Alfa Romeo blew the proverbial roof from the Frankfurt Motor Show exhibition hall when the 8C concept was first teased in 2003.

That glimpse of the future was framed as the 8C Competizione, an eight-cylinder coupé with styling reminiscent of the Italian marque’s most celebrated competition cars of old.

The new sports car came after a prolonged spell of relatively practical and workaday designs by Alfa Romeo’s own standards—provoking an even greater reaction from marque devotees.

Customer deliveries of the road-going coupé began in 2007, and the open-top 8C Spider followed one year later.

Both versions were underpinned by a front-engine platform built around a 4.7-litre V-8 working with a six-speed, “flappy paddle” gearshift.

This impressive configuration gave a factory-rated top speed of 290 km/h, reaching 100 km/h from a standstill in just 4.4 seconds.

Both the 8C Competizione and 8C Spider were limited to just 500 examples each and final assembly took place in the factory of Al...