Alfa Romeo enthusiasts' have received their first glimpse of the Prodrive-developed Brera S, which is due to arrive in the brand's showrooms across the UK during this summer, this week as spy images have hit the internet. The Prodrive tuned sports car, which as the photos reveal from the small, red C-pillar logo will be dubbed as the Alfa Romeo Brera S.

Alfa Romeo enthusiasts' have received their first glimpse of the Prodrive-developed Brera S, which is due to arrive in the brand's showrooms across the UK during  this summer, this week as spy images have hit the internet.

Two images which have circulated the internet in recent days reveal one of the development prototypes leaving the Prodrive facility at Banbury in Oxfordshire during testing. The project, which is being carried out on behalf of Alfa Romeo UK, has been on-going for more than a year; originally Prodrive incorporated supercharging in the 3.2-litre V6 sports car, however the installation of the system and the subsequent testing didn't prove to be fruitful, resulting in the project being adapted to providing for all-round enhancements to the car.

The Prodrive tuned sports car, which as the photos reveal from the small, red C-pillar logo will be dubbed as the Brera S, is set to focus its priorities on suspension upgrades to provide a firmer and more sporty ride, while a smaller horsepower advantage is also expected. Prodrive's engineers have also tackled the car's overriding weight issues, though it is unclear as yet how many kilogram's have been shed by the project. Details will include darker glass and new 19-inch wheels. It will be sold through the UK dealer network from June and normal warrantees will apply.

Prodrive is one of the world’s leading motorsport and automotive technology businesses, employing more than 1,000 people at its operations bases in the UK, USA, Thailand and Australia. The firm built its reputation in motorsport, winning six FIA World Rally titles with Subaru; five British Touring Car Championships with BMW, Alfa Romeo and Ford; and two class wins at Le Mans, most recently in June 2007 with Aston Martin Racing. Today they run the Subaru World Rally Team in the World Rally Championship, Aston Martin Racing in world sports car series; and Ford Performance Racing in the Australian V8 Supercar Championship Series.

However more that half the firm's business now comes from the road car sector, and Prodrive has some history working with the Fiat Group, both on track and in the street. In 1994 Prodrive provided logistical support to Alfa Corse's factory assault on the British Touring Car Championship title which resulted in Gabriele Tarquini racing to the title. The next year Prodrive fully took over the programme; running under the Old Spice Racing banner with former F1 driver Derek Warwick and Italian youngster Giampiero Simoni as well as some appearances by Tarquini. However the switch proved unsuccessful with Alfa Romeo managing just 7th place in the manufacturers standings and the programme was wrapped up at the end of the season.

In 2005 Prodrive tuned the Fiat Stilo range's performance Schumacher-badged version destined for the UK market. They added a new handling kit, increased its body styling and added details such as a new performance exhaust box and 18-inch wheels.