Alfa Romeo is back -- and hot

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Having pulled out of the American market in 1995, Alfa Romeo is poised for a comeback. Yes, it’s been hinted at before, but this time it’s true. Probably. This time Alfa has one of the best-looking cars of recent times to sell, the 8C Competizione.

Even with looks being subjective, this has the lines to be the object of desire for most gearheads. With a 450-horsepower V-8 engine capable of blasting the car to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds and a maximum speed of 192 mph, the 8C should be one of the most lusted-after machines of 2008. There’s just one problem: Of the 500 that Alfa has decided to make available, rumor has it, only 99 will come to the U.S. And even at $200,000 apiece, they’re already sold.

However, Angelenos should not give up hope. There’s the chance that Alfa will make a convertible 8C Spyder version. And the company has two other, way-more-affordable numbers coming in behind the 8C: the Brera and the Spyder.

Sharing the same platform, the Brera is a 2+2 coupe with a 260-hp, 3.2-liter V-6 that just might be the prettiest and most sonorous V-6 on the planet. And, as Alfas should, it drives pretty well too.

Instead of making a coupe-cabriolet with a folding metal roof -- the open-top du jour (think Mercedes-Benz SLK, Volvo C70, VW Eos) -- Alfa decided to make the Brera more the driver’s choice, while the canvas-roofed, two-seater Spyder is ideal for jaunts down PCH.

Pricing is yet to be finalized, but more important, we’ll want to know whether those build quality issues (which precipitated Alfa’s pullout in the first place) have finally been resolved.

-- Colin Ryan