New Car Review Areas


General Car Topics

2010 Autodelta Alfa Romeo Brera S 3.2 Compressore Review

November 2009
Filed under: AUTODELTA Car News | AUTODELTA Headlines
Autodelta is the leading global aftermarket Alfa Romeo design and tuning house, and this annual automotive extravaganza ' hosted by BBC TV's Top Gear presenters Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May ' has come to be regarded as our 'home' motor show, taking place as it does just a stone's throw from our Park Royal headquarters. The MPH Motor Show attracts only the very cream of latest high-performance and luxury automotive brand names, and is thus the perfect focused environment in which to showcase our ultimate-specification Alfa Romeo products.

We will unveil two products that break new ground for their dynamic capabilities. Firstly, the Autodelta J4 3.2 C, which completes our ambitious and fruitful project of redefining the stylish Alfa Romeo 159 sedan into the ultimate modern-day interpretation of the classic Italian notion of 'gran turismo'. Alongside it, the out-and-out sports-minded Alfa Brera S 'Compressore', which fulfils this limited edition model's sporting makeover by providing the optimum solution for the key area which remained unaddressed when the muscular coup'as recently tweaked by Prodrive: namely, a significant boost to its power output.

A recent project between Alfa Romeo UK and long-established motorsport preparation firm Prodrive saw the Brera coupe realised into the limited-edition Brera S 3.2, with the most productive aspect of the project being a weight loss of 100 kg thanks to the use of front-wheel drive rather than the standard Brera V6's Q4 all-wheel drive system. With cosmetic and trim upgrades in addition to suspension changes, the Brera S has become a distinctive new version of this striking car. However, Prodrive didn't tackle the area of the car's performance, and this has led to a flurry of requests from buyers for us to take the "bull by the horns" and complete the overall package.

Reworking the Brera S 3.2 with our supercharging system, the finely-honed result of almost a quarter-century of developing and applying forced induction principles to Alfa Romeos, completely transforms it and turns the Brera S into a high-performance sportscar perfectly in sync with the driver. The Brera S 3.2 'Compressore' remains true to our principles ' as well as living up to the values of the historic Autodelta brand name ' remains a sportscar that is always ready for everyday use in any scenario.

We have great experience taming high-powered front-wheel drive Alfa Romeo models, such as the 425 bhp Alfa 147 GTA which we produce (and which has had excellent reviews), so we knew exactly what would be the parameters and objectives of the Brera S 3.2 project. The resulting car uses our tried-and-tested supercharging package with intercooler, drawn from the successful Autodelta J5 3.2 C with a maximum power output of 352 bhp (compared to the Brera S, which retains the standard model's 260 bhp) and a significant hike in peak torque to 435 Nm (compared to 322 Nm for the standard Brera S model). The front-wheel drive nature of the Brera S means that with our performance upgrade, in-gear acceleration is greatly improved, as the Brera S no longer has the power drain of the four-wheel drive system. Traction is further improved by fitting our bespoke mechanical limited slip differential (LSD), which operates in combination with the car's standard electronic Q2 system. The mechanical LSD works in a more natural way (as the Q2 only operates in more extreme driving scenarios by applying the brakes to transfer power to the required corner), and offers the driver much greater feedback, which helps to optimise the 'fun' experience that is a prerequisite of any Autodelta-refined sportscar. Drivers will appreciate the way our LSD integrates into the Brera to enhance the all-round experience.

The result has been transformational, turning the Brera S into an ultimate product in the finest of Autodelta traditions, a sportscar with dynamic capabilities to match its award-winning looks. While this version remains outside of our comprehensive range, in order to cater for the demand of owners, we have made this upgrade available from our factory and we will present the Brera S 3.2 'Compressore' at the MPH09 Motor Show.

