away and the six-speed transaxle shifting lazily, it still felt special, like a high-performance car worth every bit of its six-figure sum.
There’s also a newer chapter to this story. Word came out of Turin that the 8C name a favourite among Alfisti everywhere was being brought back as a hybridised super-sports car, and CAR magazine had the full lowdown in its August 2018 issue.
That special issue was packed with details on what to expect from Italy’s most exciting mainstream marque, including artist’s impressions of the new coupe and spider twins. A free preview of that CAR magazine feature is honestly worth tracking down if you love this car as much as I do.
C8 Alfa
My own first proper drive in an 8C Competizione started in traffic near south London, following a Spider driven by Richard, past the old Croydon airport and out beyond the M25, and it was only once we hit open motorway that the car’s real character came through moderate to high speed arrived with just a gentle prod of the throttle, even in its relatively subdued automatic setting.
We stopped for a B-road, pressed the Sport button, and everything changed: gearchanges sped up, timing sat fully in my hands, the throttle response got keener, and above 3000rpm the exhaust valves opened to liberate the engine’s crisp bark.
Most press reports from when the 8C was new came from a few laps at Alfa’s Balocco proving ground, with testers balancing the rear end on the throttle exiting corners and using wheelspin to stay in the powerband but honestly, driving on a public road taught me far more than any test track ever could.
Following Richard’s Spider into the countryside, I found the steering remarkably fast, catching me unawares into a quick right-hand bend, yet the long snout turned in far more readily than my clumsy input deserved, without ever losing grip.
That exhilarating blast ended near Bolney in the Sussex countryside, cars ticking and pinging in the summer sun, before we swapped cars and pushed on through motorways, dual carriageways, and swooping B-roads toward the coast the 8C proved enormously entertaining, with a charisma beyond the sum of its parts, and unlike a Ferrari or Porsche, it never attracts any degree of opprobrium.
As a Spitfire flew overhead, a wedding party arrived, and the photographer asked if the bride and groom could be pictured with the cars proof that few cars earn such overwhelmingly positive attention.
Compared side by side, the Spider, launched two years after the coupé, uses carbon-ceramic brakes that feel less easily modulated than the fearsomely powerful steel ones on the Competizione, which runs six-pot Brembo calipers up front and four-pots at the rear; only Spiders got those composite discs, which reduce unsprung weight to offset the extra body reinforcement, and the open variant’s ride feels compliant thanks to different springs, dampers, and anti-roll bars.
Inside, the interior feels stylish and special, with traditional cowls housing the rev counter and speedo, a modern digital readout, carbonfibre swathes around the doors and dashboard, and a centre console hewn from solid aluminium rather than plasticky metal; both cars I drove had the optional woven leather upholstery and matching Schedoni luggage, fitted into useful storage space behind the rear seats, far better than the pitiful boot beneath the rear hatch.
These cars are genuinely rare only 40 Competiziones ever came to the UK, most heading to the USA, and the Spider production run matched the Competizione’s 500, so seeing two running together, as we did, is highly unusual and caused quite a stir.
At Birling Gap, a group of photography students abandoned the spectacular coastline to photograph the Alfas instead, and further up the road, a class of younger kids near a set of challenging hairpins gave us a thumbs-up, shouted “rev the engine,” and one class wag even shouted “Aston Martins are better” a memory I still laugh about.
A specialist I spoke to, who’d driven a Competizione back from Brescia and a Spider from Stuttgart, explained that most cars disappeared into collections when new and are only now creeping onto the market; he praised the motor, proven in the GranTurismo, Quattroporte, Ferrari F430, and California, calling it a strong, reliable unit with timing chains instead of belts, which keeps maintenance costs down and he summed it up perfectly: “Alfa Romeo wanted a car as emotive as possible, with stunning design mated to a powerful engine and modern materials, and they succeeded.”
History
The look of the 8C owes a lot to Franco Scaglione, whose magnificent 33 Stradela work clearly inspired the sleek, sculpted lines that gave the concept car’s shape its exquisite beauty.
In 2007, Alfa Romeo management finally decided to build the model as a limited edition of just 500 cars, and they sold out at once, before production had even started. These gems were built at the Maserati Modena plant, the same place that later made the 4C.
Everything about the 8C Competizione reflected the greatest Italian sports and racing car tradition. Alfa Romeo called in Dallara to supply the chassis, brought in Brembo for an F1-derived braking system, and turned to Sparco for the carbon seats, while the finishing touch came from an engine derived from a genuine Ferrari.
There’s little doubt that in either Competizione or Spider form, the 8C is a fabulous-looking car it first appeared as a concept in 2003, when chief designer Wolfgang Egger created a two-seater coupé simply to remind anyone disillusioned with Alfa’s contemporary products that the brand’s heart and soul were still intact.
Back then, the Fiat bigwigs already had their hands full with Ferrari and Maserati, so they weren’t keen on a car chasing similar territory.
Not until 2006, under new management, was it decided that a short production run of the 8C would give the marque a welcome boost, and the announcement at that year’s Paris Salon got an overwhelming response the Milanese firm could have sold the entire 500-strong batch of Competiziones three times over.
Sadly, the Fiat group was still reeling from the death of CEO Sergio Marchionne in July 2018 when news broke that the 8C name was being dusted down and brought back to life, with the last 8C (built 2007-2010, 500 coupes and 500 roadsters) making way for a mid-engined layout instead of the original front-engined one.
