Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spyder Touring
The Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spyder is a
two-seater open top car, based on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Spider. It is
built for discerning customers in just seven examples, more than half of which
have been sold already. The model being showcased at Geneva is the first of the
series.
Bringing together under one roof a
talented design team and skilled craftsmen who preserve and maintain the art of
the panel beating whilst integrating the most advanced engineering tools. This
is the formula that allows Touring to fulfil the rising demand for truly
exclusive coach built cars.
The Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spyder is
inspired by the 1952 Alfa Romeo C52 also present on the Touring stand courtesy
of Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile "Giovanni Agnelli" of Turin. The
Museo will host a retrospective exhibition encompassing the whole history of
Touring in autumn 2016.
On its way to the 1953 New York motor
show, the C52 had already gained the Disco Volante nickname, Italian for
'Flying Saucer'. Once again, Touring had sparked the public's imagination with
a groundbreaking shape on what was the eve of space age.
As usual with Touring Superleggera, the
lines and volumes were dictated by a strict functional requirement: the new car
had to be "insensitive to wind". The Disco Volante was to become the
best example of Touring's founder, Felice Bianchi Anderloni's philosophy:
"Weight is the enemy, air resistance the obstacle".
The Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione Spider
was chosen as donor car for its light and stiff structure and its outstanding
dynamic properties. It forms the perfect basis for the coach-built bodywork of
the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spyder, which integrally conserves the rolling
chassis and drive train.
The lightweight and compact 4.7 litre V8
engine delivers 450 Hp and 480 Nm peak torque. It is coupled with a six-speed
sequential transaxle gearbox with electronic control and paddle-shift gear
selection. Combined with a limited-slip differential and a state-of-the-art
carbon-ceramic braking system including large diameter, ventilated discs, the
package ensures a precise, dynamic and proactive drive.
The Alfa Romeo Disco Volante Spyder can
accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4,5 seconds and has a top speed of
approximately 292 Km/h.
Touring Superleggera is synonymous with
the manufacture of lightweight bodywork. The weight advantage of aluminium is
one of the assets of Touring Superleggera's construction methods. Nowadays
however, the crafted hand-beaten aluminium panels are widely combined with
carbon fibre. Precise studies have defined the optimal choice of materials for
the bodywork in terms of weight, resistance, precision, finish, quality, and
ease of repair in case of damage.
Carbon fibre is used for the front
bumper and grille, the bonnet, the skirts, the boot lid, the integrated
windscreen frame, the rear cross member and the roof. Bonnet and boot lid are
sandwich-built with Nomex filler to obtain a better stiffness/weight ratio and
to dampen vibration and noise.
The price of the Alfa Romeo Disco
Volante Spyder is on demand. Touring Superleggera delivers the complete car six
months after the donor Alfa Romeo 8C Spider is made available.