To complete the all-round dynamic package of the Brera S, at the request of a number of customers, we have fitted the renowned Autodelta Sportline suspension kit which was developed for the Brera chassis through our exhaustive R&D programme, and has been now optimised for this latest application. The Prodrive suspension promotes excellent performance on smoother surfaces, such as racetracks, but it misses out on providing comfort for everyday use; the Autodelta Sportline suspension kit resolves this issue to offer the owner the best of both worlds. The height-adjustable Autodelta Sportline coilover suspension features specific new spring rates and 40 different firmness adjustment settings that can be quickly and conveniently adjusted by the driver. This means the ride height of the Brera S can now be altered for greater road convenience or to optimise the car in very different driving scenarios, from the requirements of a long-distance family tour, to the daily commute, or the more extreme demands of a trackday.

The 'Ultimate Performance Arena' kicks off at MPH09: the Prestige & Performance Motor Show, which offers fans of award-winning TV programme Top Gear the opportunity to get up close and personal to everyone's favourite TV presenters: Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May. So skip the waiting list for the TV show and experience the assault on your senses that is Top Gear Live!

Top Gear Live not only brings the TV show format to life, it is injected with more performance enhancements than a disgraced sprinter. The theatre performance features breathtaking stunts, amazing special effects and blockbusting driving sequences featuring some of the world's best precision drivers. But that's not all ' this motoring spectacular is not just the supercar-fest you might expect, for it leaps, bounds and bulldozes its way through a heady mix of thrills and spills, to prove once and for all the boys from Top Gear do in fact have the best jobs in the world.

Once you've seen Top Gear Live, you'll want to spend the rest of your time at MPH with the hundreds of exhibitors selling everything from the latest car gadgets to the coolest accessories. Plus, get up close to the stars ' very close. Look around, sit inside and see what some of the most stylish, rare and expensive cars in the world are really made of in the MPH Gallery. Name a supercar and you'll almost certainly find it in the MPH Gallery. Not behind barriers, but displayed to give you maximum possible access to this jaw-dropping collection of car exotica. Think Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Koenigsegg, Spyker and Aston Martin. MPH is a showcase of the world's best. While Autodelta will fly the flag with pride for Alfa Romeo by showing the Autodelta J4 3.2 C and Autodelta Brera S 3.2 'Compressore', other Italian high-performance cars set to be seen in the gallery this week include the limited-edition Ferrari Scuderia Spider 16M and convertible California, as well as Lamborghini's Gallardo LP560-4 Spyder. For more information on MPH09, please visit www.mphshow.co.uk

MPH Motor Show has a strong legacy for Autodelta, especially so with the Earls Court Exhibition Centre being located just a few miles from our headquarters. We presented our first exclusive, fully-bespoke model, a car transformed in every area ' the Autodelta 147 GTA AM 3.7 ' during the first edition of the show, MPH03, held at Earls Court six years ago, in November 2003. The following year, Autodelta presented two models that went on to achieve great significance for their world premi's at MPH04, the Autodelta 156 GTA AM 3.7 and the Autodelta GT Super, while at the subsequent edition, MPH05, the assembled crowds saw the debut of the Autodelta GT Super Evo, featuring a distinct performance step over the previous model as well as 'Model Year' upgrades.

Three years ago, for the fourth edition of the show, the Autodelta Brera J5 3.2 C made its public debut at MPH06, seen for the first time in final production format after an exclusive world preview in Monte Carlo that summer. Indeed, for the launch of the J5, Autodelta attended both MPH shows ' firstly at its usual home at Earls Court in London, and then at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham. Two years ago, it was the turn of the Autodelta Spider J6 3.2 C to be unveiled for its world premi' at MPH07, with the convertible sportscar again displayed in both London and Birmingham. Last year, following a special media unveiling in Holland, we presented the Autodelta J4 2.2 C for its public debut at MPH08, and one year on, its V6-engined sister is set to receive its world premi' at Earls Court, alongside a first public showing of the supercharged Brera S 3.2 'Compressore'.

Latest Car News

All images courtesy of and copyright their respective manufacturers, unless otherwise indicated. They may not be reproduced or retransmitted in any way without the express written permission of their respective owners. All trademarks are the property of their respective owners. Model news and specifications are presented as provided by manufacturer, and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of DIGIADS. No warranty is made by DIGIADS with respect to the accuracy or timeliness of the information contained herein.