First look: Alfa stunner

LEGENDARY Italian styling houses Giugiaro and Italdesign have combined to present their take on a future Alfa Romeo 2+2 sports coupe.

Called the Brera, the concept will be officially revealed to the world later today (Tuesday, March 5) at the Geneva international motor show.

While there is no official confirmation from Alfa Romeo, informed sources are confident the Brera's shape gives us a very good indicator to the next generation GTV coupe, due in 2005.

The Brera is powered by a 300kW mid-front mounted V8 engine of more than 4.0-litres capacity which drives the rear wheels via a new six-speed sequential gearbox which is mounted on the rear axle to improve weight distribution.

Significantly, the Brera is fully road ready and promises to deliver extraordinary performance, although no figures have been announced.

But European press reports are already speculating on sub five-second 0-100km/h performance and a 280km/h top speed! The Brera's front-end styling is inspired by 1950s Alfas, with the hollow-shaped bonnet sloping downward to the marque's legendary emblem. The rear draws cues from the latest 156 and 147 Alfas, as well as the Giuletta Sprint, tapering downward to a seamless bumper.

The bodyshell is entirely carbon-fibre and measures 4.388m long, 1.894mm wide and 1.289mm high. This is a true 2+2, with even the designers conceding there is only enough room in the rear to seat children.

And there is precious little room for luggage either, what little baggage you can take along accommodated under a hinged rear window inserted in the dark spoiler that houses the stoplights.

The only concession in the design to a flight of fancy are the doors which open upwards once you have pushed and turned a handle that fits flush to the bodywork. Courtesy of some clever hinges, the doors swing up and away from the car. However, the doors could be simply replaced by normal hinged doors if the car was to go into production.

There is also a light-sensitive sunroof that darkens to regulate brightness in the interior.

Inside, the Brera is appropriately swathed in leather and aluminium while a prominent centre tunnel and console separates the passengers.

In deference to the expected performance levels, there are two grab handles per passenger - one on the door and one on the centre console.