Alfa Romeo fans rejoiced last year when the Italian automaker announced exciting plans to revive the 8C as a mid-engined supercar and the GTV as a sports coupe. The 8C was going to be a new mid-engine supercar acting as Alfa Romeo's halo car, with a hybrid drivetrain pairing a mid-mounted twin-turbo gas engine and an electric motor driving the front axle to produce more than 700 horsepower. The new GTV, on the other hand, was going to be a coupe version of the Giulia with over 600 hp. Both cars were scheduled to launch by 2022, but these plans appear to have been scrapped.
According to The Detroit Bureau, FCA boss Mike Manley said he's "not been happy with the performance of Alfa Romeo" during the company's earnings teleconference this week shortly after the company announced its merger with PSA, as US sales for the brand haven't been encouraging.
"While I fundamentally believe in the brand, we must make sure any investments we make generate appropriate returns." Manley added that Alfa Romeo's new portfolio will be "significantly scaled back with a corresponding reduction in capital spending," leading to speculation that the 8C and GTV have been scrapped.
We reached out to FCA to verify the report, but the automaker refused to comment. However, the writing appears to be on the wall in FCA's accompanying document outlining Alfa Romeo's future roadmap. It confirms that the Giulia and Stelvio will be getting mid-cycle facelifts for the 2021 model year.
Two other unannounced crossovers are shown, one of which will be the production version of the Tonale concept. A similar document last year previewing Alfa Romeo's product roadmap listed the 8C and GTV as part of Alfa Romeo's future plans up to 2022, but both models have been removed from the current roadmap.
The document says Alfa Romeo's lineup has been "rationalized" to "focus on current market strengths with reduced global reach and overlap with other Group brands." At this stage, it's unclear if the 8C and GTV have been scrapped or delayed, but the fact that FCA wants to reduce spending suggests it's now hard to justify building a low-volume supercar like the 8C.