Alfa plotting 6C coupe
Large rear-drive Alfa Romeo coupe set to revitalise the Italian brand in 2017Alfa Romeo was supposed to get its own version of the upcoming Mazda MX-5 to give it an accessible spark with which to reignite the wonderbrand. But that’s not happening anymore, with news that Fiat's MX-5 clone could be an Abarth.
Instead, the ailing historic Italian icon will launch its comeback with a thumping, Maserati-based two-door coupe dubbed the 6C.
Said by Alfa insiders to fill the philosophical slot between the underdone 4C and the glorious limited-edition 8C, the 6C will take the fight to Porsche’s Cayman and 911 and Jaguar’s F-TYPE when it arrives in 2017.
Based around the production version of Maserati’s jaw-dropping Alfieri concept car from this year’s Geneva motor show, the 6C will use the Modena car’s chassis architecture and its powertrain.
That includes its twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 powerplant, which will also be shared by the upcoming (and much-delayed) Giulia sedan, to deliver thumping performance.
Insiders suggest 360kW shouldn’t be out of the question, though a Quadrifoglio Verde version could pump out up to 390kW to knock hard on the 911 Turbo’s door.
Unlike the 911, though, it’s expected to use an eight-speed automatic transmission, combined with a limited-slip differential.
Snubbing the all-new, make-or-break architecture being developed for both rear- and all-wheel drive use by a clique of Alfa engineers in Modena right now, the 6C will instead sit on a shortened Maserati Ghibli chassis.
The Ghibli chassis is itself a shortened version of the Quattroporte chassis and even that is a heavily reworked version of the Mercedes-Benz E-Class chassis.
It will share a lot of components with the Alfieri (which is due in 2016), including the cost-saving approach of sharing some of the side panels and the glasshouse.
Alfa is working up a new family face as a development of the 'Scudetto' grille that can work across a range of models and the 6C will be one of the first to show its new design language.
While plenty at Alfa have been pushing for the 6C to be a full-line model to underpin the latest Alfa turnaround plan, it will be a limited-edition model like the 4C and 8C.
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