Alfa Romeo chose the three day Goodwood International Festival of Speed, held over this weekend, to unleash their potent new Brera sportscar into public eye, in anger, for the first time.

It was a truly fitting occasion, as Alfa Romeo were in fact also one of the event's main sponsors this year, a whole host of the marque's historically significant cars had been shipped over from the museum for the event, while on-hand to power this exciting new sportscar up the famous 'Goodwood Hill' was no less a person than the new Alfa Romeo CEO Karl-Heinz Kalbfell.

The Goodwood Festival of Speed, which takes place in the vast grounds of Earl March's historic country seat, has exploded in popularity in recent years, to the point that the 25,000 daily capacity is sold out well in advance of the annual summer extravaganza. Each year the cream of racing and high performance cars from past 19th century steam powered carriages to the current crop of F1 cars, rub shoulders with countless driving greats, from the pages of history to the names of today. A heady mix, and one into which the new Alfa Romeo Brera was thrust on its public dynamic debut. Only the finest of the fine stand out at Goodwood - which the owners claim as the 'world's biggest and most diverse celebration of the history of motorsport' - and the Brera was strutting onto the most important of stages.

The production Brera made its public debut on 1st March 2005 at the 75th Geneva Salon. Its arrival was hugely anticipated by Alfa Romeo enthusiasts from around the globe, and its significance as the marque's next high performance sportscar, was particularly poignant as the brand was at the same time re-launching itself, and looking to open a fresh new chapter. Noone had needed to fret though, as the Brera, when the Alfa-red covers were swept off, drew audible gasps of appreciation, followed by enthusiastic applause, from the huge crowd jam-packed onto Alfa Romeo's modern stand. Remaining almost true to Giorgetto Giugiaro's 2002 Brera concept, it stunned onlookers with its lines, its beauty and its superb cockpit - another legendary Alfa Romeo was being born.

Interest was unprecedented for a new Alfa Romeo in recent years. And so when Alfa Romeo announced that the 3.2-litre V6 Brera would tackle the famous Goodwood Hill during June's Festival of Speed, enthusiasts began positioning themselves to see it in action. Not only would the Brera be seen outside in action at a major international event for the first time, but new Alfa CEO Karl-Heinz Kalbfell would be taking it up the hill. The former Rolls-Royce boss had arrived at Alfa Romeo six months ago with a big reputation for getting things done, and a man highly regarded by those who had previously worked with him. His quickly-found enthusiasm for the famous Italian marque had shown though in Geneva and this had given followers of the brand a fresh cause of optimism through which to look to the future. Alfa Romeos are born to be driven hard, and to excel on the race tracks, and Kalbfell demonstrated his strict adherence to this philosophy by driving a 1.9-litre Multijet-powered Alfa GT Coupe during the recent 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, and by showing his desire to take the Brera up the hill himself.

A new chapter at Alfa Romeo has also seen a clean sheet of paper. As well as the new senior management in place, the Brera was an all-new design, and finally, in came a brand new V6 as Alfa Romeo's glorious and long-serving V6 was finally consigned to the history books. The exhaust note - that most vital of areas to all Alfa Romeo owners - would be intently listened to by the fans at Goodwood.
 

Saturday would see Kalbfell taking the Brera up the hill. The day dawned bright, the dark blue Brera sitting in the 'Supercar Paddock' looked superb, standing out and drawing the onlookers. It must be pointed out that the Brera was an 'interloper' amongst this company - but then that has always been the Alfa Romo way: affordable, useable, sporty cars punching above their weight. To shine in the 'Supercar Paddock' at Goodwood is no mean feat - the cream of the cream having gathered once more. The 'company' included the folding-roof Ferrari Superamerica, and also from Maranello - the F430 Coupé, new F430 Spider and 612 Scaglietti, Pagani's AMG V12-powered Zonda C12 S, TVR's new 400bhp straight-six Sagaris, Lamborghini's Murcielago Coupé and Roadster version, Bristol's new 200mph 660bhp 8-litre V10 Fighter, the new 450bhp Marcos TS0 GT2 - from the revived British brand now under Prodrive guidance, the awesome Maserati Birdcage 75th concept, and the MC 12 on which it is based, the McLaren developed Mercedes SLR, a Porsche 911 Carrera S and GT, several Aston Martin's, Ford's new GT sportscar, and a whole host more cars.

But the Brera held its own, gathering the attention of the crowds all day, who paused to admire the next-generation of Alfa Romeo sportscar in the flesh. Earl March, the ever enthusiastic organiser of this extravaganza, paused to say that "he was delighted" that Alfa Romeo had chosen to unleash the Brera at his event, especially so as "Alfa Romeo is one of the most important names ever."

Kalbfell arrived in the paddock clad in his red racing fireproof overalls. A 'hands on' boss, he exudes a quiet determination to 'get the job done' at Alfa Romeo, and admits to having developed a strong passion for the brand already. And although on-track issues delayed the start of the supercar's run up the hill on Saturday afternoon by more than an hour, Kalbfell unlike many a 'big business' CEO's was in the cockpit of the car or talking up its merits while the time dragged on, during what was turning out to be a very hot sunny afternoon. You get the impression he's anxious to get on with his new job, and he enthused about the new Brera. Dawning in the many famous cars that form Alfa's evocative history, he sees it as a natural successor, "the line is unbroken" he said. His message was clear and simple, "tell people to buy this car, its the best" he remarked.

Then it was time to race the Brera up the 'Goodwood Hill'. Although the supercars are not timed by the clock, no one hangs around - a fact demonstrated by the Pagani Zonda pilot who lost the Mercedes-powered sportscar while putting the power down and spinning the machine straight into the straw bales that line the 1.6-mile course. The good news for Alfa Romeo fans is that the exhaust note from the new 3.2-litre V6 engine rasped in a way that will have the hairs standing up on the back of ones neck - although it is important to mention that this car is a pre-production prototype, and as such, its exhaust is still a long way from production standard. However Kalbfell is aware of just how much store an Alfa buyer puts by the sound of his engine, telling me that their engineers were currently working "very very hard" to get it right, and that "this area is of the most importance".

As the dark-blue Brera raced its way up the hill, the vast crowds, lining the course on either side from the start to the finish, appreciated its progress. Amongst its so-called 'betters' (cars that cost many tens of thousands of euros more) it was at home, exuding class, style, panache, and the finest of Alfa Romeo tradition. A positive fillip to Alfa Romeo must also have come from the sheer weight of positive comments emitting from every angle, which were coupled with a knowledge of this yet-to-be released sportscar. The Alfa Romeo Brera arrived in the UK over the weekend, and it won over a lot more admirers in three days at Goodwood. A new chapter is about to be written.

by Edd Ellison at Goodwood