Alexandre
On the automotive scene, unique creations have always aroused fascination and admiration. But when an Alfa Romeo enthusiast in South Africa decided to merge two iconic models into one create a completely new Alfa Romeo, enthusiasm crosses borders. Brendon M. Scholtz, a convinced Alfist, has given birth to a Alfa Romeo Brera five-doorThe Brera is a unique kind of coupé sedan, cleverly combining the rear of the Brera with an Alfa Romeo 159.
An ingenious merger: Brera and 159
The Alfa Romeo Brera, often hailed as one of the Italian marque's finest recent creations, was only available as a three-door coupé or two-door spider. Not exactly the ideal model for families. But Brendon wasn't deterred. Using an Alfa Romeo 159 as a base, more spacious and practical model, he came up with the bold idea of graft the rear of the Brera onto this chassis.
The result? A five-door Brera that combines the racy elegance of one of the brand's sexiest coupes with the practicality of a sedan.
A project for enthusiasts
It all began with a digital rendering and a simple observation: the lines of the two models blend surprisingly well. After getting his hands on a damaged Brera rear end in a junkyard, Brendon embarked on this major project. He cut the two bodies at the same point on the rear wings, so as to be able to weld the rear part of the Brera to the 159.
But it wasn't all plain sailing. The dimensions of the lower Brera required hours of sheet metal work to perfectly align the lines and adapt the bodywork to the 159's greater height.
Attention to detail
After a first attempt that Brendon found insufficient, he decided to start all over again, this time arming himself with patience and striving for a factory-fresh result. He meticulously adjusted the panels, following each weld for perfect alignment. The redesigned roof now blends harmoniously with the Brera's rear end, and to top it all off, Brendon added special rear-view mirrors and a new rear-view mirror. a front bumper also from the Brera.
The ensemble was then painted in a magnificent Rosso Competizione, the emblematic color of the Alfa Romeo 8C, and complemented by new wheels derived from the Giulia Quadrifoglio. For a sporty contrast, yellow brake calipers have been added, while a lowered suspension kit gives this new Brera a resolutely aggressive look.
A never-before-seen Alfa Romeo
This one-of-a-kind model, which was never envisaged by Alfa Romeo, could nevertheless have found its place among atypical models. In recent days, this five-door Brera has been attracting a lot of attention on social networks, and Brendon continues to make a name for himself with his atypical automotive creations, which can be seen on his Instagram account @carazy_guy.
The work is simply magnificent.
Marchionne's mistake was not to migrate the project to Lancia (given the weight and engine sharing), which would have resulted in an additional model in the range (called Gamma), plus a Brera coupé shooting break coupé without the uninhabitable rear seats.
The Alfa Brera would have deserved to have the original chassis, that of the 4200 GT, and to upgrade the Maserati GT to 4700cm cube.
I know that the Brera and 159 weren't the best Alfa in terms of chassis and driving position, but the result is magnificent and really should have gone into production. There's an inability on the part of successive management teams to understand Alfa Romeo customers' expectations or, once they've found a model that meets them at least partially (or totally with the Giulia), to decline them in order to sell as many models as possible, for example with an SW version of the Giulia and a new Giulietta - which remains one of the most popular models along with the compact 147 - instead of, or at the same time as, a Tonale with much more dynamic behavior.
It's reminiscent of the Thema with its external engine sharing (V6 PRV) and the Gamma range, which had many models or weights that are less of a problem in a so-called Premium car. In short, once again the product was just not housed in the right brand, as was the mistake at the time of releasing a Thesis which was a rolling saloon far more comfortable than a German limousine or a Quattroportre, but didn't have the idea of having a more conventional design and not installing 4WD, even though this had been beneficial for Lancia's image with supercharged 5-cylinder 2.9 2.5 and V6 engines.
I totally agree with you.
Alfa Romeo's focus on SUVs in recent years has proved to be a strategic error, and the figures speak for themselves. Customers who want an Alfa are looking for classic sedans, station wagons, hatchbacks or city cars. An up-to-date SUV would have sufficed. Instead of 3 today, including the more up-to-date Stelvio and the Tonale, which is a failure. The Junior makes him laugh and borders on the ridiculous with its name. Alfa needs to get back to basics, which it knows how to do, so that ten-year old customers like me stay in the family and pass on the passion further down the line... but we're preaching to the choir, or in the sidereal void since nothing is made in Italy anymore... sad fate.
I'm the first to wish for sedans and compacts from Alfa Romeo. But the best current sedan in its segment, with the best chassis, is the Giulia, and its sales are modest. This is partly due to the absence of a hybrid model, but it's not the only reason.
SUVs meet a demand, that's a fact, and it's to the detriment of other car categories.
I wouldn't be so negative about the Junior (a name used in the past by Alfa, so it's legitimate), which seems to have real qualities. What's lacking are the powertrains, with just the PureTech or two electric motors.
Alfa Romeo can't just satisfy its long-standing customers, because sales are far too low. It's essential to reach out to other customers, and that's what Junior is all about.
I understand, but the SUV strategy, which was supposed to open the door to a new generation of customers, is threadbare - just look at the sales figures, they speak for themselves. Not only has it failed to attract new customers, it's driven away classic ones. Better a little of little than a lot of nothing... The Giulia is no longer the best sedan on the market. When it was first launched, it probably was, but we're talking about almost 8 years ago! In the meantime, there should have been a replacement for the Giulia. And the lack of a station wagon was a mistake, hence the poor sales.
Well, no, even after 8 years, the Giulia QV remains the benchmark by far.