Along came a Spider...
Whatever you think about Alfa Romeo's eccentricities or any minor foibles, you have to hand it to the Italian firm .
When it comes to designing beautiful cars they are in a class of their own and the Spider 8C only adds to that reputation.
You will probably never see an Alfa Romeo 8C Spider on the road. Even if you do mix in all the right circles and spend a good portion of your time driving around Dublin 4, there are only 500 destined to be built and these will be distributed to dehumidified garages around the globe, so the odds are against you.
Just in case one does come into view along your local main street, the accepted response is to widen your eyes, lower your jaw a good inch or so and commence a full-on gawk. However, there's no need to feel self-conscious because everyone else will be doing the same thing.
The oily bits in the 8C Spider soft top are, for the most part, lifted from the 8C Competizione Coupe which in turn pinched them from Maserati.
The 4.7-litre V8 engine has 450bhp and can fire the 8C past the 62mph barrier in 4.5s, confirming supercar status for Alfa's flagship car. The top speed is 182mph but the real thrill comes from the bellowing engine note that accompanies any sustained use of the throttle pedal. The 8C has the sight and sound boxes well and truly ticked.
The 8C is a fantastic looking vehicle from any angle with its long sweeping curves running from the grille over the bonnet and rising over the car's haunches. It's distinctively an Alfa Romeo as well. The cabin is finished in leather, carbon fibre and aluminum.
A perfect 50:50 weight distribution is achieved by mounting the engine behind the front wheel and the gearbox in front of the rear ones. The transmission is a robotised manual that's operated through wheel-mounted paddle shifters.
If you don't already have a receipt on Alfa Romeo headed note paper for your deposit on the 8C Spider, the chances of acquiring a new one are very slim. All the cars have been snapped up, which gives Alfa Romeo a handy retort for those who have claimed the price tag was on the expensive side (approximately v200,000).
Running costs will be a virtual irrelevance for most 8C Spider owners. These individuals are more likely to concern themselves with the cost of heating their swimming pools or installing helicopter landing pads on their luxury yachts. Just in case you're interested in the kind of fuel consumption they can expect, the official combined cycle reading is 17.3mpg and emissions are measured at 379g/km. Greenpeace activists will have to console themselves with the fact that there aren't many of these cars about.
Alfa Romeo is best known for bringing Italian sportscar style to a wider audience than can stretch to Ferrari and Lamborghini products but with the 8C Spider, it's shown that it can mix it with the big boys.
Jaw-dropping looks and a 450bhp V8 engine mean it ticks the important supercar boxes and while the pricing might look a little steep, the order books are bulging, so it’s Alfa that’s having the last laugh.
Email to a friend
Print this page
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Weather for Longford, Ireland
Sunday 05 February 2012
Today
Light rain
Temperature: 5 C to 8 C
Wind Speed: 9 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Light rain
Temperature: 5 C to 11 C
Wind Speed: 5 mph
Wind direction: North west
