Alfa Romeo is time and time again the best range sports car back in the pipeline. Company chief Jean-Philippe Imparato has confirmed that the two-door flagship is on track to debut in 2023 as a concept whose exterior design will draw inspiration from historic models.
“In the first half of 2023, you will see something in this area in terms of athleticism. We use one word to define the brand and that is ‘sportsmanship,’” said the executive told British magazine Coach. He is earlier expressed his support for returning the inactive GTV and Duetto nameplates.
Imparato added that the as-yet-unnamed model will borrow styling cues from the Tipo 33, though he didn’t specify which version of the car he was referring to. From 1966 to 1977, Alfa raced several evolutions of the Tipo 33 and sold 18 units of the Franco Scaglione-designed car supercar with a mid-mounted engine called the 33 Stradale (pictured) between 1967 and 1969. We assume that the latter will serve as inspiration.
Many points remain up in the air, such as what will drive the car. “At the moment I have two scenarios: full ICE or full EV,” he revealed Coach. Even so, the model “will be very exciting, very selective and very expensive.” It looks like production will be limited.
2023 is about four months away, so we won’t have to wait long to find out about the concept Alfa Romeo is working on.
Executives have toyed with the idea of adding a sportier model to the range for several years, but they never pulled the trigger. In 2021, Imparato explained that the brand will not launch another two-door car until it increases sales in the more mass market segments. What has changed since then is unclear; tonal presented in February 2022 is the only new Alfa Romeo launched since then. (A Tonale version with Dodge Hornet badge was revealed this week.)
Traveling further afield, in 2018 former Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) boss Sergio Marchionne announced that the 8C and GTV names will return for a pair of coupes. The former was presented as having carbon fiber chassis and 700 horsepower thanks to the gasoline-elec hybrid powerplant built around a mid-mounted turbocharged V6. The latter was also planned as a hybrid, but it offered drivers 600 horsepower, and in the sketch it looked like a two-door version of the Giulia sedan. Both cars were canned until 2019.
Related video:
https://www.autoblog.com/2022/08/19/alfa-romeo-sports-car-confirmed-for-2023/
