Production of the futuristic prototype styled by Giugiaro in 2002 has now got underway. Currently on display at the Royal Palace in Turin to be previewed by news media representatives from all over the world, it will go on sale next January.

When he set his hand to the Brera project, Giorgio Giugiaro, the celebrated car (and not only car) design maestro was convinced that one day that coupé was going to be produced.
«In 2002, when we displayed in Geneva a new model which I termed ‘the sexiest Alfa Romeo sports car’ – remarks Giugiaro – I knew for certain that with a few minor touches it could be mass produced».

Today, the ‘dream car’ born to amaze visitors at car shows has been converted into an industrial product. It will be produced in 20 thousand units per year (a third of which in a Spider version, to go on sale in spring), with an overall investment of 200 million Euro. Deliveries to the dealers will start in January. Highly competitive is the price - between 34 and 45 thousand Euro – of this ‘instant classic’, earmarked to captivate not just Europe, but, in future, also distant countries such as Australia and Japan.

The journalists from all over the world who have been following the debut of the Brera in Turin, in the Swiss Hall of the Royal Palace, and have tested it on Fiat’s Balocco tracks, are enthusiastic about it. But the Alfa Brera is much more than a fascinating new model. After the Alfa 159, it marks act II in the renaissance of the Brand, as pointed out by Karl Heinz Kalbfell, in charge of the Alfa-Maserati sports car division: «Brera is the flag bearer of a new philosophy and new strategies. The division I am responsible for demonstrates that the company intends to enhance its presence in a growing market segment, characterised by an affluent population, to whom we also offer Maserati models, i.e., two brands that represent the soul and style of Italian sports cars. Alfa Romeo began programming its new industrial scheme a few years ago: the first results were concretised in the 159 and the Brera».

Why a coupe, when a GT version already exists? The answer is clear: because Alfa Romeo has always produced successful coupé cars, eminently usable. «On-road sports cars – explained Antonio Baravalle, Alfa brand manager – represent our top. Think of models such as the 8c 2900 B Coupé, the 6c 2500 Villa d’Este, the 1900 SS, the 2600 Sprint, the Alfetta GT».

Baravalle speaks of a European market that has more than doubled from ’96 to this day and now is worth 2.7%: it means that Brera is meant for a pool of some 600 thousand potential customers in Europe. An attractive share of the pie that this innovative 2 2 model is all set to conquer.

«Alfa Brera – claims Harald Wester, who heads the Engineering and Design sectors of Fiat Auto – is the fruit of a unique heritage: penned by Giugiaro, it was industrialised by Pininfarina that will produce it at their plant in San Giorgio Canavese».