It’s been eight years since Alfa Romeo returned to the US market with the exotic-leaning and tightly sprung 4C Spider two-seater, later followed by the Giulia sedan and Stelvio crossover. Before those vehicles, there was a trickle of limited-edition Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Spiders, with the first one coming to the US in 2008. A few of these can be found today in the used market, priced over $300k.

None of Alfa Romeo’s recent US offerings have been runaway hits for the legacy Italian brand, and that might be because some were too affordable, so they were regarded as mainstream products, said Larry Dominique, the senior vice president and head of Alfa Romeo and Fiat North America.