2009 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Preview Bartlesville OK

Critical Knowledge:

• Based on race-proven engineering


• Ferrari-assembled engine


• 450-hp V-8 engine


• Manufacturer claims top speed in excess of 180 mph


• The most expensive Alfa Romeo model ever sold

  Introduction
  To understand the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, one only has to look back at the Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza, one of Alfa Romeo’s finest pre-war sports cars: a winner at Le Mans in 1931 and 1934. The “8C” moniker referred to the motor, an inline 8-cylinder racing engine. Reserved for top-of-the-range models, the winning powerplant went on to reside within such notables as the 1935 3.8-litre Monoposto 8C 35 Type C and the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Mille Miglia Roadster. The name “Competizione” is a reference to the 6C 2500 Competizione model driven at the famous “Mille Miglia” races in 1950. Alfa Romeo revived the names at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor show with the unveiling of the 8C Competizione concept car. Six years later, the production version will help lead Alfa Romeo’s return to U.S. soil for the first time since they left this marketplace in 1994. Alfa Romeo only plans to manufacture 500 units of the Italian exotic for the worldwide marketplace. Of those that make it to our shores (fewer than 100), the retail price is expected to be in excess of $240,000. Numbers like that make the 8C Competizione not only one of the most exclusive Alfa Romeos, but the most expensive as well.

  Click here to read the rest of the article at JDPower.com