Alfa Romeo Brera

Alfa Romeo Brera at a glance

The name comes from Milan's Brera district, an art quarter sometimes called the city's Montmartre. Giugiaro's 2002 concept used a Maserati V8 of about 294 kW (400 PS) and won the Autoweek Best of Show award at Geneva; the production Brera, shown at Geneva in 2005, kept its shape almost unchanged. More cars of the brand are in our Alfa Romeo catalogue.

Generations and model history

The Brera had a single generation. The table summarises it; the Spider roadster (2006-2010) is treated as a separate model.

• 2005: launch in Medium and Sky View trims. The Sky View has a panoramic glass roof and was the top version.
• 2008: at Geneva, the V6 is offered with front-wheel drive, every version gets the electronic Q2 limited-slip differential, and aluminium parts reduce weight. A Ti adds 19-inch wheels, larger Brembo brakes and stiffer springs and dampers.
• Spring 2008: the Brera S for the UK, limited to 500 cars and developed by Prodrive in 12 months after criticism of the standard car's handling.
• 2009: the 1.75 TBi turbo petrol and the 2.0 JTDm diesel arrive, along with the Italia Independent edition of 900 cars.
• 2010: production ends.

Pininfarina's records show the peak year was 2006, with 8,248 Breras, falling to 1,589 in 2010.

Engines, gearboxes and performance

The 1.75 TBi is the lightest and most modern petrol engine in the range, with direct injection and variable timing on both camshafts. The V6 shares its General Motors-based block with the 159. At launch it came only with Q4, a Torsen-based four-wheel-drive system; from 2008 a front-wheel-drive version reached 250 km/h. The Italia Independent edition listed a 157 kW (214 PS) version of the 2.4 JTDm for 2009-2010.

Gearboxes were a six-speed manual, the six-speed Selespeed automated manual (2.2) and the six-speed Q-Tronic automatic from Aisin (2.4 JTDm, 3.2 V6). The 2.4 JTDm Q-Tronic needed 8.3 s to 100 km/h. Convert outputs with our power converter.

Dimensions, space and practicality

The wheelbase is 172 mm shorter than the 159's, which leaves the rear seats suitable only for children or short trips. The Spider is 17 mm shorter and 23 mm lower. Boot volume is not given in the sources we used, so we leave it out.

Fuel economy and running costs

Combined consumption (EU Directive 1999/100/EC):

The 2.4 JTDm is the most interesting compromise: from 2009 it matched the V6's 250 km/h top speed while using almost 40 per cent less fuel. Our fuel cost calculator turns these figures into money.

Trims and equipment

Medium and Sky View were the launch trims, followed by the Ti in 2008. Two notable editions stand out. The Brera S had Bilstein dampers, Eibach springs, a Prodrive exhaust and 19-inch wheels, and its glass roof was covered with a headlining. The Italia Independent, developed with Lapo Elkann's company, had matt titanium paint, 18-inch turbine-style wheels, carbon-fibre trim and standard satellite navigation.

Safety

We found no Euro NCAP test of the Brera in the sources used. Its platform-mate, the 159 saloon, was tested by Euro NCAP in 2006. More crash-test data is in our safety section.

Reliability and known issues

Contemporary criticism focused on handling and weight rather than reliability. Prodrive's Brera S existed because the standard car's chassis was criticised, and Wikipedia notes that the Premium platform made the 159, Brera and Spider heavy. We found no sourced list of common faults, so none is given here.

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