► 33 Stradale and MC Extrema will be joined by others
► Firms also launch Bottegafuoriserie sub-division…
► …designed as a creative hub ‘umbrella’ for both brands
Alfa Romeo and Maserati have confirmed that the 33 Stradale and MCXtrema won’t be the last time you’ll see both brands doing ‘few-offs’, the limited run specials that have become brilliant money-spinners for every legacy brand, from Alfa to Lamborghini.
During a press conference to launch Bottegafuoriserie, an organisational shift that should allow greater collaboration between the two storied Italian companies, Cristiano Fiorio (the new boss of Bottegafuoriserie – please don’t ask us to pronounce it…) confirmed that a road-going version of the MCXtrema is high on the list of priorities. ‘It [a road-legal Maserati few-off] has to come – it is a commitment that we have taken also for Maserati.’
Maserati has only built 62 editions of the MCXtrema and all are sold, but it’s clear that bosses regard a broader remit from its track-only focus as an area to work on. Running the same V6 as the appears in the MC20, albeit with power increased to 724bhp and 538lb ft, and based around the same carbon tub, it shouldn’t be difficult to engineer a variant that can cope with potholes.
Alfa Romeo and Maserati are also looking at continuation car and restomods in an effort to drive more profits. In a similar vein to what Jaguar and Aston Martin have both done recently, with the likes of D-Type and DB4 GT respectively, senior figures at the Italian firms confirmed that a project to build a continuation car has already started.
Restomods are also on the agenda, presumably as a result of other companies effectively stealing the Italians’ lunches. No models were confirmed but we’re already dreaming up what we’d do with an official Alfasud.
It all comes off the back of the launch of Bottegafuoriserie, a new division at Alfa Romeo and Maserati that is ‘not a new brand’ but instead aims to make sure that people within both brands can cross-fertilise ideas more easily. ‘What we are doing is combining the expertise around the things we do,’ according to Santo Ficili, Alfa’s boss.
It will encompass not only the few-offs but also the personalisation division, restoration service and racing – things that both brands were doing but with varying degrees of success. By combining both, the hope is that they’ll pool resources and increase the bottom line for both.
There’s a potential for this Bottegafuoriserie principle to stretch across to other brands within Stellantis – Peugeot and Lancia were both mentioned – but for now it’s limited to Alfa and Maserati.