BY PETER BARNWELL
ALFISTI won’t have long to wait to see Alfa Romeo’s sleek new two seater “supercar”.
The 6C as it’s probably going to be called, will be unveiled to coincide with the Italian F1 GP in August by Alfa Romeo chief executive Jean-Phillip Imparato who recently confirmed the new ‘super sports car’ will be built as a follow-on from the Ferrari-powered 8C flagship sold in the early 2000s.
Though the 6C name is only speculated at the moment, it’s highly likely to follow on from previous naming conventions for Alfa super sports cars. The “6C” name nominates the engine’s cylinder count plus C for Competitzione and it’s tipped to be some form of V6 engine possibly out of the Alfa Giulia Quadrifoglio with modifications.
The new sports car was “teased” at an Alfa Romeo new model launch for the Giulia and Stelvio in China – with images finding their way into the hands of the assembled media.
They show a sleek, low-slung, two-seater having more in common from a styling perspective with the Alfa 4C “mini supercar” model along with the aerodynamics of the Alfa T33 race car from the 1970s. This is in stark contrast to the elegant grand touring vibe of the 8C.
Mr Imparato said the new sports model “will be an iconic car and is an expression of true Alfa Romeo DNA”.
He confirmed that its global debut will take place on August 30 this year at the Alfa Romeo Museum in Milan – timing that corresponds with the Italian F1 GP at Monza.
No pricing details are available suffice to say it will be deep into six-figure territory gauged from other “supercars”.
The model is a big step away from the predominantly SUVs and sedans that have come out of Alfa’s factories in recent times and will reputedly run pure petrol power (ICE) with no electrification.
Mr Imparato said the new flagship “will give the legion of Alfa and Italian sports car fans something worth waiting for”.
Alfa will promote the new hero car using the slogan “Dare to Dream”, and will leverage the model as an exclusive follow-up to the 8C that found only 829 buyers in coupe and convertible variants between 2007 and 2010, failing to achieve Alfa’s announced limited production run of 1500.
But already, the 6C’s 1000 unit production run is almost fully subscribed and expected to be done and dusted at launch so any potential buyers have only weeks to lodge a deposit.
British publication Autocar, said Mr Imparato confirmed in February that deposits were being taken before the supercar had been officially signed off by Alfa Romeo parent firm Stellantis.
“It will be sold out before I unveil the car,” he said at the time.
"This project is a dream come true, inspired by a daring team that wanted to achieve something unique,” Mr Imparato told the publication.
Looking to the future, Alfa Romeo sees a large chunk of its future business coming from China (and outside of Europe), which is why the 6C announcement and the launch of 2024 Giulia and Stelvio updates took place there.
Mr Imparato said of the car’s sexy styling: “We're working on something that I could put alongside the 8C in the museum of Arese, being proud of our contribution to the history of Alfa Romeo. That is what we want."
The Alfa boss was only prepared to hint that the car will likely be fitted with a combustion engine, rather than an electric powertrain. But insider information says it’s a full blown ICE model… we’ll see.
Tipped to be rear wheel drive, the sleek two seater will likely be powered by a modified version of the already potent twin-turbo 2.9-litre V6 out of hot Quadrifoglio variants of the Giulia sedan and Stelvio SUV, no doubt with the wick turned up to more than those models’ 375kW and 600Nm – with less weight into the bargain.
On another note, Mr Imparato confirmed the existence of an electrified “1000hp Giulia” model due in a few years as a counterpoint to the 6C.
Speculation suggests the 113 year old Italian car-maker will equip the 6C for everyday use but pricing and positioning could see it decked out and calibrated more along the lines of a supercar than an everyday sports model.
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