Why Alfa Romeo Matters Alfa Romeo 8C Spyder

The 8C is exactly like the girl you like: she may not be the best at cooking or have the best job, but she’ll always find a way to make you fall for her. When the heart speaks out, the mind always has to make a great effort to control itself, trying to achieve the right balance between feelings and logic is crucial, but sometimes the heart wins. And it wins big. This is what happens when you drive an Alfa Romeo: you cannot avoid falling in love with her and believe you have the best car in the world between your hands at that moment.
The 8C Competizione is the work of God’s designers. Escape on Wheels knows it very well, having covered quite few miles in a stunning black example (link) almost 2 years ago. The 8C spider is perhaps even better, since it provides everything we loved of the cupè, just with added open-air pleasure. Sure, dynamically speaking, the 8C is not very good, with a wobbly chassis and a out-of-date gearbox, but we could care less, way less than to other cars.
Alfa Romeos are fuel for the soul, and even if they do not provide always an exceptional overall package, they know how to conquer people’s hearts and minds. The 8C is perhaps one of the most beautiful cars designed in the last 20 years. The Spider version, which rumors suggest that they made to sell those cupès remained unsold is one of a handful. Its wonderful Ferrari derived 4.7 V8, the same which powers the lovely Maserati Gran Turismo S, deliver an old school punch, with the optimal torque range being a little over 4.000 rpm and outrageous delivery.
Driving this Bianco Triplo Strato Spider, one of the few to come to the US, for a blast around the Boston Area in November is quite worth the trip from Italy. With scarf and roof down and the cold morning air blowing on our faces, we pass through the lovely little town of Chestnut Hill heading towards the oldest car museum in America, the Larz Anderson. Although closed, we stop to snap a couple of pics of the 8C in front of the museum, where there’s normally a gathering of petrolheads every week end.
After a warming coffee, we proceed to some nice driving roads around the area, just for the sheer enjoyment of this excellent Alfa Romeo in the areas that gave birth to America. As the night falls and we come back to the Boston city centre, still with the top down and the rumblin’-and-mumblin’ V8, we just couldn’t help but understand more why Alfa Romeo matters.