Alfa Romeo Gloria Concept



Automakers typically take pride in showing their own styling departments' capabilities when it comes to concept cars. Alfa Romeo is taking a different approach at this year's Geneva auto show, and with stunning results. Instead of using its own resources, the Italian marque has chosen to work with the European Design Institute of Turin. The Gloria four-door sedan concept was designed by 20 students of transportation design and subsequently turned into a full-scale model.

The attractive Gloria features compact and muscular proportions; the long 114.2-inch wheelbase contrasts with a relatively short 185-inch overall length. Also, the Gloria is wide at 75.6 inches and low at 52 inches. The result is a car the size of a Mercedes-Benz E-class that gives the impression of sportiness unmatched by even the most raucous of E63 AMGs. Refreshingly, Alfa Romeo refers to the car as a sports sedan—well, a sports saloon—and not as a “four-door coupe.”


The front of the Gloria is dominated by a pronounced, race-car-like nose that extends from the beltline and terminates in a scudetto (Italian for “small shield”), which is bookended by a pair of LED-filled slots that serve as headlights. The forward-canted front end conveys a look that’s as classic as it is aggressive. The hood is held down by a pair of leather straps, an homage to vintage race cars. The straps are embossed with Alfa’s cloverleaf emblem, the Quadrifoglio, which historically has adorned the brand's race cars and sportier offerings.


The rear doors open suicide-style, with the front and rear door handles meeting below the imaginary B-pillar. The roof, the A-pillars, and the C-pillars—all of which are finished in silver—flow in a single, arcing shape to define the greenhouse. The Gloria concept stands on 20-inch OZ Racing aluminum wheels also designed by the students.

Alfa Romeo tasked the studious designers with coming up with a sedan tailored specifically to Asian and American tastes. The company isn’t talking about any breakthroughs in electric and hybrid powertrains, as the press release states that the Gloria would be powered by either a V6 or a twin-turbo V8 engine. No further details are available, but one can imagine a powertrain lineup similar to that of the Maserati Quattroporte—a 404 hp, 3.0-liter twin-turbo V6 and a 523 hp, 3.8-liter twin-turbo V8.


The Gloria concept borrows its name from a now-defunct uplevel Nissan sedan, which was sold in the U.S. briefly as the second-generation Infiniti M, but it is refreshingly distinct and Italian in style. The design process took place under close supervision of the Alfa Romeo Style Center, which chose the winning proposal from among 20 submissions. And since Alfa's styling department also was closely involved in bringing the concept to full scale, certain conclusions can be drawn about the styling language of the brand's upcoming series-production cars. 

Just like the Gloria concept, future Alfa models—with the exception of the 4C—will deviate from the large round headlights that were launched with the 8C super exotic and subsequently adopted by the MiTo and the Giulietta. And like the Gloria, Alfa will return to slightly more-angular details than those prevalent on its current lineup. But it is questionable whether the Gloria will be further developed; it would directly compete with the upcoming Maserati Ghibli sports sedan.


If the next generation of Alfas follow the Gloria’s design language, finding a niche in the American market shouldn’t prove too problematic upon the Italian marque’s return to the country scheduled for later this year. The toughest decision facing Alfa after this design exercise likely won’t be whether or not to bring the Gloria to production, but rather how many of those students to add to its design team.