Coupes and roadsters: 2004 - 2006

While car company's and auto conglomerates will always have their lower-priced models, or volume sellers, more and more automakers are looking towards the top end of the vehicular market to improve sales overall.

While a flagship model may only sell less than one per cent of what other (more generic) models do, it's obvious that these vehicles of desire aren't exactly viewed as aluminium-bodied cash cows.

A good example of how flagship models and uncompromising sportscars work is as follows: Ford sells a couple of thousand Falcons every month, but only a handful of FPVs, such as the 290kW GT-P.

But the idea of marketing and promoting the range-topping V8-powered GT-P has a trickle-down effect on lesser Falcons.

This theory, if you will, is evidenced with the following three new cars - the Mercedes SLR, Opel GT and Alfa Romeo Evoluta - due in 2004, 2005 and 2006 respectively.

Each car will be offered as a coupe initially, with the McLaren-designed Mercedes the only one to offer a roadster version, though it is likely that both Alfa and Opel will offer their wheel-spinning sportscars in drop-top guise.

Starting with the Alfa Romeo Evoluta, which isn't due to go on sale until 2006, it aims to spruce up the Alfa brand by not only offering a prolific power-to-weight ratio, but also playing on the marque's rich heritage.

For example, the new Italian coupe is the first Alfa in recent history to offer a rear-wheel drive transmission. Furthermore, the styling is also very reminiscent of past Alfa's, particularly those built during the '50s and '60s.

Alfa has bold plans for the Evoluta too, with the words 'Porsche' and 'Ferrari' often followed by 'killer'.

To be officially unveiled at the 2003 Frankfurt Motor Show in early September as a concept, the coupe will share many components with the Maserati GT, including the rear transaxle and possibly engine.

While the 287kW, 4.2-litre Ferrari-designed V8 donk will be lodged into the concept version, rumours suggest that the Italian marque may also take the stroked 3.2-litre V6 (of 147 and 156 GTA fame) and bolt on a supercharger and intercooler to both increase power and stay closer to the company's roots.

Furthermore, talk of a twin-turbo GTA engine increased to 3.6-litres is also heating up bar-room discussions all over Italy.

Word is that the Evoluta will be output roughly 300kW of power and 500Nm of torque, and Alfa is quietly confident of taking on Porsche's 911 range with the new design.

The Evoluta is due for sale in 2006 and will be offered with a traditional six-speed manual gearbox, or a selespeed semi-auto.

The fact that Alfa is returning to RWD vehicles is great news, and other products, including future GTA models, will also make the change to rear-wheel drive.

General Motor's German arm, Opel, are also working on a rear-wheel drive performance coupe, which is rumoured to be on the receiving end of a "225kW V8".

While that's all the info we could glean from the automaker in terms of engine data, any GM or Holden fan will instantly know that the 5.7-litre Gen III V8 engine makes an entry-level 225kW, and seeing as the Opel GT will be arriving in Europe in 2005, there's a chance it may be offered with an upcoming Gen IV mill.

The new super coupe will be of similar proportion to the Mazda MX5 and will be styled with cues (headlights, grille etc.) akin to the upcoming 2004 Astra.

While it won't exactly be a modern day replica of the late 1960s Opel GT, you can be sure there'll at least be a couple of links to the rare sportscar of yore.

There will also be less powerful version that will compete with the MX5, which will pack GM's ageing 2.2-litre EcoTec engine, seen in the Astra SRi and Zafira among others.

Finally, Mercedes Benz and McLaren's joint effort - the SLR - will be arriving in European showrooms in 2004, and will be officially launched at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show, along with the Alfa Romeo Evoluta. It's job is to essentially celebrate the marque's Formula One achievements and promote interest in the Mercedes brand, but at the same time the car is an amazing exercise in engineering.

For instance, the car uses a lot of carbon-fibre - we're talking body panels, seats, probably even the airbags. Anyway, there are currently accepted protocols one can use to work with carbon-fibre, but to get the specific results they wanted, Mercedes and McLaren came up with a totally new construction technique.

Of course, the SLR is very much a supercar, and part of its mission is to trounce the opposition with its massive performance potential. While BMW's V10-powered M5 and M6 models are still heavily-guarded secrets, Ferrari, Porsche and Lamboghini aren't going to be too pleased when the SLR rolls up to the traffic lights...

Powered by a Merc/AMG-built 5.4-litre V8 with customised supercharger and intercooler, and other technical goodies developed by McLaren, the SLR coupe will hit 100km/h from rest in 3.8 seconds, while a top speed of more than 320km/h is almost a given.

The engine's 450kW of power is impressive, but the 760Nm of torque that will be transferred from the crankshaft to the rear wheels will make the Mercedes-McLaren SLR very hard to beat, figuratively and literally.

These top-shelf sportscars are all very important models for their respective marque's, though each will sell in fairly limited quantities.

Mercedes and McLaren have indicated that 500 SLR's will be delivered to customers, starting in late 2004, and Alfa Romeo plans to build about 1000 Evoluta's per year, starting in 2005. The Opel GT will be relatively cheap in comparison to the Englishman/German and the Italian, though the automaker's manufacturing plans for the coupe are not entirely clear at this stage.

Despite this, it is evident that all three car companies, whether they like to admit it or not, need these top shelf flagship vehicles to be the 'face' of their businesses. And if a side effect of 'growing ones business' leads to improved automotive technology, weren't certainly not going to argue...