Art of Gears
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Alfa Romeo Scraps Plans for Return of GTV, New 8C

By Grant Cox

DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 12: Reid Bigland, President and CEO of Alfa Romeo North America, reveals the new Alfa Romeo 4C Spider convertible to the media at the 2015 North American International Auto Show on January 12, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. More than 5000 journalists from around the word will see approximately 45 new vehicles unveiled. The 2015 NAIAS opens to the public January 17th and concludes January 25th. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI - JANUARY 12: Reid Bigland, President and CEO of Alfa Romeo North America, reveals the new Alfa Romeo 4C Spider convertible to the media at the 2015 North American International Auto Show on January 12, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. More than 5000 journalists from around the word will see approximately 45 new vehicles unveiled. The 2015 NAIAS opens to the public January 17th and concludes January 25th. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images) /
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Sad news coming out of Turin this week as the CEO of Fiat Chrysler told shareholders in a Q3 earnings call that they will no longer be developing successors to the GTV and 8C. This news comes only days after the announcement of the Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot merger. During the call CEO Mike Manley stated that “the new portfolio for the brand is significantly scaled back with a corresponding reduction in capital spending.” It seems that the merger is already creating  some disappointment for consumers.

It was only a year and a half ago when Alfa Romeo revealed their plans to return the legendary nameplates, and it was all just too good to be true. The plans for the future 8C were glorious too: a 700 horsepower hybrid powertrain with a carbon monocoque chassis. With all that power and lightness, the 8C would be able to shoot from 0 to 60 in under 3 seconds. I’m sorry to entice you with details for a car that’s never going to exist—but my god what a car this would’ve been. The GTV wasn’t going to be far behind in performance either, with over 600 horsepower delivered to all four wheels.

So what will Alfa’s “significantly scaled back” lineup look like? The Giulia and Stelvio will be here to stay, and it looks like they will be joined by two compact SUVs, one of them likely to be the Tonale that was unveiled recently.

What was to be an exciting future for Alfa Romeo and their fans seems to now be more of the same: a sports car manufacturer shifting focus towards the SUV market. It’s going to be hard to forgive FCA putting the Kibosh on two very promising sports cars, but on the bright side—well, never mind, there’s no bright side here. Not to be dramatic, but this is completely heartbreaking.

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