Upcoming Alfa Romeo supercar sparks more speculation
Alfa Romeo is set to unveil a new flagship supercar on August 30 and, as anticipation builds, conflicting theories are emerging on what it will be named, and how it will be constructed and powered.
Let’s start with the facts. Alfa has booked out its museum near Milan to host the unveiling of the car at an event dubbed Il coraggio di sognare—The Courage to Dream. The launch will be live streamed, and Alfa describes it as “a game-changing moment with more passion than ever.”
August 30th: “Il coraggio di sognare”.
It’s time to seize a game-changing moment with more passion than ever. Be prepared to enter the dream. pic.twitter.com/3hQjs4xBtQ— Alfa Romeo (@alfa_romeo) July 4, 2023
Now the speculation starts. According to Autocar the car will not be called 6C as previous reports had stated. Instead it will revive the number 33, which was last used on a front-drive family hatchback built in the 1980s and 1990s. Don’t worry, the new halo model won’t be a throwback to that, but to the spectacular 33 Stradale of 1967 instead. Autocar also claims that just 33 will be built at a price of over $1m apiece, and that, just to round things out, the car’s top speed will be 333 km/h (206 mph).
Italy’s Quattroruote claims that all 33 are already sold, while adding that the car is likely to be based around the Maserati MC20. Drive would come from a hybrid system using Maserati’s three-liter Nettuno twin-turbo V-6, mated to one or more electric motors and producing upwards of 800 horsepower, says Quattroruote. Autocar and Auto Express, disagree, believing that Alfa’s own 2.9-liter V-6 from the Giulia Quadrifoglio will be deployed instead.
As for the styling, everyone does seem to agree that it will pay homage to the 33 Stradale, but without being overly retro. “We don’t do restomods, we are not interested in copying and pasting the 33, the Duetto and so on. We want to leave something for the future,” says Alfa Romeo boss Jean-Philippe Imparato.
With a month to go before the launch it won’t be long before the truth is out.
My prior speculation was that the Alfa was going to use Maserati’s V6 from the MC20, and I wondered how the Alfa would differ from the MC20. If the Alfa is going to cost more than four times the price, it had better differ in very substantial ways. If that includes electric motors, the combustion engine is not likely to be the Nettuno, as the MC20 can achieve 205 mph without any electrification. I suppose it’s possible the electric motors are being employed for acceleration and not top speed. But it does make more sense from a branding perspective to use an Alfa motor.
So we basically read this a month ago. Other than a new teaser photo still no actual news yet for this car.