First look: Alfa's spectacular supercar

ALFA Romeo broke the shackles and went supercar at the Frankfurt motor show, introducing the 8c Competizione.

It is a 300km/h, 330kW aluminium and carbon-fibre clad coupe with a name harking back to the company’s racing glory days of yore.

But the performance is definitely modern-day, capable of blitzing to 100km/h in just 4.5 seconds.

The 4.2-litre supercharged V8 engine’s block is donated, along with the basic rear-wheel drive design, by Maserati, which like Alfa is owned by Fiat Auto.

Just 1000 will be built in left-hand drive only, starting in late 2004 or early 2005, so don’t hold your breath for any examples of this Porsche 911 rival to turn up here, unless privately imported.

And what does the 8c’s arrival signify for the Brera, the beautiful Giugiaro-designed two-door that will star at next month’s Sydney show? Well, the 8c definitely sits above the Brera as the flagship of the range and some GoAuto sources suggest 8c actually replaces Brera as the next Alfa supercar, but other reports predict Brera will become a full-time model in the range and spawn a convertible by 2006.

In the 1930s and '40s, the "8c" signature identified the racing and road cars that were equipped with the new eight-cylinder engine developed by the famous engineer Vittorio Jano.

The term "Competizione" is a tribute to the 6C 2500 Competizione, the sports coupe driven by Juan Manuel Fangio to third in the Mille Miglia road race in 1950.

The 8c concept is 1900mm wide, 4278mm long and 1250mm high, with a wheelbase of 2595mm.

It is equipped with massive tyres - 245/40R20 at the front and 275/35R20 at the rear - while attached to those wheels is dual wishbone suspension at the front and rear.