Alfa Romeo Brera J5 3.2 C by Autodelta

Press Release

First of the new breed

Autodelta is proud to introduce the Autodelta Brera J5 3.2 C, the newest bespoke model created by the world-renown aftermarket Alfa Romeo design and tuning house; their first exclusive model based on the "new breed" of Alfa Romeo models; and a car that leads a new generation for the London-based firm.

The new Autodelta Brera J5 3.2 C (C stands for "Compressore") redefines Autodelta's never-ending pursuit of the maximum performance and driving pleasure to be drawn from Alfa Romeo's production models, and is the culmination of more than a year's intense research and development as well as hard work and innovative thinking put into application.

The stunning Giorgetto Giugiaro-styled Alfa Romeo Brera sportscar arrived in the showrooms in January, almost four years after it stunned the world when it first appeared as a concept at the Geneva Motor Show in 2002. It heralded a bright new dawn for the Milanese marque as - along with its sister Alfa 159 saloon - it represented the debut of a "new breed" of truly captivating sporty models that encompassed everything that the famous automotive name stands for.

True to their traditions, this was a car that Autodelta had to turn their attention to with renewed vigour; the application of fresh lateral thinking, technical innovation and unsurpassed attention to detail. As a new dawn was ushered in at Alfa Romeo so a new dawn arrived for Autodelta, an opportunity which was grasped with both hands. Pushing out the all-round performance and dynamic envelope of the Alfa Brera was the immediate task for their engineering team.

Autodelta firmly believe that with the arrival of the Autodelta Brera J5 3.2 C they have developed a high-performance sports car that is true to the Autodelta brand values: practical and user-friendly as well as being blisteringly quick and boasting agile handling. A car embedded truly with Autodelta's DNA.

The Autodelta J5 3.2 C has received the firm's famous "J-series" designation. The first time it has been designated on an Autodelta model in five years, this individual tag was previously applied to the GTV / Spider (J10), 156 (J11) and 147 (J12). The "J" (referring to the company's founder, Jano Djelalian) denotes that this is a highly-exclusive, hand-built, bespoke Autodelta model; a car that presents the driver with sheer exhilaration at the wheel while at the same cosseting him in comfortable, prestigious surroundings, and - so important at Autodelta where high performance is always coupled to genuine practicality - adhering the historic motto of the world-famous Alfa Romeo performance division: "A victory a day with the everyday car."

Meanwhile, the "C" designation stands for "Compressore". Announcing that this new car is supercharged brings another strong Autodelta tradition into the equation, one that has become very central to their engineering philosophy in recent years. With a huge wealth of experience in supercharging - including its application on the famous 'Arese V6' with a 400bhp step arriving in final stages of its development, as well as on the direct-injection JTS engine, where Autodelta is the only company worldwide to offer forced induction on this Alfa Romeo unit (and in fact of all the major carmakers only VW have a production supercharged direct-injection engine) - it was logical that Autodelta would turn to this tradition as they looked to raise the Brera's bite in the power stakes. The Brera J5 3.2 C's dedicated supercharger unit is supplied by Rotrex to Autodelta; in fact the Rotrex C30-94 is considered to be the most compact supercharging unit available today noted for its durability, light inherent weight and compact form; Rotrex superchargers were also chosen by Koenigsegg to power their CCX supercar, which set the record for the fastest production car in the world. The Rotrex C30-94 properties make it perfect for installation in the Brera's engine bay which offers little excess room, its installation and that of its dedicated oil cooler being positioned in an optimum manner to allow maximum air flow via the new Autodelta-designed front bumper.

The Autodelta Brera offers 348 bhp and 430 Nm torque, the additional 88 bhp over the standard model turning this into a powerful four wheel drive 2+2 sportscar easily capable of fulfilling its driver's innermost demands and desires. 0-100 km/h is achieved in 5.3 seconds while top speed is 260 km/h.

However an Autodelta model is always an all-round player, and the Brera J5 3.2 C is the complete package, fully developed in every area, the result of much of hard work which focused in detail on every aspect of the sports car. The Brera's engine electronics have been significantly re-mapped to make sure that power is put down in an optimum manner, with smooth delivery and in perfect synergy with the car's capabilities. A brand new stainless-steel exhaust system, created in conjunction with Autodelta's exhaust development partner Ragazzon, offers optimum gasflow properties as well as a distinct Alfa Romeo exhaust "note", and is immediately recognisable by its quad-oval tail pipes which are each engraved with the Autodelta legend. The suspension has been re-worked with new Autodelta Sport Line Dampers with Coil Over springs being specially developed for the car; while an upgraded braking system perfectly manages the additional requirements demanded of it by all the extra power.

Autodelta is also about style, and this area of the car has not been neglected by our experienced design team. A typical Alfa Romeo driver demands performance with inherent Italian styling; understated but individual. An Autodelta driver also makes these demands, but pushed to a further level; understated charms combined with aggression, sleek yet with the exclusive handcrafted Autodelta tradition instantly recognisable. To achieve these core requirements Autodelta's designers have evolved the "F1 look" that they first introduced on the Autodelta GT Super in 2004 and then the Autodelta 147 GTA AM Super (2005). With this dashing styling treatment, the front bumper arches upwards to meet the traditional "heart" grille, that most famous of all Alfa Romeo symbols, and one which sets an Alfa Romeo apart from the crowd.