Engine
Pop the bonnet and you find a V8, 2-DOHC, 4691 cm³, laid out anterior longitudinal, producing 450 HP at 7,000 rpm and pushing the 8C Competizione to a top speed near 300 km/h officially 292 km/h while weighing 1490 kg.
That engine comes from very good stock, based on Ferrari’s F136 unit, the same unit used in the F430, the Maserati GranTurismo, and the Quattroporte, but bored out to 4.7 litres to give 444bhp.
I remember thinking a big V8 like this would only care about torque, but it happily spins to 6000rpm, basking in a savage noise still 1000rpm shy of where peak power is produced.
Fast forward to the newer car, and the story changes completely. Alfa Romeo is planning to use the familiar 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 from the Giulia Quadrifoglio, mated to an electric powertrain built around a carbonfibre monocoque, and that fizzy engine, developed with Ferrari, already makes an easy 500bhp in saloon and SUV form.
Word is the new 2021 Alfa Romeo 8C could spiral that output to nearer 600bhp with extra boost, and CAR magazine’s scoop revealed a 150kW front axle shared with the forthcoming Maserati Alfieri, adding up to a combined total of roughly 800bhp this thing will be a genuine weapon.
That much power needs proper control, and the plan for the new 8C includes all-wheel drive, torque vectoring, and strong traction, aiming to break the three second barrier in the 0-62mph sprint thanks to E-boost.
It’s a heap of technical complication, sure, but Alfa Romeo has quietly established a pool of expertise in lightweight technologies through cars like the composite 4C and Giulia range, which gives me real confidence in what’s coming.
Materials
Adopting the traditional transaxle schema familiar from the Alfetta and 75, the 8C kept its longitudinal front engine, rear-wheel drive, and rear-mounted gearbox for perfect weight balancing, while the six-speed robotised sequential gearbox sat en bloc with a self-locking differential, controlled through paddles behind the steering wheel, just like an F1 car.
The composite chassis mixed aluminium, titanium, and carbon, and the lightweight bodyshell plus parts of the interior used carbon fibre, sitting on double wishbone suspensions at all four wheels with carbon ceramic Brembo brakes.
Even the car’s name carries past glories: 8C was the code for Vittorio Jano’s victorious straight eight cars, triumphant in the Mille Miglia and four times in a row at Le Mans, while Competizione recalls the 6C 2500 Competizione in which J.M. Fangio finished third in the 1950 Mille Miglia.
To turn that concept into reality, Alfa Romeo used a shortened Maserati M139 platform with a central steel section and subframes front and rear, plus outer panels made from carbonfibre, with final assembly carried out by Maserati, and the result was a car that tipped the scales at a whopping 300kg less than the GranTurismo.
The double-wishbone suspension was also sourced from Maserati, though the 8C got its own bushes, geometry, springs, and dampers, riding on bespoke 285/35 ZR20 Pirelli P Zero tyres.
From personal experience, the upshot is that the Alfa rides firmly, jiggling beneath you and keeping you informed of the road surface through the thin carbonfibre seat the same style seen in the Ferrari Enzo and Maserati MC12 and while it slides fore and aft, adjusting its height is only a 20-minute job, though not ideal if you’re on the shorter side and need extra visibility.
Design
Even years later, the 8C’s lines still make people stop and stare, and I’ve watched it happen firsthand outside car shows.
Pleasingly, those lines remained almost unchanged throughout the car’s development, giving the world a stunningly good-looking design that’s curvaceous and well proportioned, with magnificent, sculpted lines clearly inspired by Scaglione’s original 33 Stradale, finished with an exquisite beauty that no photo quite captures.
The car’s influences are clear too, with echoes of the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ running throughout, though the overall stance feels muscular and aggressive rather than delicate and lithe. Aesthetically, I’d pick the Competizione over the Spider every time, and I happily accept that you genuinely can’t see much out the back it’s a fair trade for how good it looks.
Pricing
For the new C8 Alpha, it’s still early days for estimating prices, but word is it will be a limited production run, so it won’t be cheap which is honestly stating the obvious. Expect no more than 1,000 models to be manufactured, with prices likely sitting around £250,000 at today’s prices, making it a genuine top-end prospect.
Talking with a marque specialist years ago taught me a lot about how the numbers move. “Prices for the Spider and Competizione are getting closer,” he told me, adding that both cars initially depreciated by about 10% during 2010-’11, but coupés have risen roughly £10k per year since, while the Spiders which were more expensive new have only appreciated slightly on their original showroom price.
A quick check at the time of writing proved you won’t find many for less than £140,000, and even the oldest cars are unlikely to show five-figure mileages.
FAQs of C8 Alpha
What is the C8 Alfa?
The C8 Alfa refers to the Alfa Romeo 8C, a V8-powered supercar built on the legendary transaxle layout.
How fast is the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione?
The 8C Competizione hits a top speed near 292 km/h, powered by a 450 HP V8 engine.
How many Alfa Romeo 8C models were made?
Only 500 Competiziones and 500 Spiders were built, making it a genuinely rare, limited edition car.
What engine powers the Alfa Romeo 8C?
It uses a Ferrari-derived V8, based on the F136 unit also found in the F430 and Maserati GranTurismo.
Is a new Alfa Romeo 8C coming back?
Yes a hybridised, mid-engined 8C is rumored to return with up to 800bhp, reviving an iconic name with real excitement.
