As we anxiously await the 2009 Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione's arrival on our shores, the folks in Milan are already planning its successor. If they have their way, the next 8C will share its underpinnings with the new 2009 Ferrari California.

That is, if Ferrari's executives in Maranello approve it. Second to performance, the Ferrari brand emphasizes exclusivity, and the firm may not okay an Alfa-bodied variant. Sergio Cravero, Alfa's global marketing director, told Autocar magazine the California would serve as an ideal basis, but wasn't overtly hopeful.



That is, if Ferrari's executives in Maranello approve it. Second to performance, the Ferrari brand emphasizes exclusivity, and the firm may not okay an Alfa-bodied variant. Sergio Cravero, Alfa's global marketing director, told Autocar magazine the California would serve as an ideal basis, but wasn't overtly hopeful.

"It would be great if Ferrari let us do it," he said, "but they are very hard to convince."

Perhaps easier to convince would be Alfa's board of directors. Although the 8C's production was to have been limited to 500 coupes, the demand for the car - especially in convertible form - triggered a run of 500 convertibles. The investment put into the current 8C, which shares most mechanicals with the Maserati GranTurismo, has reportedly been recouped.

Even if Alfa doesn't get the California parts for the next car, their recipe for a new 8C Competezione doesn't stray far from the current idea: a front-engined, rear-drive sports car built in extremely limited numbers.

Source: AutoCar