Alfa Romeo 8C Review

As you may agree from looking at the above picture, the new Alfa Romeo 8C is possibly the best looking car ever made. With the long nose and curved tail, it looks slightly like an old Ferrari. And it goes like one too! With a 4.7 litre version of Maserati’s V8 producing 450 BHP and going  from 0-60 in 4.2 seconds- the top speed is 182 mph! The sound’s genuine as well, unlike most modern cars that have had the exhausts tuned.

Sadly, only 500 8Cs have been built, so it’s very unlikely that you’ll ever see one, but if one’s passing by – you’ll hear it! As in most Alfas, the gearbox is at the back and most of the car is made of carbon fibre (including the Ferrari seats) which makes the car lighter. So, what about the handling?

Because the centre of gravity is bang on and the weight distribution is perfect, you would expect it to be great around the corners. Err…no.  The steering feels heavy, too heavy, jerky and the suspension feels like it’s been made out of rotten dish cloths. The flappy paddle gearbox is awful too, but I’m not keen on any. One weird thing is that it is really easy to get your foot stuck under the brake pedal. And that could be dangerous.

Another negative point is that it’s not practical either, with a miniscule boot and no back seats, the 8C would be an awful family car. So what is it good at? The speed isn’t much compared to other modern cars and the driving experience is hideous too. There’s only one purpose left then – a piece of art. And at £110,000, it’s cheaper than some stupid modern paintings that are sold today too.                                                                                                                                     

Score:  8/10