Several high-ranking executives from Alfa Romeo were keen to see how the launch of the new MiTo materialized. While they were there, we had the chance to talk with one of Alfa's top marketing officers over dinner and discuss the latest news churned out of the rumormill concerning upcoming products from Alfa and its sister-brand Abarth.
For starters, we discussed the next model coming down the pipeline for Alfa Romeo. The MiTo, which we were driving the following day, replaces the three-door version of the ageing 147 hatchback, with a larger 149 slotting in above the MiTo with five doors. While previous reports had concluded that the 149 would share its platform with the Fiat Bravo, our hosts confirmed the later reports that the 149 would sit on its own unique platform.
Although Alfa is considering a new, small convertible model, it would not come as a MiTo spider, instead it will get its own designation and coachwork that's distinctly different from existing models.
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It'd be hard to ask for more than what the spectacular Alfa 8C Competizione already offers, but Alfa Romeo intends to do just that. So after announcing the initial run of 500 coupes, Alfa will begin production of 500 roadsters. But in case that weren't enough, reports have been circulating of two new 8Cs to follow. On the one hand we have the 8C's successor, which Alfa's PR people hope will be based on the Ferrari California. On the other we have the more focused GTA version of the current coupe.
While earlier reports suggested that the new second-generation Ferrari-based 8C could arrive in time for Alfa Romeo's 100 year anniversary in 2010, sources now suggest that it will be the 8C GTA that will arrive for the big celebration. Applying the magic formula of less weight and more power, the GTA is tipped to shed some 150 kg (330 lbs), while power from the 4.7-liter V8 is anticipated to climb from its current 450hp to a nice round 500. (If you remember writing your SATs, think GTA is to 8C as Scuderia is to F430 and you're a shoe-in for your top choice.) Only 100 examples are reportedly on the table, and you can bet they'll sell out faster than a "waste management consultant" with priors.
Few cars are as eminently desirable as the Alfa 8C Competizione. So how do you make us want it even more? Well, you can chop off the roof and make it into a roadster, but Alfa Romeo already did that. How about making it even more powerful? That's hard to do – remember that, having developed the engine for its sister-company, Maserati has shoehorned the 450hp V8 into both the GranTurismo and the new Quattroporte to make more powerful S versions of both – but that's exactly what Alfa's new CEO, Luca de Meo, intends to do.
The plan involves producing an additional run of 100 supercars with more power and less weight... and you know that's the magic formula. Like the 230hp MiTo announced just yesterday, the faster 8C would wear Alfa's premier GTA badge. Although the project has yet to gain approval from the higher-ups in the Fiat group, de Meo is reportedly fighting for it. We hope he wins, and with the clout he holds in the company, we think he just might.
This is either the stupidest idea ever or the most brilliant co-promotion for two brands in the history of mankind. Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, the distributor of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue across the pond, and Nissan are joining forces to host a competition that could place a really good gamer behind the seat of a real Nissan 350Z at a very real 24-hour endurance race in Dubai. The competition is called GT Academy, and the first round will be an online GT5 Prologue tournament hosted on the PLAYSTATION Network (for Europeans only, we presume). Based on the picture provided, it appears that entrants will be racing a Nissan GT-R in a special livery when the competition begins later this month. The rest of the competition will span some eight months, at the end of which the winner will receive a four-month training program to earn actual racing licenses. With his or her newfound knowledge of real physics and how actual damage occurs, the winner will then be given a stint behind the wheel of a Nissan 350Z in the 24-hour endurance race in Dubai.
Based on the press release after the jump, we're a little unclear exactly how GT Academy will whittle down all of these entrants over eight months or how much driving the winner will actually be doing in Dubai. Having raced GT5 Prologue online using the PLAYSTATION Network, we can't imagine qualifying is going to be a pretty sight. There are always plenty of jerks willing to brake late in a corner and buddy bump you into the wall regardless of the game's imposed penalties, especially if they know that seat time in a real 350Z is beyond their own reach.
Back in February we brought you initial news of the supercar being developed by Formula 3 racing team GTA. The exotic was tipped to be powered by a mid-mounted 700hp V10, however, reports circulating around the internet now suggest that the ten-cylinder powerplant for this vaporware supercar will produce closer to 800hp and be sourced from -- wait for it -- Pontiac.
We'll take that one with an overloaded container ship's worth of salt. Last we checked, GM didn't have a V10 in its parts bin, and the mere idea of the General developing a bespoke engine just for this Spanish racing outfit's nonexistent sports car is ridiculous on its face. Now, add in the detail that this mythical powerplant would then wear the Pontiac arrowhead logo -- that's straitjacket-type stuff, people. We know the General is eager to put the excitement back into the Excitement Division, but come on. Let's be rational.
Alfa Romeo has been turning out some impossibly beautiful cars. Unfortunately, most of the line-up is lacking the grunt to back up its killer looks, with the 8C Competizione floating beyond reproach atop the range and a huge gap down to the standard production models. Alfa is apparently looking to bridge that gap, however, with the 159 GTA.
In the video after the jump, you'll see footage of a 159 decked out with enormous AMG Black Series-style vents and four squat tailpipes from which you can clearly hear a monstrous engine resonate. The test mule, spotted near the Nurburgring in Germany, looks like a further development of the one spied last summer. Although curiously, rather than wearing camouflage, it's all decked out in big Alfa Romeo decals as if to scream "look at me" in true Italian supercar fashion. Initial reports suggested the GTA could get a slightly detuned version of the V8 found in the Ferrari F430, although either the 4.2-liter V8 from the Maserati GranTurismo and Quattroporte or the 4.7-liter unit from the 8C and GranTurismo S (both of which were also developed by Ferrari) would probably be the safer bet. Either way, the Italians are putting the likes of the Audi RS4, BMW M3, Lexus IS-F and Mercedes C63 AMG on notice, while the prospect of similar power for the Brera and Spider hangs in the balance.
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Traditionally it's been the top formula racing teams that have made the jump to roadgoing supercars – names like Ferrari and McLaren come to mind – but a Formula 3 team based in Spain wants part of the action, and has revealed details and computer renderings of its own supercar.
Being developed by Spanish racing team GTA, the concept doesn't have a name yet and currently only exists on paper. The plans, however, call for a mid-mounted V10 pumping some 700 hp through a six-speed sequential transmission and cradled in a chassis built from carbon fiber and titanium, all with a targeted top speed of 340km/h (211mph). GTA hopes to build 99 units per year – we guess they took a page out of the Ferrari playbook by building one less than they thought the market could sustain – and has already taken eight orders at €600,000 apiece. A firm delivery date has not yet been set, but track testing will begin in August. We'll be watching to see how the project progresses.
The rumor-mill is churning away again over the anticipated return of the Alfa Romeo Duetto. It could be a couple more years before the Duetto hits the road, but when it does, the new convertible is anticipated to target the Mazda MX-5 and form an integral part of Alfa Romeo's return to the American market.
Since the Fiat Group doesn't have any new small convertibles on which to base the Duetto, the Alfa roadster is tipped to be based on the Fiat Bravo's platform. That means it will feature a range of turbocharged engines driving the front wheels, but could get the performance-oriented all-wheel-drive system reportedly being developed for the Bravo platform. The AWD system is also rumored to be featured on a pair of high performance premium hatchbacks from the Italian automaker: the Alfa 149 GTA and Lancia Delta Integrale.
