Alfa Romeo's "Necessary Beauty"
Alfa Romeo has been having a rough time. If you go back to 2014 to Sergio Marchionne’s grand plan, Alfa was supposed to have a spectacular portfolio of eight sedans, SUVs, and sports coupes by 2020. That, of course, like many of Marchionne’s promises, never materialized. And, while sales outside the US have been growing this year, US sales are plummeting, and new products (like the next-generation Stelvio and Giulia) continue to be delayed.
The Cuorerosso (“red heart”) concept revealed in Paris offers a glimmer of hope for Alfa’s future—although perhaps not in the way some expected. The sleek four-door coupe (with rear-opening rear doors to showcase the spectacular interior) might be assumed to represent the direction for the next Giulia. Alfa tells us that’s not the case; instead, it represents Alfa’s new design language, and we’ll see it in the sheetmetal on the new compact Alfa SUV due in 2028.
Finished in Liquid Red Ink (an aluminum base with a colored transparent layer), the Cuorerosso represents bellezza necessaria, where “necessary beauty” eliminates the superfluous to leave room for the essential. Alfa notes the initial work focused solely on the shape, with no wheels or glass to worry about. The coda tronca (“truncated tail”) helps achieve a 0.28 Cd, and door handles are replaced by touch controls on the surface of the roof. The wheels pay homage to Alfa’s iconic “telephone” wheels, and underneath you’ll find air suspension, steer-by-wire tech, and carbon ceramic brakes. Powertrain isn’t specified, but with Alfa having abandoned their all-EV future, a high-performance ICE hardware set is likely.
The interior is equally dramatic, intended to offer drivers a bit of digital detox; there’s no giant tablet-style display affixed to the transverse structural element (inspired by the 1967 33 Stradale). That dashboard is wrapped in a lightweight, transparent tensioned monofilament fabric for the dashboard, similar to fabric used in high-performance ocean sailing. The center console is “phygital”, with a small integrated display and an array of physical controls. Materials include nubuck and regenerated leather, metals inspired by titanium, anthracite, and gunmetal, and recycled carbon fibers combined with red resins. But the piece de resistance is the cannocchiale vivente (”living spyglass”), which mechanically merges the two gauges into a single-gauge layout, depending on the drive mode.
Although many are disappointed this concept isn’t headed for production, it bodes well for the aesthetic appeal of future Alfa Romeos. Unfortunately, we’ll have to wait a couple of years to see how this translates to production.
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