A high profile return to pure Italian sports car styling. To classic elegance and seductive shapes. Thanks to Giorgetto Giugiaro who presented what he calls a “very sexy” Alfa Romeo sports car at Geneva.
It is Italdesign practice to present a targeted concept at every motor show. “This time”, says Giugiaro, “we knew exactly what we wanted”. Not to shock, but to offer a luxury Alfa Romeo that everyone would like, male or female, young or old. If you overdo the futuristic, good taste sometimes goes by the board. Exaggerated modernism is dividing. So I said to myself: our show car won’t be a “stunner”. It must be attractive, of course, but easy to understand”.
The Italdesign coupé is a 2+2 (“2 adults + 2 kids”, points out Giugiaro) and generously sized at 4,388 mm long, 1.894 mm wide and 1.289 mm high. What makes it look so weightless is the sleekness of the sides created by its wedge shape combined with its broad, tapered muzzle and the smooth slope of the tail with its triangular rear window.
Opulently accoutred with leather and other luxury materials, the interior has a modernist edge. The ergonomically efficient dashboard with its round instrument dials and three-spoke steering wheel is typically Alfa, as is the state-of-the-art class of comfort provided. The engine is a 4254 cc Alfa Romeo V8 that develops 390 bhp at 7000 rpm. “Despite its size”, concludes Giugiaro, “our coupé is no juggernant. It is powerful and sturdily built but in the context of a harmonious package. There’s nothing wrong with a pinch of hedonism: the car, after all, is a boy’s toy, a psychological release mechanism. As far as I’m concerned, our coupé is a super toy”, that took us no time at all to come up with: just two months from first sketch to completion with the aid of virtual reality”.
The article continues in Auto & Design no. 132
