touring superleggera alfa romeo disco volante spyder

touring superleggera uses hand beaten aluminum panelling with carbon fibre for two-seater
image courtesy of touring superleggera

italian custom coach builder touring superleggera turns ninety years old, and to celebrate the anniversary, the company handmade a bold interpretation of a open top car – the ‘alfa romeo disco volante spyder’. the hand built two-seater is based on the alfa romeo ‘8C competizione spider’ and will only see seven examples. with a low, sharp edged windscreen without a visible top frame, the car gets encompassed with more natural light. the uninterrupted razor sharp edge continues through the side windows and fairings, encircling the whole car with a seamless trait.

the touring superleggera ‘alfa romeo disco volante spyder’
image courtesy of touring superleggera

‘we did not want to compromise the pleasure of driving open top,’ explains louis de fabribeckers, head of design. ‘this car is designed as if there was no roof at all. we did not want to compromise the pleasure of driving open top. this car is designed as if there was no roof at all.’ the fairings are influenced by the 1952 version of the disco volante, but with more extreme elements, such as the elongated horizontal lines giving the car a more streamlined effect.

the streamlined wide body panelling
image courtesy of touring superleggera

the layout of the front mounted engine, and transaxle transmission distribute the weight 49-51% between the front and rear axles. to ensure manageable handling, the front and rear double-wishbone suspension setup is combined with hub carriers made of forged aluminum and additional trailing arms for the rear suspension. a 4.7 liter V8 engine delivers 450 hp and is coupled with a six speed sequential gearbox with electronic paddle-shift gear selection. this takes the ’disco volante spyder’ from zero to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds and has a top speed of approximately 292 km/h.

each aluminum panel was hand beaten to form the accurate shape
image courtesy of touring superleggera

touring superleggera is known for traditional construction methods using aluminum bodywork. to keep the stiffness/weight ratio low, the company welds carbon fiber and hand beaten panels to different parts of the two-seater. the unique convertible ‘alfa romeo disco volante spyder’ made it’s first appearance at the 2016 geneva motor show.

the model is based on an alfa romeo ‘8C competizione spider’
image courtesy of touring superleggera