Alfa Romeo had planned to bring back the GTV and 8C before company executives decided to shift the R&D fun to volume products. The Tonale was born, with smaller crossovers to follow in the years to come in the form of the ICE and EV. Okay, but what about sports cars? Well, it still happens. The rumors about a special performance engine have now been confirmed by the automaker’s head Jean-Philippe Imparato in an interview with Autocar.
“You’ll see something in that area in terms of sportiness in the first half of 2023. We use one word to define the brand and that’s ‘sportiness’.” He went on to say it would be powered only by a combustion engine or it would be a pure EV, meaning hybrids have been ruled out. Whatever the case, the 55-year-old French executive promised it would be “very attractive, very selective and very expensive.”
The Imparato confirmed rumors of a retro-influenced design as the unnamed Alfa Romeo sports car will take after the T33 Stradale from the late 1960s. Originally, the plan was to provide an all-electric powertrain but the higher ups said Autocar it could have a petrol engine and go on sale sooner. However, the reveal slated for 2023 won’t be an actual production car as it will take the form of a concept or follow-up design sketch.
If Alfa decides to stick with ICE power, it likely means that the 2.9-liter twin-turbo V6 borrowed from the Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio models will be at the heart of the company’s flagship vehicle. In the hardcore Giulia GTA/GTAm duo, the six-cylinder engine produces 533 hp and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm). It is not clear whether the petrol engine can be further upgraded for sports car applications.
Regardless, it will be the last application for the V6 as the next-generation Giulia has been confirmed as a pure EV. In fact, Alfa Romeo will leave ICE in Enlarged Europe, North America, and China by 2027, according to the latest roadmap released by parent company Stellantis.
With a preview coming next year, the next production version will arrive in 2024 or 2025. Expect low production numbers and high prices for what is sure to become an instant classic as it will go down in history as the last ICE-powered Alfa Romeo sports car if the brand chose to stick with the V6.
Note: Above image is a rendering of our never-ending Alfa Romeo GTV/Giulia Coupe.
