A lot of us have tuning companies that we like to call our favorites, or at least one of our favorites. Some of you might share different opinions, but in our case, one that stands on top is Novitec Rosso. The German tuning company has not been shy in building fabulous works in the past, and to their credit, they never rest on their laurels. Their latest piece of work is proof of that fact.
Using an Alfa Romeo 8C Spider, Novitec Rosso gave the fastest and most powerful Alfa Romeo even more reason to be feared, thanks to a new supercharger system and a stainless-steel exhaust system that takes the output of the Italian supercar from its stock 450 horsepower all the way up to 600 horsepower. The power upgrade translates to new performance numbers for the 8C Spider, particularly a new 0-62 mph time of just 3.9 seconds and a top speed of 189 mph.
On top of the supercharger and the exhaust system, Novitec Rosso also gave the 8C Spider a new water-to-air intercooler, a custom injector, and a set of 21” and 22” alloy wheels. All told, the whole package for the 8C Spider comes out at 19,900 Euros, which is about $29,400 based on current exchange rates.
Not bad for an upgrade of an Alfa Romeo 8C Spider.
It’s time for another round of “what car was this before it burned down to the ground”?
The good news is that it’s not a Ferrari, Lamborghini, or Porsche. We’ve had way too many of those. The bad news is that it’s still a pretty awesome car. This heap of metal, ladies and gentlemen, was once an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.
Apparently, the car burned down as a result of a short-circuit involving its battery that, as you can plainly see, led to the car getting barbecued beyond recognition. There were only 500 of these models ever made and from our understanding, this is the first of its kind to meet its maker, and it did so in a rather unfortunate ball of smoldering flames.
We long for a world where cars – exotic or not – are spared from these kinds of ordeals. Unfortunately, that’s not how it works, and we’re going to have to live through seeing more of these in the future.
Let’s just hope that in the future, it comes in small and infrequent doses.
Giuliano Mazzuoli has unveiled a special edition Contagiri Watch inspired by the legendary Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione model. It comes in white gold and carbon fiber and will be limited to 500 units. But, before you buy, you should know that they are exclusively reserved for the fortunate owners of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione.
This watch is like no other in which the number setup is quite unorthodox. It is setup up to look like a gauge in a car where the zero is at the southernmost point of the watch with the one-hand moving in an arc of 270°. When the hand gets to the 12, it repositions itself back to the zero position where you will find the historic green four-leaf clover symbol.
The Alfa Romeo Contagiri 8C Competizione watch has a 44mm stainless steel and black diamond-like-carbon (DLC), automatic mechanical movement, and a black rubber strap with matching metal buckle. It will be limited to only 500 units and each piece will come in a watch box covered in smooth calfskin leather and reptile stamped by master Florentine artisan leather workers.
The Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance will be getting an impressive lineup of vehicles as part of the Pebble Beach Auctions on August 15, 2010. Gooding & Company, the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance’s official auction house, will have a 1947 Italian Championship-winning 1933 Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza and a California-registered 1995 McLaren F1 on hand to auction off at the Pebble Beach Equestrian Center at 6pm that evening. Additional vehicles set to be auctioned include a 1937 Mercedes-Benz 540K, 1927 Mercedes-Benz S Boattail Speedster, 1961 Ferrari 250 GT SWB Berlinetta SEFAC Hot Rod, and a 1956 Maserati 200SI. If those aren’t enough then there is also a Gil Nickel’s 1951 Ferrari 340 America Spider, the 1958 Ferrari 250 GT Tour de France, the 1959 Ferrari 250 GT LWB California Spider Competizione, and the barn discovery 1933 Duesenberg SJ LWB Convertible.
The 1995 McLaren F1 being auctioned was originally sold to Larry Ellison who is the co-founder and CEO of Oracle. The McLaren is finished in Magnesium Silver, features a black interior, and is in the original factory-delivered form. It is one of the few McLaren supercars that is registered, titled, and certified for use in California. Gooding & Company thinks it can get between $2.5 - $3.5 Million for this supercar, so if you’re interested, be sure to come packing some serious cash.
McLaren’s 2012 MP4-12C is also set to make its North American launch at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance on Friday, August 13, 2010 at a private Gooding & Company event with the public viewing taking place on Saturday, August 14th and Sunday, August 15th.
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After the Pininfarina, Bertone, and Zagato, Castagna is the fourth tuning house that has announced a special edition Alfa Romeo for the company’s 100th anniversary. In fact, Castagna will unveil two different models for this event with ore details on them being revealed at the Paris Auto Show.
The first Alfa Romeo model signed by Castagna was unveiled in 1910: a 24 HP Torpedo. The cooperation continued from 1910 to 1954, and then again in 1994 with the unveiling of a special one-off basis Alfa Romeo that marks the return of activity in the field of custom-built models.
The first model set to be unveiled at the Paris Auto Show is based on the Alfa Romeo 8C. It will be called the Targa Coupe and is a modern reinterpretation of the 1913 Minivan Ricotti developed on a special floor with rear-wheel drive.
Full details will be revealed at the Paris Motor Show, as we mentioned earlier, but we are sure we will receive some details here and there before then. We’ll let you know as soon as we get further details.