This remains the most distinctive feature of the car that Autodelta's designers seek to amplify, but never challenge. The new front bumper at the same time has been optimised to provide maximum delivery of air to the new supercharger oil cooler via the introduction of extra cooling slots on the bumper's flanks. At the rear, the customary Autodelta splitter enhances the curving rump of the Brera. The subtle but distinctive looks of the Brera J5 3.2 C are finally completed by 19-inch OZ Racing Ultraleggera wheels and Dunlop SP Sport Maxx tyres; OZ Racing and Dunlop tyres are also development partners in the Brera J5 3.2 C project.

As Autodelta rapidly approach their 20th Anniversary in 2007, and rise to the exciting opportunities and challenges that the new breed of Alfa Romeo models provides them, this new bespoke model truly heralds the arrival of a new era for the performance house.

Autodelta would like to thank its technical development partners in the Autodelta J5 3.2 C project: Dunlop, OZ Racing, Rotrex and Ragazzon.

Developing the Autodelta Brera J5 3.2 C

The last year has been one of the most important in the 96-year history of the Alfa Romeo brand, with a swage of exciting new models rolling off the production lines. This period has equally proven to be one of the most important for Autodelta as they respond to the new and exciting challenges thrown down. Namely, these challenges have involved taking the four new Alfa Romeo models - the Alfa 159, 159 Sportwagon, Brera and Spider - and improving their all-round performance edge and chassis dynamics, as well as clothing them in new styling, all in a manner that accurately conveys and builds up Autodelta's core principles and heritage.

Autodelta have faced a huge undertaking as they have sought to develop, from scratch, what are effectively packages based on a completely new architecture and engines. Long established engineering thinking has been shaken up. "We have been working with the Arese-built V6 all our lives," says Autodelta's founder and owner, Jano Djelalian. "Now, we have a new V6 engine with a whole new set of characteristics and inherent values, along with the new ‘Premium' floorpan, the new Torsen C-System four-wheel-drive arrangement, new gearboxes, electronics, brakes and just about anything else you care to mention. There is no component carryover to this new generation of cars."

An exciting new era has well and truly arrived, one which is full of potential and new possibilities - and it is one that Autodelta have been very eager to swiftly embrace. "The worst part was waiting to get our hands on these new cars," says Jano. "There was much talk about them in the run up to the Geneva Motor Show last year. However, we were able to get hold of development versions of the new V6 engine very early on and take delivery of the production Alfa 159 and Brera at the beginning of this year." Recently Autodelta officially appointed Knutsford-based authorised Alfa Romeo dealership Mangoletsi, to supply new vehicles for research and development.
The Alfa 159, 159 Sportwagon, Brera and Spider are all based on the same all-new architecture - dubbed the ‘Premium' platform - meaning that Autodelta's intensive development programmes can in most cases be applied to each model across the range with individual modifications where required. In their development, Autodelta's engineers have particularly focused on two models: the Alfa 159 and Brera, the former fitted with the 2.2 JTS engine, the latter with the new 3.2 V6, a car that has evolved into the Brera J5 3.2 C which is announced today. "Mechanically, we are working on two Premium-based development strategies, focusing around several steps in power output for the 2.2 and 3.2 V6 engines," adds Jano.

"Putting the Autodelta stamp on these new cars is the biggest challenge to ever face our company. Starting from a blank sheet of paper is exciting and we relish the new challenge," says Jano. "In light of our recent company restructuring, we have split the workload, with our new Italian centre of operations managing the implementation of the styling proposals in conjunction with our designers, who have created a new look."

One of the first stages of the development process was to fully understand the new models inside out. "Basically we push the cars to the dynamic edge in every area: engine, brakes, transmission, and so on, so we can see where Alfa Romeo has set their own limits," says Jano. Once this is established, Autodelta's engineers can study the parameters and then push the dynamic envelope forward, responding to the requirements of their customers - who demand nothing less than ultimate performance.

The first step was to test the standard Brera on the track, and the Silverstone circuit, home of the British Grand Prix, was the chosen venue. "Silverstone offers excellent characteristics to test a new car - it is fast, very demanding and technical," says Jano. With their data-logging equipment hooked up, Autodelta's team can measure many variables, and with the laps being against the clock, different scenarios can be undertaken with direct feedback. "We learnt a lot from this testing," adds Jano. "The Premium platform is very well-developed and responsive, and we are confident we will be able to improve its all-round performance characteristics in the way that Alfisti will expect."

While at Silverstone, Autodelta also ran the Brera on a rolling road, with a firm whose machines are used to measure the detailed performance of the cars used by the many motor racing companies that cluster around the Northamptonshire race track. "We need an exact benchmark of ‘showroom' performance that we can work from, so measuring the power, torque, and braking capability of the car is important. We are also evaluating new tyres from our project development partner Dunlop and new wheels from another technical partner OZ Racing for our bespoke model range. Along with the track time on the circuit, we have therefore been able to work on a detailed programme using differing grades of tyres and wheels.

"There has certainly been a lot of concern - and apprehension - with regard to the new Alfa V6 engine," comments Jano. "Alfisti know and certainly love the long-running ‘Arese' V6, one of the finest mass-production engines to have been built, and everybody instinctively tends to be wary of change. However, the new European Union (EU) regulations regarding emissions and the changing demands of the market meant that an all-new unit was required to take the brand forward.

Autodelta's head of Research & Development, Sergio Truzzi, has an unrivalled track record. He gained 33 years of experience in the Alfa Romeo engine development and prototyping, where amongst other things he was the inventor of an Alfa Romeo patent concerning combustion control and emission reduction on the 1980s platforms. Born in 1947, and a graduate of the Milan polytechnic, Truzzi worked for two years as a technical consultant to Ferrari and Maserati before taking up the role at Autodelta.