- 2009 Alfa Romeo 8C Spider
The Spider is 90kg heavier than the coupe due to the stiffening required by its Maserati Quattroporte-derived steel chassis; there’s a huge cross-brace between the front suspension turrets, beefier sills and extra beams in the floor. The folding hood is fabric to save weight and keep the centre of gravity low; it’s powered but needs to be freed and latched manually.
There are new Brembo carbon-ceramic brakes – 380mm at the front, 360mm behind – which save 14kg of rotating and unsprung mass over the coupe’s steel discs. The engine is unchanged, and still magnificent; a Ferrari-made, Maserati-derived 450bhp 4.7-litre V8 driving the rear wheels through a six-speed paddle-shift (but single-clutch) transaxle.
The springs have been stiffened and the dampers softened to avoid sending tremors into the less rigid chassis. All the panels remain carbonfibre; the paintwork is flawless but the bonnet and bootlid have been left gloriously naked on the underside. The bootspace beneath would struggle to take a briefcase.
Under the bonnet is a powerful 8 cylinder 4.7 litre engine producing 450 HP, matched to a 6 speed robotic gearbox, the new Alfa Romeo 8C Spider is truly beautiful, powerful and rock solid, where its gracious lines and dimensions gel perfectly with typical Alfa Romeo engineering and drive-ability. Needless to say, alongside this attractive Spider is the Alfa 8C Competizione, the epitome of Alfa Romeo’s innovation in the fields of engines and engineering, heightened competitiveness and continuous technological research.
Image Credit: © Alfa Romeo
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