The Alfa Romeo 8C is still a bit of a mystery to many in the U.S. The model was offered in only a handful of dealerships when Alfa Romeo "returned" to the U.S. 10 years ago with a single model. That model was the 8C Competizione, which arrived at a time when exotic cars were not exactly booming in the U.S., save for a few ultra-wealthy zip codes.

Last week, Alfa Romeo's parent company made some unexpected news, promising a return of the 8C in the form of a 700-hp, all-wheel-drive, midengined and electrified coupe, meant as a halo model that will debut alongside a new GTV serving as a junior model. Specifically, the automaker mentioned an electrified front axle helping a biturbo gasoline engine, and a 0-62 sprint time under three seconds. FCA also shared a silhouetted rendering of the next 8C, likely cooked up just for the presentation but not really disclosing any specific design direction for the upcoming car. Heady stuff, especially at a time when Alfa Romeo is charging ahead through some rough weather at home in Italy and in its export markets.

But what is the 8C, many are wondering, since its immediate predecessor was hardly seen in the U.S?

The 8C nameplate dates back to the 1930s, and its name was originally used to denote a straight-eight engine layout. The very first straight-eight Alfa cars debuted in 1924 even though the 8C name wasn't used, but it wasn't until 1931 that the first truly production examples were built with a 2.3-liter straight-eight configuration. These cars, which were never built in great numbers, nevertheless quickly established themselves in racing, with Tazio Nuvolari winning the 1931 and 1932 Targa Florio races behind the wheel of an 8C 2300 Spider. A shortened version of the Spider also won the 1931 Italian Grand Prix at Monza, giving the model an impressive racing pedigree very early on. Another version of the 8C won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1931 and successive years, cementing the model's reputation. Several updated designs followed with enlarged displacements, also managing to secure crucial wins in the big racing events of the day like the Mille Miglia.

The very early straight-eight 8C models were produced in small numbers, and were clothed by coachbuilders. We saw this short-wheelbase 1933 example at the 2011 Greenwich Concours Europa. Autoweek

The 8C evolved into a grand tourer by the end of the decade as Alfa Romeo turned its attention to luxury cars, lending its chassis to coachbuilders such as Carrozzeria Touring. Cars like the 8C 2900 sought to capture a wealthy audience with plenty of power for the day and luxurious bodies. The 8C remained a very exclusive machine: Just a few dozen of 2900A and 2900B models were built in the late 1930s, and the war effectively put an end to the lineage. As production cars for customers, the 8C was somewhat overshadowed by the large and varied family of 6C straight-six cars, built in much greater number.

The 8C nameplate returned decades later, after a concept at the 2003 Frankfurt auto show previewed the upcoming halo model. Four years later, Alfa Romeo began production of the 8C, powered by a 4.7-liter V8. The 8C Competizione featured a carbon-fiber body over a steel chassis -- with a production run of just 500 cars Alfa Romeo could afford to indulge itself -- assembled by Maserati. In fact, quite a lot of the car was Maserati: The 4.7-liter V8 churned out 444 hp and 350 lb-ft of torque and served up 0-60 mph launch times of 4.2 seconds and a top speed of 181 mph. An innovative six-speed semi-automatic transmission offered a surprising variety of driving modes.

"Once underway, it surprises how tractable the engine proves," we wrote back in 2007 after driving the car. "Those power and torque figures might hint at a peaky delivery, but with a claimed 271 lb-ft (some 80 percent of maximum torque) at your disposal from 2,000 rpm, the 8C is happy to amble around in higher gears at low speeds."

"Still, it is through the midrange, which it dispatches with great purpose, where this new Alfa comes alive. There's a notable step in power at 4,000 rpm, and from there it devours revs, ramping a straight-line performance to that commensurate with some of the world's most highly regarded supercars."

The previous 8C Competizione set a high bar with plenty of advanced materials and tech, setting the stage for a wider return of Alfa's halo model. Autoweek

We liked just about everything about the 8C Competizione -- everything except for the finicky Cambiocorsa gearbox borrowed from Maserati.

Offered in coupe and spider form, a total of just 90 cars made it to the States, with a handful of established luxury dealerships offering the model for a quarter of a million dollars each; we saw the very first one in the U.S. shortly after it was delivered to James Glickenhaus. Given the hardware and the materials involved, the quarter-million price tag seems like a bit of bargain today, and Alfa Romeo could have easily made hundreds more if it wanted to; Alfa had to turn away 700 firm orders to stick to the original 500-car run.

The next 8C sounds like it will see more than 500 units built -- Alfa Romeo now needs volume to follow up on the first 8C Competizione in decades. In many ways, the 2007 return was merely an announcement of intent to take on the established sports car makers, and Alfa Romeo is now itching for a true return to supercar form.

The previous 8C Competizione set a high bar with plenty of advanced materials and tech, setting the stage for a wider return of Alfa's halo model. Autoweek

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