Fiat to sell Alfa Romeos in US this year - report

MILAN, April 7 (Reuters) - Italian auto maker Fiat (FIA.MI: Quote, Profile, Research) will begin selling its Alfa Romeo sports cars in the United States after the summer, ending the brand's 13-year absence from the U.S. market, Ansa news agency reported on Monday.

Fiat will sell its $265,000 8C Competizione coupe through Maserati dealers, and about 80 cars to be sent to the United States have already been sold, Ansa said in an unsourced story from New York.

If demand is maintained, Fiat will offer another three Alfa Romeo models for the U.S. market, the report said, adding that Fiat's Spider 8C could be launched on the U.S. market after the summer of 2009.

Fiat Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne said last month the company was considering Mexico as a base to build Alfa Romeos for export to the United States.

He had set 2009 as the year to enter the U.S. market.

A Fiat spokesman was not immediately available to comment. (Reporting by Ian Simpson, editing by Ted Kerr)