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Alfa Romeo range-topping sports car confirmed for 2023 debut

Alfa Romeo's on-again, off-again range-topping sports car is back in the pipeline. Company boss Jean-Philippe Imparato confirmed that a two-door flagship is on track to make its debut in 2023 as a concept whose exterior design will draw inspiration from historic models. "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,'" the executive told British magazine Autocar. He's previously voiced his support for bringing back the dormant GTV and Duetto nameplates. Imparato added that the yet-unnamed model will borrow styling cues from the Tipo 33, though he didn't specify which version of the car he has in mind. Alfa raced several evolutions of the Tipo 33 from 1966 to 1977, and it sold 18 units of a Franco Scaglione-designed supercar with a mid-mounted engine called 33 Stradale (pictured) between 1967 and 1969. We're guessing it's the latter that will provide inspiration. Numerous points remain up in the air, like what will power the car. "For the moment, I have two scenarios: full ICE or full EV," he revealed to Autocar. Regardless, the model "will be very exciting, very selective, and very expensive." It sounds like production will be limited. We're about four months away from 2023, so we won't have to wait long to discover the concept that Alfa Romeo is working on. Executives have toyed with the idea of adding a sportier model to the range for several years, but they have never pulled the trigger. Imparato explained in 2021 that the brand wouldn't release another two-door car until it increased its sales in more mainstream segments of the market. What's changed since then is unclear; the Tonale unveiled in February 2022 is the only new Alfa Romeo released since. (A Dodge Hornet badge-engineered version of the Tonale was revealed this week.) Traveling further back, in 2018 former Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) boss Sergio Marchionne announced that the 8C and GTV names would make a comeback on a pair of coupes. The former was presented as having a carbon fiber chassis and 700 horsepower thanks to a gasoline-electric hybrid powertrain built around a mid-mounted turbocharged V6. The latter was also planned as a hybrid, but it would have offered drivers 600 horsepower, and a sketch made it look like a two-door version of the Giulia sedan. Both cars were canned by 2019. Related video:

Porsche 911 Carrera 4, Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and a chat with Jean Jennings | Autoblog Podcast #626

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Road Test Editor Zac Palmer, Associate Editor Byron Hurd and special guest Jean Jennings. The gang kicks off with a discussion about the cars they've been driving — 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera 4, 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio and the 2020 VW Tiguan. They shift gears to talk about the latest news gleaned from a press conference concerning the 2021 Supra, then, they reach into the mailbag to help a listener buy a performance car. Lastly, Greg has a chat with special guest Jean Jennings. Autoblog Podcast #626 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Cars we're driving 2020 Porsche 911 Carrera 4 2020 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio 2020 Volkswagen Tiguan R-Line 2021 Toyota Supra news Spend My Money Jean Jennings interview Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale is a fast Alfa, developed fast

Alfa Romeo's 33 Stradale is a gorgeous supercar to simultaneously cap off the internal combustion era of the brand and kick off the electric era. But we did have some questions about it after the reveal, which we brought to Larry Dominique, the senior vice president of Alfa Romeo North America. And he was kind enough to answer a good number of them, revealing some interesting information. One of the first things we wanted to know about was the decision to make such a pivotal car such a clear tribute to the famed Tipo 33 race car from many decades ago. We certainly weren't complaining, but we could easily have seen Alfa doing something more modern or more original. Dominique said that part of the reason was to help with awareness of Alfa and its history, as awareness in general is something the brand still struggles with. So connecting the car with famous motorsports machines could help people understand more of what Alfa is and was. Of course, the Tipo 33 was also a gorgeous car to start with, and as this is among the last gas-powered Alfas, a tribute makes sense. The 33 Stradale's specs also looked shockingly similar to that of the Maserati MC20 supercar, and considering the mid-engine layout, we were expecting that under the curvy exterior, the Alfa would basically be that Maserati. Dominique told us that's not quite the case. Parts of the frame are borrowed from the Maserati, but apparently the engine is a version of the twin-turbo V6 from the Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio models, not Maserati's Nettuno V6. Apparently some aspects of the active suspension are also taken from the Giulia Quadrifoglio GTA, though neither Dominique nor Alfa's PR representative present had the detailed specifics at the time of the interview. We also learned a few more details about the electric powertrain. The battery pack comes in around 100-kWh in capacity, and it has an 800-volt architecture to support high-speed charging from 350-kW chargers. Beyond that, though, Dominique didn't have anything else to talk about for the electric 33. The 33 Stradale will be fast with 60 mph times under 3 seconds, but it's fast in another way. Dominique told us that this project got under way toward the end of summer and beginning of fall just last year. With final development coming over the next several months, that's a quick turnaround to getting a production car. One thing Dominique wouldn't tell us is how expensive the 33 Stradale is.