Alfa Romeo Brera and Spider

The Alfa Romeo Brera and the Alfa Romeo Spider (Type 939) are two sports cars manufactured by Alfa Romeo respectively between 2005-2010 and 2006-2010. The Brera is a 2+2 coupé, while the Spider is its roadster version. Both models were built by Pininfarina.

12,488 units of the Spider and 21,786 units of the Brera were built. Production of both models ended in late 2010, although remaining stock continued into 2011.The car also appeared in PC game Need For Speed Carbon as a starter exotic vehicle.

Concept

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 a Maserati V8 engine producing around 400 PS (290 kW; 390 hp). The Brera was widely acclaimed, and production plans were subsequently announced for 2005.

Production

The Alfa Romeo Brera was introduced in production form at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. It translated the original's exterior appearance on a much smaller scale, becoming a mid-size coupé 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 was initially available with two petrol engines, the 185 PS (136 kW; 182 hp) 2.2-litre JTS and 260 PS (190 kW; 260 hp) 3.2-litre V6; and a 210 PS (150 kW; 210 hp) 2.4-litre JTD turbodiesel. Cars with the diesel or 2.2 petrol were front-wheel drive, whilst the V6 came with a Torsen four-wheel drive system similar to the 159's Q4.

At the 2008 Geneva Motor Show Alfa Romeo introduced updated "Model year 2008" Brera and Spider. The 3.2 litre V6 version became available in front wheel drive form, allowing for a top speed of 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph); all model variants adopted the e-Q2 electronic limited slip differential; and finally more aluminium parts gave a weight reduction of several kilos.

The following year, again at Geneva Motor Show, an all-new turbocharged petrol engine badged as 1750 TBi (Turbo Benzina iniezione) was added to the lineoup. This 1742 cc unit featured direct injection and variable valve timing on both inlet and exhaust cams, and developed 200 PS (147 kW; 197 hp) and 320 N·m (240 lb·ft) of torque.

Production

The Alfa Romeo Brera was introduced in production form at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show. It translated the original's exterior appearance on a much smaller scale, becoming a mid-size coupé 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 was initially available with two petrol engines, the 185 PS (136 kW; 182 hp) 2.2-litre JTS and 260 PS (190 kW; 260 hp) 3.2-litre V6; and a 210 PS (150 kW; 210 hp) 2.4-litre JTD turbodiesel. Cars with the diesel or 2.2 petrol were front-wheel drive, whilst the V6 came with a Torsen four-wheel drive system similar to the 159's Q4.

At the 2008 Geneva Motor Show Alfa Romeo introduced updated "Model year 2008" Brera and Spider. The 3.2 litre V6 version became available in front wheel drive form, allowing for a top speed of 250 kilometres per hour (160 mph); all model variants adopted the e-Q2 electronic limited slip differential; and finally more aluminium parts gave a weight reduction of several kilos.

The following year, again at Geneva Motor Show, an all-new turbocharged petrol engine badged as 1750 TBi (Turbo Benzina iniezione) was added to the lineoup. This 1742 cc unit featured direct injection and variable valve timing on both inlet and exhaust cams, and developed 200 PS (147 kW; 197 hp) and 320 N·m (240 lb·ft) of torque.

Brera S

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. Selected suspension and chassis components and 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.

Brera Italia Independent

In 2009, Alfa Romeo released a limited edition of the Brera and Spider in association with Italia Independent, an Italian design company. Limited to 900 units and named after Alfa Romeo's partner in the venture, the Italia Independent edition of the Brera was offered with opaque-finish "titanium" paintwork, 18" "turbine" style alloy wheels and an aluminium fuel-filler cap.

The Italia Independent was offered with 125 kW (170 PS) 2.0 JTDM, 154 kW (210 PS) 2.4 JTDM diesel,157 kW (214 PS) 2.4 JTDM diesel (2009-10)l or 147 kW (200 PS) 1.8 TBi, 136 kW (185 PS) 2.2 JTS, 191 kW (260 PS) 3.2 V6 petrol engines and six-speed transmission. Manual, "Selespeed" or automatic Q-Tronic transmission options were offered, and the V6 engined-car was also available with Alfa Romeo's Q4 all-wheel drive system.

Spider

The New Spider version (Type 939) was introduced at the 2006 Geneva Motor Show, where it also received the "Cabrio of the Year" award. The Spider is based on the Brera coupe but is a pure 2-seater convertible. At the beginning there were two engine options available: the 2.2 L straight-4 and 3.2 L V6 JTS engines, and the JTD common rail turbodiesel was introduced at the 2007 Geneva Motor Show. This car replaced the Spider 916 model, introduced in 1995. This Spider version can be seen as the 6th generation of Alfa Spiders, the first version of which was released in 1966. Production ceased in November 2010.

Italia Independent

In 2009, Alfa Romeo released a limited edition of the Brera and Spider in association with Italia Independent, an Italian design company. Limited to 900 units and named after Alfa Romeo's partner in the venture, the Italia Independent edition of the Brera was offered with opaque-finish "titanium" paintwork, 18" "turbine" style alloy wheels and an aluminium fuel-filler cap.

The Italia Independent was offered with 125 kW (170 PS) 2.0 JTDM, 154 kW (210 PS) 2.4 JTDM diesel, JTDM, 157 kW (214 PS) 2.4 JTDM diesel or 147 kW (200 PS) 1.8 TBi, 136 kW (185 PS) 2.2 JTS or 191 kW (260 PS) 3.2 V6 petrol engines and six-speed transmission. Manual, "Selespeed" or automatic Q-Tronic transmission options were offered, and the V6 engined-car was also available with Alfa Romeo's Q4 all-wheel drive system.

Spider 'Mille Miglia'

Alfa Romeo has created a special edition of its Spider convertible in order to commemorate the historic Mille Miglia 1,000 mile race that takes place in Italy annually. The carmaker build just 11 examples of the 'Spider Mille Miglia' to mark the 11 victories it's had in the famous Italian race, which heralded the rise of the original sports grand tourer.

While there are no performance increases, the Spider Mille Miglia is based on the standard 3.2 V6 powerplant that outputs 260 PS (191 kW; 256 hp). Rather than performance upgrades, each special edition features a silver plate that outlines one of Alfa Romeo's victories between 1928 and 1947. The special edition Alfa also gets an exclusive, bright red paintjob called 'Rosso 8C' and a 'Quadrifoglio' logo (a four-leaf clover) on its front wings, as well as red stitching for the black leather seats. Additionally the anti-roll bars are painted in red rather than usual silver.