Alfa Romeo Nuvola

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Alfa Romeo
AR-Nuvola-1.jpg

Alfa Romeo Nuvola

Nuvola
Presentation year: 1996
Vehicle fair: Mondial de l'Automobile Paris
Class : Sports car
Body shape : Coupe
Engine: Otto engine :
2.5 liters (221 kW)
Length: 4286 mm
Width: 1859 mm
Wheelbase: 2600 mm
Production model: none

The Alfa Romeo Nuvola is a ready-to-drive concept vehicle from the Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo , which was first presented at the 1996 Paris Motor Show. The design of the two-door sports coupé combined classic design elements with the latest design features.

History of origin

In the mid-1990s, Alfa Romeo considered adding a vehicle with a separate frame to the series range that could be fitted with bodies from various designers with little effort. A revival of the tradition of individual structures was envisaged. The Nuvola was a vehicle that was used to study the feasibility of this concept. The aim was to design a show car that would be suitable for series production and that would meet all European registration requirements.

Model name

The model name Nuvola is the Italian word for cloud . She was also a tribute to the racing driver Tazio Nuvolari thought of 1932 for the Alfa Romeo factory team , the Grand Prix championship won.

design

Rear end

The design of the Nuvola was developed in Alfa Romeo's Centro Stile within five months. The first planning began in February 1996. The design is often attributed to Walter Maria de Silva , the head of the Alfa design office at the time; In fact, however, its amount was limited to monitoring the individual development steps. Carlo Giavazzi was the project manager . The outer shape was designed primarily by Wolfgang Egger and Filippo Perini, the interior was designed by Arcangelo Jeker and Daniele Masera.

The exterior of the Nuvola quotes details of some classic Alfa Romeo sports cars, including the 8C 2900 Berlinetta from the pre- war era and the 6C 2500 Villa d'Este from the post-war era. This applies above all to the proportions, which are characterized by a long bonnet and a narrow cockpit set far back. The front section is rounded. Four individual LED headlights are housed in recesses. The Scudetto , Alfa Romeo's traditional crest-shaped radiator grille, breaks through the (imitated) air intake that is horizontally integrated into the front grille. The front and rear bumpers are fully integrated into the body.

technology

According to the conceptual specifications, a space frame forms the framework of the Nuvola. The body is made of polyester . A variant of the "Busso six-cylinder" with a displacement of 2.5 liters serves as the drive. The V6 engine, which appeared in 1979 and was used in the Alfa 155 and 164 models in the mid-1990s , is equipped with two turbochargers in the Nuvola and has an output of 221 kW (300 hp). It is installed lengthways at the front and coupled with a manual six-speed gearbox. The Nuvola has all-wheel drive; the all-wheel drive technology was adopted from the 155 Q4. The factory stated the top speed of 280 km / h and the acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h in about 5 seconds.

Production, introduction and whereabouts

The Nuvola was built in the summer of 1996. The design studio I.DE.A in Turin was responsible for the construction of the vehicle and its superstructure . Only one copy of the Nuvola was created.

The Nuvola was shown publicly for the first time in October 1996 at the Paris Motor Show.

The stylistic influences of the Nuvola remained minimal. When it was launched in 1996, observers had expected that the Nuvola would dictate the lines of the GTV successor , similar to how it was derived from the prototype Proteo (1991). In fact, Alfa Romeo did not take any essential elements of the Nuvola into series production in the years that followed. However, the British small series manufacturer Bristol Cars picked up some details of the Nuvola for its sports car Fighter , which it developed from 1999 ; this included the general layout of the body, but above all the front section with the four recessed round headlights.

The Nuvola is now in the factory and is temporarily exhibited in the Museo storico Alfa Romeo in Arese .

literature

Web links

Commons : Alfa Romeo Nuvola  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Description of the Alfa Romeo Nuvola on the website www.alfaromeopress.com , January 15, 1998, accessed on December 16, 2017.
  2. ↑ a b c Silvia Baruffaldi: Design History: Alfa Romeo Nuvola. autodesignmagazine.com, June 5, 2017, accessed December 16, 2017 .
  3. ^ A b Jonathan Wood: Concept Cars , Paragon Books, 1997, ISBN 0-75252-084-9 .
  4. ↑ Alessandro Sannia: Enciclopedia dei carrozzieri italiani , Società Editrice Il Cammello, 2017, ISBN 978-8896796412 , p. 294.
  5. ^ Georg Amtmann, Halwart Schrader : Italian sports cars . Motorbuch-Verlag, Stuttgart 1999, ISBN 3-613-01988-4 , p. 38.
  6. ^ LJK Setright : Bristol Fashion - Fighter . In: Auctocar of December 1, 1999.