One of the final petrol-powered Alfa Romeos may be a high-end supercar, powered by the final iteration of its twin-turbo V6, according to a new report.
Alfa Romeo may be developing a new F1-inspired supercar as a ‘last hurrah’ for its petrol-powered performance cars, according to a new overseas report.
British magazine Car reports one of Alfa Romeo’s final petrol-powered new models will be a supercar, set to be previewed by a concept next year, ahead of a low-volume production run by 2025.
The publication claims the new car may draw inspiration from the iconic 33 Stradale sports car of the late 1960s – though Alfa Romeo design boss Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos has vowed “[to not] expect retro cars” from Alfa Romeo’s latest designs.
According to Car Magazine, the new Alfa Romeo supercar may be powered by the brand’s Ferrari-derived 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6, which develops up to 397kW in the limited-run Giulia GTAm sedan.
The publication speculates on the possible fitment of a hybrid system, inspired by Alfa Romeo’s F1 cars – though an electric powertrain is reportedly not planned, despite Car Magazine reporting the Italian car maker’s plans for all new models launched from 2025 onwards to be electric.
Design boss Mesonero-Romanos reportedly ruled out an electric supercar with stacked battery cells, akin to Lotus’ electric cars – but when asked if Alfa would build a petrol-powered halo car, the design boss gave a “grin and a shrug”, and told Car “I think you know what that means but I’m not saying anything.”
“We will surprise you. Maybe. At some point. Soon,” Mesonero-Romanos told the publication.
Car speculates the new Alfa may revive the carbon-fibre monocoque chassis first earmarked for the reborn 8C supercar, announced in 2018 (above), and slated to feature a mid-mounted twin-turbo engine, front-mounted electric motors, more than 520kW, and a sub-three-second 0-100km/h time.
This project was scrapped in 2019, amid a rationalisation of Alfa Romeo’s future model plans. Industry speculation suggests some of the planned 8C’s engineering went into sister brand Maserati’s MC20, launched in 2020 – however this has never been confirmed officially.
The new Alfa Romeo supercar may be rear-wheel drive, Car reports, citing Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Phillipe’s preference for rear-drive Alfa sports cars – rather than all-wheel drive – “if [it delivers] the performance”.
According to Car Magazine, the Alfa Romeo (Sauber) Formula One team may lend its wind tunnel to the road-going supercar project.
Elaborating on the design language of future Alfa Romeo cars, design chief Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos told Car Magazine: “When you talk about Alfa Romeo, about Italian, about emotions, [I want people to think], ‘I love it, I love it!’ This is the main thing, which is very easy to say but very difficult to do.”
“Alfa Romeo used to be daring and very progressive; just think of the BAT models from Scaglione which were really at the forefront of innovation … I want to come back again to this daring attitude, to make sure we are progressive,” he continued.
“I loved the Alfa Romeo Montreal [of the early 1970s] from Gandini. But if I had to do something like that again, I wouldn’t bring necessarily those elements. [Instead] I will try to think about the spirit of a car – in this case one that was very horizontal, very agile.
“I will try to analyse what is its spirit, what inspires me and then from there given all the constraints that we have in a new project, I try to build it into a new philosophy to make sure that the feeling is the same. Our cars are going to be daring.”
The rumoured supercar would serve as a swansong to petrol-powered Alfa Romeo models, ahead of the brand’s switch to sell electric cars only across the globe from 2027.
With a decade of funding from its new parent company Stellantis – the merger of the Peugeot-Citroen and Fiat-Chrysler groups – Alfa Romeo has indicated plans to launch one new model every year, commencing with the Tonale small SUV in 2022.
An even smaller SUV rumoured to wear the Brennero name is due next year, with Alfa Romeo’s first electric vehicle, expected to be a battery-powered Brennero, set to follow in 2024.
Other electric vehicles expected to follow by the end of the decade include replacements for the mid-size Giulia and Stelvio, a new large SUV, and even a small Spider convertible – as long as the brand’s mainstream cars meet sales success.
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