Alfa Romeo Brera
The Alfa Romeo Brera is a grand tourer produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo since 2005. The Spider cabriolet has been produced since 2006. Both cars are manufactured by Pininfarina.
The Brera originally appeared as a concept car at the 2002 Geneva Motor Show. It was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Italdesign Giugiaro. The concept version was powered with Maserati V8 engine producing around 400 PS (395 hp/294 kW). The Brera was widely acclaimed, and production plans were subsequently announced for 2005.
The Alfa Romeo Brera was introduced in production form at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. It maintained the original's exterior appearance almost exactly but on a much smaller scale, becoming a mid-size coupe on the GM/Fiat Premium platform (shared with the Alfa Romeo 159), and designed to replace the outgoing GTV. A convertible Spider version of the Brera was also announced, to be launched shortly after the coupe and to replace the existing GTV-based Spider.
In Europe, the Brera is available with two petrol engines, the 185 PS (182 hp/136 kW) 2.2-litre JTS and 260 PS (256 hp/191 kW) 3.2-litre V6; and a 210 PS (207 hp/154 kW) 2.4-litre JTD turbodiesel. Cars with the diesel or 2.2 petrol are front-wheel drive, whilst the V6 comes with a Torsen four-wheel drive system similar to the 156 and 159's Q4.
For the "model year" 2008 Alfa Romeo Brera/Spider changes were made to the mechanics and the interiors of the cars. The 3.2 litre V6 version will now be offered in front wheel drive, as well as a four wheel drive version, allowing for a top speed of 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph). All model variants will be fitted with electronic Q2 limited slip differential. By using more aluminium parts a weight reduction of 45 kilograms (99 lb) is achieved. These new versions were introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 2008.
For "model year" 2009 Alfa Romeo is introducing a new turbocharged petrol engine badged as "TBi", this 1742 cc unit has direct injection and variable valve timing in both inlet and exhaust cams. This new engine has 200 PS (147 kW; 197 hp) and 320 N·m (240 lb·ft) of torque. A 230 PS (169 kW; 227 bhp) version of the "Tbi" 1.75 litre will also be available later in the year which will give Brera a 0-100 km/h (62 mph) time of about 7.3 seconds.
In Spring 2008 the Brera 'S' Special Edition was announced. This Alfa Romeo-approved British-only limited-run version was developed by British engineering specialists Prodrive and was intended to address criticism regarding the handling of the standard car. The suspension and chassis settings of the 'S' have been amended from the standard car, altering the handling characteristics. Alfa Romeo and Prodrive had previously collaborated in Motorsport, campaigning an Alfa Romeo 155 in the BTCC during 1994 and 1995.
Information from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa_Romeo_Brera
Related Pages: Cars, Alfa Romeo Competizione
