- The 2013 edition of the Concorso di Eleganza di Villa d’Este named the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring as its most appealing prototype.
- The lines recall the Alfa Romeo 1900 C52 designed in 1952 by the same Milanese atelier.
- Constructed on the base of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, sharing chassis and engine.
- The two-seater coupé adopts a 331 kW, 4.7-litre V8 with 480 Nm of maximum torque.
- Built on request and created over more than 4,000 hours of labour.
- Last year the same title went to the Alfa Romeo 4C.
Midrand, South Africa – This past weekend saw the Concorso di Eleganza di Villa d’Este, held on the grounds of the Grand Hotel on the shores of Lake Como in Northern Italy. The prestigious event has for years been honouring the world’s finest historic vehicles built between the twenties and the seventies including the bestowing of awards for the most appealing prototypes through a public vote in the Villa’s gardens.
The Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring, seen earlier this year at the 2013 Geneva Motor Show, distinguished itself in the “Concept Cars & Prototypes” class at the annual concourse. This two-seater coupé was crafted by the Milanese atelier on the base of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and shares its chassis and engine.
The alluring car blends aesthetic quality, sporty highlights and the search for the essential, as well as employing cutting-edge materials (carbon fibre and aluminium) for minimal weight. Each vehicle requires more than 4,000 hours of highly qualified labour, and is built only on request: car number 01 was on show at the Concorso. Another two will shortly be completed. There are no plans to build the car in right hand drive.
The car pays homage to the Alfa Romeo 1900 C52 “Disco Volante”, a coupé with unique characteristics that celebrates its 60th birthday this year. Designed by Carrozzeria Touring in 1952, the C52 boasted extremely light weight and aerodynamically efficient characteristics, earning itself the nickname of ‘Disco Volante’ (Flying Saucer). It immediately became an icon of automotive design.
The backbone of the modern day Disco Volante is the chassis of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, selected for its light, rigid structure, perfect as the basis for redesigning a high-performance car. In detail, the architecture features a mid-front engine, transaxle gearbox and rear-wheel drive: this layout offers an optimal 49–51% load distribution between the front and rear. It features double-wishbone suspension, with forged aluminium uprights and supports an additional strut at the rear for toe-in control.
The compact, light-weight engine is a 331 kW, 4.7-litre V8 with 480 Nm of maximum torque. The gearbox is electrically operated with 6 speeds and paddle control, while the limited-slip differential and self-ventilating brakes are marked by their generous dimensions. With this equipment, the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds and reaches a top speed of 290 km/h.
This is the second year in a row that Alfa Romeo has earned the prestigious ‘Design Award for Concept Cars & Prototypes’ from the Concorso di Eleganza di Villa d’Este: in the 2012 edition, the public bestowed the accolade on the Alfa Romeo 4C, the compact supercar born from the brand’s experience with the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione and the 8C Spider.
