Alfa 8C Competizione- wicked

[udaman]

Alfa Romeo to take another run at U.S. market

(so if I bed Paris, will she buy me one of these, preferably the Spyder version )
http://www.latimes.com/classified/automotive/news/la-fi-garage15mar15,0,662565.story

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Shades of the very rare LeMans TZ2 of the 1960's (probably weighs twice as much though, more of a GTO)

Parlez-Vous Français?


I imagine, dd would exude the same amount if hyper-excitability as this driver, lol. Notice on the *wet* race trace (no helmets or roll cage, simple single point consumer seatbelts) how he's taking both hands of the steering wheel practically wetting his pants in exhilaration

http://youtube.com/watch?v=6Xx3fWf4DUs

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Alfa Romeo 8c Competizione Spy Video (track test driver's not stupid, wearing a helmet, bet there's no muffler on that test car)

Believe that's a 1938 8C at the intro to this vid, and prior one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LjYAwJltlk

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Alfa development team leader explaining 'carbon, carbon, carbon' (looks like cosmetic 3 round headlamp module, with LED fog lams below?) Wicked growl from the black one on start up , looks like the trunk has only enough space for your hooker's bikini on the way to the Monte Carlo 100+ft motor yacht
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jKP2v5nIISU

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From the March Geneva autoshow:
(I'm sorry, there's only enough room for me and one of these blonds )
http://www.motortrend.com/auto_shows/coverage/geneva/112_2008_geneva_motor_show_part_2/photo_03.html

 

[ddrueding]

Yup. I like it. It has that F-1 inspired Enzo look with more sanity. Though I would take a Ferrari 430 Scuderia instead...

 

[LunarMist]

Bah, it is probably noisy and uncomfortable on the city streets.

 

[Fushigi]

How many cup holders does it have?

 

[udaman]

Bringing back sexy?

Saw a mod'd, pimped Maserati version of this few months ago, in front of SM restaurant, seen many R8's now, got the 'cool' factor white LED running light strip below headlamps

Bringing back sexy, the Alfa way?
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/traffic/la-hy-alfa9-2008jul09,0,5789101.storyKind of doubt the diesel will get 50mpg in Calif. even on the highways
In the hardcopy edition, the picture was of the black color, don't particularly care for the lines on this, not even if they do a GTV version.

Fiat 500 looks funny, but better than the ultra tiny thingie so popular now (what's it called, from Mercedes or something...French?)

 

[ddrueding]

(what's it called, from Mercedes or something...French?)

Smart ForTwo

 

[Clocker]

Bah. I'd rather have the new 640HP Corvette ZR1. At the link below, watch an engineer (not a race driver) from my work pilot it around the Nürburgring in 7min 26sec in totally stock form on stock tires with pump gas. I think top speed is around 205mph but I think the highest he gets on the 'ring is 180mph.

http://jalopnik.com/398297/video-proof-of-the-2009-corvette-zr1-7264-nurburgring-lap

The sickening part is I'm now seeing a few of these a work as company vehicles for evaluation. Imagine having one with free gas for 3-4 months in the summer. OMG! That would be fun!

 

[LunarMist]

Fuel economy???

 

[Clocker]

Not sure. The Z06 'Vette gets 15mpg City and 24mpg Hwy. With that much power, I'd guess about 20mpg Hwy. With that kind of car, who cares about that. If you have to worry about the mpg, you can't afford it and should not be driving it.

 

[Handruin]

Bah. I'd rather have the new 640HP Corvette ZR1. At the link below, watch an engineer (not a race driver) from my work pilot it around the Nürburgring in 7min 26sec in totally stock form on stock tires with pump gas. I think top speed is around 205mph but I think the highest he gets on the 'ring is 180mph.

http://jalopnik.com/398297/video-proof-of-the-2009-corvette-zr1-7264-nurburgring-lap

The sickening part is I'm now seeing a few of these a work as company vehicles for evaluation. Imagine having one with free gas for 3-4 months in the summer. OMG! That would be fun!

That's commendable, but I'd still rather have the Nissan GT-R which is only 3 seconds off the ZR1 on the Nürburgring also in stock form. GT-R is also considered a Ultra Low Emissions Vehicle, and gets somewhere in the park of 25MPG when driven reasonably (21 combined) and can be used in the winter. The GT-R (though not cheap) starts at roughly $70K (though I know they are being sold over sticker). What is the base price for a ZR1?

 

[ddrueding]

What is the base price for a ZR1?

$100k. And although I think the 'Vette is prettier, it is also a very common shape. People who don't know will think you only paid 40k.

 

[Clocker]

3 seconds at about 80-100mph avg speed is a whole lot of dust to eat.

 

[Handruin]

Clocker, you might like this little video regarding our discussions. There wasn't a whole lot of dust until the one long section where the 200 extra HP helped the 'vette.

You can see in the videos that the GT-R handles the corners better, and the extra power on the ZR1 is what compensates for the advantage. The GT-R looks very smooth in almost all cornering to me.

 

[ddrueding]

Nice video.

 

[Stereodude]

Clocker, you might like this little video regarding our discussions. There wasn't a whole lot of dust until the one long section where the 200 extra HP helped the 'vette.

You can see in the videos that the GT-R handles the corners better, and the extra power on the ZR1 is what compensates for the advantage. The GT-R looks very smooth in almost all cornering to me.

The consensus on this one (from people who've driven the "ring") is that the 'vette driver while good isn't a "ring" expert. Add to that the GT-R wasn't a North American production model. It was a mix of Japanese, European, and American versions. So, it's a little early to read too much into things. Both are very potent cars.

 

[fb]

If the Corvette is the Arnold Schwarzenegger of cars, Alfa Romeos are like Sabrina Ferilli, it's not fair to compare them. And do I have to say that I'd choose an Alfa any day?

 

[ddrueding]

And do I have to say that I'd choose an Alfa any day?

Did you watch last week's "Top Gear"?

Alfa Romeo Challenge

 

[fb]

No, I didn't see it, I think we're out of synch with BBC here. The clip is a bit of a rape on Alfas, but I love the 75. I think I'd rather drive one of those than the 8C.

I think part of the attraction with Alfa Romeo comes from the fact that if you make an Italian auto engineer choose between good looks and function, they will go with the good looks 99.8% of the time.

 

[ddrueding]

That is what they said about the 8C in the latest episode. Someone at a museum said a car can't be art because art must be made with no other purpose in mind. They then submitted that the 8C is so pretty to look at and so useless as a car, that it should qualify.

 

[fb]

OK, it's really sad to waste all this carbon fiber and the fine engine on a car that doesn't handle well on the road...

 

[ddrueding]

That isn't a lot of carbon fiber, this is a lot of carbon fiber.