Hot Wheels Alfa Romeo 8C Compeitizone, along with other Mattel Alfa's

The good news for 2014 is after a few years hiatus the Alfa Romeo brand is back at Mattel, and one better way to start it is with the 8C Compeitizone, originally planned for a release in 2010.

The beauty of the 8C

The 8C started out as a concept car at the Frankfurt Auto Show back in 2003.  High demand from customers prompted Alfa to make a production version.  From 2007 to 2010 1,000 of the coupe and spider were delivered to customers at an average price of $259.000 US dollars.  The 8C pays homage to Alfa's racing history, along with styling of past Alfa's.

The 8C uses it's own carbon fiber body to a steel chassis.  Styling features include the round headlights and Alfa shield grille.  The rear has round LED lights and quad exhaust tips.  The length is small, but the wheelbase is longer due to the wheels pushed out at each corner.  The interior features a racer-look that would look right at home in parent company Ferrari.  Since the 8C does not have an opening rear hatch, cargo has to be loaded from behind the front seats, where Alfa can give you a set of their own bags specially made for the cargo area.

Engine is the Maserati 4.7 DOHC V8 producing 450 hp. and 354 Ib-ft. torque through a rear-mounted six-speed dual clutch transaxle.  Auto magazine reviews of the 8C describe how fun it is to take a small-length car, with V8 and RWD, and toss it around the track.  Also this 8C was the first Alfa since 1995 to come, though quietly, to the U.S.

The Hot Wheels version

Hot Wheels did a nice job with this one:  The black paint is gloss-smooth with no metaflakes at all!  The details to the front end, including the headlights, grille, and Alfa badge, are nicely done, though I would warn Mattel about where they stamp the details since some of these have the lights and trim off-center.  The interior is red and nicely done, but uses the shift stalk from the 2003 concept (the 6-speed DCT does not have a shift lever on the console, only the steering wheel paddles).  Even the 5-sp. wheels look great on this car.  Look for a Red variation to follow soon!

Alfa Romeo SZ by Matchbox

Back in the 1980's, Alfa had the aging Spider and was trying to sense the direction of Alfa's future.  One testament to that would be the SZ coupe.  Shown at the 1989 Geneva Motor show, the SZ (or ES-30) started life on the Alfa Romeo 75 platform.  That's where Zagato designed the razor-edge styling with blacked-out roof and tri-headlights that would eventually be used in later Alfa Romeo cars.  The body panels are made out of molded composite material.  The interior is a stunner with tan leather seats that gracefully hug your body and a dashboard typical of exotic cars of that era.  The engine is 3.0L V6 producing 210 hp to the rear wheels by a 5-speed manual.  Red/black was the only color in the first year of production, but more colors were offered later in it's production run.  1036 SZ were produced, with 278 for the RZ spider.

I've had this Matchbox casting for a long while, as the paint chips and scratches show.  The body is nicely done, so is the interior in the correct color.  The 8-dot wheels look small, but somehow seem to fit the car perfectly.  Casting also features working suspension.  The rear styling of the car would also show up in the Coupe and Spyder in 1995, the front-wheel drive replacements for the aging Alfa Romeo Spider.

Matchbox Alfa Romeo 155 DTM racer

Here's a Matchbox that never gained attention when it was out back in 1997, and was very limited in variations.  Based on the 155 sedan, this Alfa was modified for the DTM racing series with Mercedes C-class sedan and Opel Calibra coupes.  Sporting a 2.5L V6 making 480 hp to all wheels through a six-speed manual; combining a wide body kit with rear wing and lower stance gives the 155 more attitude, especially the dual exhaust out back.  The interior is modified for racing duty.  This Matchbox casting is nicely done in the red with Alfa logo's over the bodywork.  Shortly after that the 155 pretty much quietly went away.

Hot Wheels B.A.T. 9 and Matchbox Giulieta Sprint GTA

Based on the Alfa 1900 chassis and made between 1953-1955, the BAT (Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica) 5, 7, and 9 showed the wild curves that Bertone could create on a car, and most of them scream "Batmobile!"  Hot Wheels chose the BAT 9 for the simplicity of the rear wing, which was toned down as fins.  The front has the fender headlights and grille used in other Alfa's of the 1950's, gullwing doors, and a split window long before the 1963 Corvette.  The interior of the Hot Wheels casting was nicely done in butterscotch tan, and the exterior is a 2-piece metal design to give a bubble-shape that may-or-may-not be accurate to the real car.  The skinny wheels was the only set that would fit on this casting.  A 90hp. I-4 and 5-speed manual meant these BAT's were not that quick, but could undoubtfully handle just like a sports car.  This version, released in 2005, is the only BAT 9 for Hot Wheels.

In 2007, released in only four colors, two only red and white, the Matchbox 1965 Giulietta Sprint GTA is the hard-core track version of the Giulietta line.  The classic two-box shape is nicely done, with the familiar Alfa shield against a grille and dual headlights that give the GTA it's "grumpy" look.  The back end is not so special, but does feature the four-leaf clover sticker.  The interior is nicely done with seating for four and a typical European sports car dash of the era, but the chrome is too much for this casting even though the bumpers are tied into the interior tooling.  The base shows the rear-wheel drive and the 1.6L DOHC I-4 to a 5-speed manual.  The body of the actual car also has lightweight body panels and most creature comforts of the standard Giulietta were stripped for lightness.  Now that Alfa Romeo gives the ok to make their vehicles, expect Matchbox to finally release the 1300 Junior version in 2015.

Update 1/18/20:  Joining the red Matchbox Alfa above is the metallic red version that was part of the 2007 10-pack first editions and is one of the many models of this set that are very desirable right now.