Autoblog

Click for hi-res gallery of the Alfa 8C Competizione

When Alfa Romeo announced it was actually building the 8C Competizione, we had but to applaud. The automaker slashed its own marketing budget to finance the car's manufacturing, justifying that the halo supercar would do more for the brand's image than any television ad ever could. (Then they did it again with the Spider version.) Right they were, and we wish more automakers would think that way. The latest reports indicate that Alfa Romeo is following its own example, so while CEO Luca de Meo campaigns within the Fiat hierarchy for an even more hard-core version to wear the vaunted GTA badge, some of his subordinates are thinking a step ahead towards the 8C's successor.

The current 8C is based on an aging Maserati platform – not unlike the resuscitating Aston Martin DB7 that was based on old Jaguar underpinnings. However, strategists within Alfa Romeo want to see its successor based on the new Ferrari California, trading in the input of one sister company for another. While they realize it will be an uphill battle – one which could come down to Fiat chairman and Ferrari president Luca di Montezemelo's decision – to get Ferrari to agree to the proposal, Alfa Romeo is reportedly keen to get the project off the ground and get the second-generation sportscar ready within the next two years to celebrate Alfa's centennial in 2010.

Gallery: 2009 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione

Gallery: Alfa Romeo 8C Spider

[Source: Autocar]