New Prodrive Brera S (now with multiple reviews)

Originally Posted by Kevin Slegg

Its perplexing as there a few people on here with the Autodelta conversion who seem to rate the Supercharger

I would still have an Autodelta one but chuck on those huge 19" black rims..... wicked wheels..

Nothing beats forced induction... sorry

I saw the Brera S yesterday at HR Owen. Looks exactly like a normal Brera except:

Darkened 19" 5 hole alloys. I'm sure some people will like these but I didn't like the darkened alloys.

Red brake calipers - nice.

Look closely and you can see some yellow damper springs (you're not going to notice these unless your face is down to the wheel.

S symbol - straight from an 80s Ford Capri, sorry!

They've RUINED the aluminium plaque just below the front head rests of the 08 seats! They now have an Italian flag and a British flag and various text like Limited Edition Prodrive whatever. Doesn't look good IMO - the ordinary 08 seat alu plaques are much classier.

So personally not a looker IMO. I'm sure the drive is livelier (I haven't driven it) so this may please many people, but I like the comfort and lovely ride of the standard model so this car isn't for me.

Interesting to hear that they have changed the exhaust note and possibly removed the 2.2 hesitation? Perhaps us 2.2 drivers should be looking at new exhaust sections and then a remap?

Anyway, I'm sure there will be 500 happy owners out on the roads soon though!

Originally Posted by Squadrone Rosso

Darren from Variava's has kindly sent me some pictures of their 2.2 Red One. It looks really nice.

Interior detailing looks straight out of my Ti which is no bad thing The zorsts look cool (Prodrive engraved) and have got to sound better than the standard items (way too quiet on the 2.2 Brera & 159 Ti).

Less cool are the prodrive mudflaps (too WRC for a Brera) and the fact that the leather dash only comes on the 3.2 version

Looking forward to some reviews now........

that mudguard... just says WRC too loudly.. I agree SR with you........ guess Prodrive could not resist the temptation, and just had to slap one on... at least it's black and not white... like on a rally scooby..

...and how much nicer it would have been if they called it the Brera Sprint after earlier Alfas.

Originally Posted by caradoc

...and how much nicer it would have been if they called it the Brera Sprint after earlier Alfas.

Not for a UK only model, surely!

Originally Posted by Nev

Not for a UK only model, surely!

I don't see a problem if it is a limited run, and should the mods find their way into the mainstream model (if the ride isn't compromised as mentioned earlier) I think it would be appropriate.

Originally Posted by Legless

Love the colour & the 5 hole wheels are so much nicer than the 7 hole 18" ones. Wish I could afford to change the wife's Brera!!

Yeah, I like that colour and the wheels are - does make me wonder what the ride will be like. That said I would have one in a heartbeat!

Originally Posted by caradoc

Ruined the look of the car with those wheels and the cheap "S" badge. If what Dave Whitton says is correct and the harder suspension does not ruin the ride, why didn't Alfa incorporated this into the standard Brera for this model year rather than offer it as a one off ProDrive derivative. I think this type of offering actually cheapens the brand rather than enhances it, it just calls attention to the standard models perceived shortcomings.

The S badge I agree is tacky and should be deleted forthwith; it certainly wouldn't stay on mine if I had one. The wheels 'though are drop dead gorgeous!

Cheapens the brand ?... I'm not so sure ... certainly helps make the Brera more appealing to a wider audience. If that S badge wasn't there, I don't think you would have used the word cheapens, would you?

Originally Posted by Oggy_GTA

The S badge I agree is tacky and should be deleted forthwith; it certainly wouldn't stay on mine if I had one. The wheels 'though are drop dead gorgeous!

Cheapens the brand ?... I'm not so sure ... certainly helps make the Brera more appealing to a wider audience. If that S badge wasn't there, I don't think you would have used the word cheapens, would you?

I think it a pity that Alfa made so much of the ProDrive involvement, I would have thought this kind of work could have been done in-house. Personally this does take something away from the brand, the "S" badge does cheapen it. Wheels are a personal issue granted, but play around with the shape of the exhaust, fancy script plates on the seats... Well, I stick with my earlier comments. But that's not to say that I'm sure it handles well and sounds great, just don't like the way Alfa have gone about it. To me the name Alfa Romeo has far more heritage than ProDrive and it's a shame they seem to be forgetting that, they should be building on the name......Phew, you can tell it's a rainy Sunday morning!

Must say, I never noticed the little mudflap on the grey model while I was looking around it. Serves a purpose I guess - the guards on the rear arches have saved me a few stone chips on our Spider, judging by the marks on them.

Maybe Alfa will offer the Prodrive suspension as an option across the range on the standard Brera (Spider?) once the specials have gone.

(hi - new here)

Has anyone seen any business contract hire deals for the S yet by any chance (similar to the Spider LE deals that were kicking around)? I'm very interested in getting a Touring Grey 2.2...

Originally Posted by buckrogers

(hi - new here)

Has anyone seen any business contract hire deals for the S yet by any chance (similar to the Spider LE deals that were kicking around)? I'm very interested in getting a Touring Grey 2.2...

They haven't brought any terms out yet, I will let you know as soon as they do


David

Looking at the pictures in the Autocar review, I think it looks fantastic in red with the Anthracite wheels.

Very much in the mould of how the Ti kit and wheels transforms the exterior of the 159. Very much more aggressive and sporting......and to that end more desireable.

As mentioned though, it is hard to fathom how development from Prodrive isn't something Alfa could have done itself - maybe its a good way of simply promoting the edition with some motorsport kudos.

I would be very interested in one if it included the use of the new turbo 1.8. Now if that had some engine development work and handling to match, I would definitely order one.

Going from the GTA V6 in a 147 to a 2.2 would be too much of a performance drop. And the new V6 comes with the tax and fuel issues I already have.

Still a lovely car the 'S'....but not quite good enough to get me out of the GTA, yet.

Originally Posted by DavidWhitton

They haven't brought any terms out yet, I will let you know as soon as they do


David

Thanks - hopefully the wait for the terms shouldn't be too long!

Originally Posted by buckrogers

Thanks - hopefully the wait for the terms shouldn't be too long!

Shouldn't be. Be warned though, they won't be as cheap as the Spider deal was.

David

Countdown
Alfa Brera S

i think this could be the new gta, 4.8 v8

heres the link for the details

2009 Alfa Romeo 159 GTA - Top Speed

Originally Posted by pcbuild2k

heres the link for the details

2009 Alfa Romeo 159 GTA - Top Speed

Look at the date of the article though...