Overview

The Alfa Romeo Brera is a sports car manufactured by the Italian carmaker Alfa Romeo, a division of the auto giant FIAT Group. The car was offered as a two door coupe (Brera) and a as roadster (Spider). The Alfa Romeo Brera was previews by a concept car presented at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show, the production model was presented at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. The Brera was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro and the Spider was styled by Alfa Romeo Centro Stile supervised by Pininfarina. The Spider version was launched at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show.

Variants

Alfa Romeo offered the Brerar with five engines, three petrol and two diesel.

The entry level engine was a 2.2 liter straight four that developed 182 hp @ 6500 rpm and maximum torque of 170 lb/ft @ 4500 rpm. The engine comes with a six speed manual as standard, with a six speed semi-automatic offered as optional. The performances of the Alfa Brera / Spider 2.2 are decent, sixty mph comes in 8.4 seconds, the quarter mile is covered in 16.2 seconds and the top speed is 139 mph. Average fuel economy is 23.7 mpg.

The 1.8 liter turbocharged developed some 200 hp @ 5000 rpm and 236 lb/ft from as low as 1400 rpm. The standard transmission is a six speed manual. With this engine the Alfa Brera / Spider could get from zero to 60 mph in 7.4 seconds, cover a standing quarter mile in 15.1 seconds and get to a top speed of 146 mph. The average fuel economy was 28.4 mpg.

Top of the line petrol engine is a 3.2 liter V6, which generates no less than 260 hp @ 6300 rpm and 237 lb/ft @ 4500 rpm. The engine was available with a six manual or a six speed automatic and with either front wheel drive or all drive. If fitted with the manual the Alfa Romeo Brera / Spider could get to 60 mph in 6.7 sec / 6.5 sec (FWD / AWD), cover a standing quarter mile in 14.4 sec / 14.9 sec (FWD / AWD) and do a top speed of 155 mph / 152 mph (FWD / AWD). The fuel consumption was 18.3 mpg for the FWD and 17.2 miles to the gallon for the AWD.

The diesel 2.0 liter straight four engine had a power output of 170 hp @ 4000 rpm and maximum torque of 265 lb/ft @ 1750 rpm. The engine came with a six speed manual as standard. Not to 60 mph is done in 8.4 sec, the standing quarter mile is covered in 15.9 sec and the top speed is 135 mph. Average fuel consumption is around 36 mpg.

Top of the line in the diesel range was a 2.4 liter straight five that generated 210 hp @ 4000 rpm and 259 lb/ft @ 1500 rpm. A six speed manual and six speed automatic were offered. With either of the gearboxes the Alfa Brera / Spider 2.4 was capable of sprinting to 60 mph in 8.0 sec, covering a quarter mile in 15.5 sec and getting to a top speed of 144 mph all with an average fuel consumption of 32.5 mpg.

Additional Information

A limited production Brera was released in 2009. The car had a 900 units run and was named Alfa Romeo Brera Italia Independent, after Alfa Romeo's partner in the venture. The car featured a opaque-finish "titanium" paintwork, 18" "turbine" style alloy wheels and an aluminium fuel-filler cap. It came only with the 2.2 liter l-4 or 3.2 liter V6 engines.

Another special edition, entitled Brera S, was produced in 2008. The Brera S was UK-only and was developed by British engineering specialists Prodrive and was intended to address criticism regarding the handling of the standard car.

The Alfa Romeo Brera concept car was oted "Best of Show" by Autoweek magazine at the Geneva Motor Show, "Best of Show" in the prototype category at the Villa d'Este Concorso D'Eleganze, it picked up two prizes at Challenge Bibendum 2002, and "the Most Fascinating Car" award at the Super Car Rally 2002 form Paris to Monte Carlo. The Alfa Romeo Brera received European Car of the Year 2007 in Japan, Best Sports/Coupe - What Diesel Car , European Automotive Design Award 2006, Best Design Award 2006 by Autocar Magazine (UK) and Best Coupe - Croatian Car of the Year Awards 2006. The Alfa Romeo Spider received "Cabrio of the Year" award.