The Automobiliac Proposes Vol. #4 - Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione
Thursday, September 2, 2010 at 7:57PM When the new Alfa 8C came out, many Alfisti praised it as some sort of "return to form" for Alfa. Return to what form? Under Walter De Silva, Alfa was arguably making their prettiest cars since WW2, and his departure for Audi left shoes that his successor has, in my opinion, utterly failed to fill. While I was excited to see Alfa produce a world class small volume sports coupe, I never have found the styling to my taste, either in photos or in person. People continually compare it to the TZ2 or to the 33 Stradale, but to me, that is like comparing Scarlett Johanson to Grace Kelly. One might be young and hot, but the other is incomparably beautiful. It's no contest. The biggest problem I have with the 8C is how stubby and pudgy it looks. It really needs to have longer, more lithe proportions to make the surfacing work. Like many modern sports cars, it is too short for the size of its wheels, and the entire design suffers as a result. For my proposal, I have lengthened the wheelbase, and reduced the amount of space between the top of the wheels and the top of the fender, which Alfa made so thick! The windshield rake has been redone, and the C pillar is less massive. It is a subtle effect, I'll admit. When you look at the original now, doesn't it look like a Pontiac Solstice?
8C, Alfa Romeo in The Automobiliac Proposes
Reader Comments (10)
Your trying to start a Alfisti fight!!! I agree with you that the 8C is to thick in the middle. The car overall should sit lower and be 2/3rds its size as the car is huge for a sports Alfa.
I know we are in the SUV generation, but the car would be even faster if it was smaller. It even sits about 2 inches higher when turned off than the Maserati Grandturismo. I saw them sitting together and was very suprised. One point I would also like to make, cars with high curvy rearends make great spiders. The 8c does make a very pretty convertible.
Tom Tanner/Scale Designs/Ferrari Expo 2011-Chicago April 2011
Excellent -- an improvement on an already very pretty car. I think I see one problem: the doors are now too wide. They would be hard to open (impossible in some situations) and might also be too heavy for anything but industrial strength hinges. Maybe they could be made of carbon fiber; that would deal with the weight but not the width. You have probably thought of this already. What's the solution?
I don't think the doors are any longer than on a corvette. They could be aluminum or composite material.
very interesting! but the lengthened wheelbase does remind me of the maserati granturismo now. personally, i don't mind the shorter wheelbase :) it looks more athletic and less GT.
Potential owners would have to have longer arms and legs too.
What's weird is, isn't this car supposed to be mechanical twins with the Gran Turismo? Why do they look so different in proportion if this is the case?
this may or may not answer your question, but it looks like the granturismo is a 2+2; the 8c competizione, a 2-seater. the maserati has a 115.8 in wheelbase; the alfa's is 104.2 in. doesn't mean the two can't be mechanical twins, though.
They should have kept the Maserati's wheelbase. Or they should have used smaller wheels. This topic is a pet peeve of mine. There will be an upcoming post about proportions.
sorry brad, but the original looks more aggressive and proportional! the stretched out don't look like right, man!
Your redrafting is much much closer to perfection. Cars have become way too fat. The TZ1 TZ2 and Canguro have soul, urgency, brio.. their plump descendents are but bubblegum sculptures of the athletic originals. Bravo