Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

German aftermarket specialist Wheelsandmore believes it can convince at least a few of the 500 owners of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione to make the plunge and shop its new tuning package for the Italian sports coupe. First up is the hard-to-miss matte white foil wrap with black and red racing stripes running from bumper to bumper, and the 21-inch 6Sporz2 forged alloy wheels shod in Hankook S1Evo tires size 245/30 21 on the front axle and 345/25 21 on the rear.
The new look is finished off by the black tailpipes of the new hand-made sports exhaust system.
Underneath the 8C Competizione's curvalicious body, Wheelsandmore added a new coilover suspension and tweaked the V8 engine's software to bring output from 444hp (450PS) and 480Nm (354 lb-ft) to 474hp (480PS) and 520Nm (383 lb-ft).
Wheelsandmore did not announce pricing details on the 8C tuning package.

PHOTO GALLERY

Modern-Day Alfa Romeo Giulia GTA

If the Porsche 911 is the model that even its creators couldn't kill, then Alfa Romeo is surely its brand equivalent in the automotive world. It’s not that Fiat's management didn’t try (willingly or not), but in a peculiar way, Alfa (unlike Saab, for instance) always made a comeback. Maybe it's the Italian flair that makes you forget sins of the past or the niggles of its current portfolio (Brera seating position, anyone?), but the Alfisti remain faithful to their beloved brand.
One such Alfa Romeo enthusiasts is independent French designer Vincent Montreuil. He may not be Italian, but then again, no one ever said that Alfas were adored only in their home country.
While the Americans are still waiting for the company to stay true to its promise and eventually return to the U.S., Vincent created some pretty convincing renderings of a 21st century Alfa Romeo coupe.
It's a modern day, front-engined, rear-wheel drive iteration of the legendary Giulia GTA of the 1960’s that he made during his last year in arts school.
Just as GTA stood for Gran Turismo Alleggerita (lightweight), messieurs' Montreuil Giulia was conceived, in his own words, as a “sport and light coupe concept". And if it was his call, he would make it really light, only 800 kg (just shy of 1,800 pounds) and give it a 200HP engine.
Now, we know that Alfa is already working on the (mid-engined) 4C and that the Giulia name is earmarked for the (unfashionably late) 159 replacement.
This does not detract from Vincent’s work one bit though. Besides, we wouldn’t bet against the Italians changing the new sedan’s name at the last moment. Either way, feel free to visit his website and perhaps leave your comments.

VIDEO

PHOTO GALLERY

Alfa Romeo 4C Spider

You know that there's a lot of interest in a model when independent designers begin to imagine different versions and body styles of a car that has not yet entered production.

Case in point the Alfa Romeo 4C mid-engined sports car that remains in show car form for now but is slated to reach dealerships around the world –including North America- as early as 2013.

The artists over at Teamspeedcreated their vision of what an open-top Spider version of 4C would look like. We think that the rendering is pretty much spot on and would make for a very interesting addition to the Alfa 4C's lineup.

As for the question to what kind of top would be suitable for a car like the 4C Spider, the answer could be either a simple cloth top or more interestingly, a rotating roof panel similar to the one used on the Ferrari 575 Superamerica and more recently, on the Renault Wind.

Understandably, the 4C Spider would keep the same hardware as the coupe including the 1.75-liter turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine delivering 200 or more horses to the rear wheels through a twin clutch transmission.

Have a look at the two renderings below and tell us what you think in the comments section.

R

ALFA ROMEO 4C SPIDER RENDERINGS

ALFA ROMEO 4C SHOW CAR