Alfa Romeo had planned to bring back the GTV and 8C before company execs decided to redirect R&D funs to a volume product. The Tonale was born, with an even smaller crossover to follow in the coming years in both ICE and EV forms. Ok, but what about a sports car? Well, it's still happening. Those rumors about a dedicated performance machine have now been confirmed by the automaker's head honcho Jean-Philippe Imparato in an interview with Autocar.
"You will see something in that field in terms of sportiness in the first half of 2023. We use one word to define the brand and it's 'sportiness'." He went on to say it'll either be powered solely by a combustion engine or it's going to be a pure EV, meaning a hybrid has been ruled out. Whatever the case may be, the 55-year-old French executive pledges it'll be "very exciting, very selective and very expensive."
Imparato confirmed rumors about a retro-influenced design as the unnamed Alfa Romeo sports car will take after the T33 Stradale from the late 1960s. Initially, the plan was to give it an all-electric powertrain but the top brass told Autocar it could have a gasoline engine and go on sale much sooner. However, the reveal scheduled for 2023 won’t be the actual production car as it's going to take the shape of a concept or an advanced design sketch.
If Alfa does decide to stick with ICE power, it likely means a twin-turbo 2.9-liter V6 engine borrowed from the Giulia and Stelvio Quadrifoglio models will be at the heart of the firm’s flagship vehicle. In the Giulia GTA/GTAm hardcore duo, the six-cylinder mill is good for 533 hp and 443 lb-ft (600 Nm). It’s unclear whether the gas engine can be upgraded furthermore for a sports car application.
Regardless, it would be the last application for the V6 since the next-gen Giulia has already been confirmed to be a pure EV. As a matter of fact, Alfa Romeo will abandon ICEs in Enlarged Europe, North America, and China by 2027, per the most recent roadmap released by parent company Stellantis.
With a preview coming next year, the subsequent production version should arrive in 2024 or 2025. Expect low production numbers and a high price for what will certainly be an instant classic since it'll go down in history as the final ICE-powered Alfa Romeo sports car if the brand chooses to stick with the V6.
Note: Top image is our rendering of the Alfa Romeo GTV / Giulia Coupe that never happened.
