Because I like to have a record of Alfa Romeo stuff…..
On one level, this is complete and utter BS, the type of show car that infuriates people because it’s achingly beautiful to look at and invites you to drive it. The only problem is that it can’t go anywhere. The Alfa Romeo Gloria concept is nothing more than a design study according to an Alfa Romeo brief, completed by a bunch of students.
On the other hand, the Gloria deserves attention and respect.
Imagine being one of those Masters students at the European Design Institute. You get to design a concept for one of the most passionately design-driven car companies in the world – and then you get to show it at the best motor show in the world – Geneva.
Well done, kids.
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Excerpts from the press release are below (I’ve tried to cut out the flowery crap)
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At the 83rd Geneva Motor Show, the European Design Institute (IED) of Turin is presenting the world première of ‘Gloria’, the concept by the Master in Transportation Design in collaboration with the Alfa Romeo Style Centre……
The brief: “conceiving an Alfa Romeo saloon to communicate to the American and Asian markets”.
“We asked the students in the Master programme to give us their completely independent interpretation of a new Alfa Romeo saloon,” states Lorenzo Ramaciotti, Head of Fiat & Chrysler Design. “During development, we commented, discussed and guided the projects in order to get the most from their spontaneous expressions of creativity. The result was stimulating and marked by professional and creative excellence.”
4700 mm long, 1920 mm wide, 1320 mm high and with a wheelbase of 2900 mm, ‘Gloria’ is a sports saloon with decisive lines that run down the side to the rear end. It would be propelled by a state-of-the-art V6 or V8 biturbo engine on the road. The bonnet powerfully evokes the Alfa Romeo shield through the lines of the car, which highlight the three-dimensional aspects of its form. The leather strips at the front recall the memorable leather straps for the luggage compartments of the brand’s historic cars.
‘Gloria’ springs from the work of twenty students on the Master programme (2011/2012 academic year) from both Italy and other countries and cultures. The concept is the result of a process that simulated a real work situation: from the brief of the Alfa Romeo Style Centre and the style research up to the twenty design proposals developed in 1:4-scale clay models. From all the models, the one that corresponded most closely to the initial brief provided by Alfa Romeo was chosen. The entire class of students, divided into groups but highly involved and motivated, then worked on the final project in full scale.
….. The concept will be reproduced on an iPad in a virtual environment, where it will be possible to interact with it, choosing between five models of rims and five body colours to try out, replacing the real ones. The five rims are the result of a teaching project developed in collaboration with OZ Racing who, as sponsor of the Gloria’s 20″ rims, asked the Master students to design a series of proposals. Five of these were selected for the virtual interactivity. The five rims will also feature in a kind of talent contest that IED and OZ Racing will launch at the stand via the app and on the web to decide the winning project, with the most interesting design.
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