Alfa Romeo will return to the sports car sector at the end of August with an all-new model.
Before Alfa Romeo offers a fully electric line-up by 2027, the Italian firm will launch a new flagship sports car – offered with both internal combustion engine and pure-electric power. We believe this new model will be called ‘6C’.
Alfa Romeo chief executive officer Jean-Philippe Imparato has now revealed the sports car, or ‘speciality’ as the firm calls it, will be an “iconic car, that is an expression of true Alfa Romeo DNA.” The world premiere of the new car will take place at the Alfa Romeo Museum in Milan at the end of August.
A teaser image accompanied the announcement, although it gives little away aside from what looks to be a vent and a splash of red paint. Speaking to Automotive Daily Network partner Auto Express, Alfa Romeo chief executive officer Jean-Philippe Imparato previously hinted at a special pure-combustion-engined sports car project that we’ll see in 2023, with styling that could be inspired by historic Alfas such as the iconic 33 Stradale: “Alfa is sportiness. You will see something sporty in 2023.
“I am on two scenarios: full EV or full ICE. I can tell you [this car] will be a very exciting one, very expensive, very selective. We will probably have some surprising, interesting proposals that will not always be full EV for the coming two years.”
The brand’s boss was also quick to draw upon links with the Sauber-run F1 operation; the new car could be powered by an evolution of the 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 as used in the brand’s Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio performance models.
The 6C name gained traction thanks to a teaser video on Alfa Romeo’s social media which gave us a brief glimpse of the car’s rear light. The actual cluster looks like a ‘6’ and a ‘C’ merged together, which would fit the 6C nameplate. That name has been used on Alfa Romeos previously, between 1927 and 1954.
In terms of styling Imparato added, “I am not the only one to love Alfa’s past. We have so many fantastic ideas based on our iconic history, so I can say yes, but I can say it’s like nothing else.
“In each of our proposals you will always, always find a kind of signal of our DNA and our heritage, and you will find it clearly and quickly, so I am sure when you see something [the car] you will say this reminds me of whatever.”
With Imparato’s hints in mind, our teaser image (above) previews how the new car – likely to be mid-engined and using a carbon fibre chassis – could look, with a low, curvy front end inspired by the brand’s sports cars of the sixties, plus a low roof and chunky rear wheel arches; expect Alfa’s traditional telephone dial alloy wheels to feature.
Alfa won’t stop at sports cars though, as the brand has plans for more special, limited-run models. When asked about the potential for these, Imparato said “The answer is yes. We have to be transparent and consistent, let me say I will not make any new GTA special editions. We sold 500 cars and we will respect this commitment on this kind. We won’t bulls**t the customer with a new special edition on the GTA every year, so I will not do that.
“Having said that, if the question is are you working on some very specific, high-level offers, the answer is yes.”