"For those who still like to dream in a car. For those looking for a mixture of vanity, entertainment, and the pleasure of life in the open air. For those who love icons as the greatest expression of the age we live in. For those who want their cars to be an uncommon sensory experience in terms of both style and driving, without being obsessed by performance. For those who want to be excited by a dynamic, sporty car that transmits the exclusiveness and refinement typical of an Alfa Romeo spider designed by Pininfarina.
"For all of them, we present the 2uettottanta."
Well that's what the official press release about Pinifarina's gorgeous new roadster concept says, and we can't argue with the sentiment even if the prose is a little OTT. But what about the car itself?
First off, 2uettottanta is a name picked for a new concept car designed both to evoke the legendary Duetto, and to mark the 80th anniversary that Pininfarina is celebrating this year.
The 2uettottanta is also a tribute to Alfa Romeo which celebrates its centenary in 2010, says the iconic Italian coachbuilder. And quite a fetching tribute it is, with clean, elegant lines, a (proposed) 1750cc turbo engine positioned longitudinally in the nose, and red bodywork inspired by typical Alfa Romeo paintwork. For detail freaks, the 2uettottanta is 1797mm wide, 4212.6mm long, 1280mm high and has a wheelbase of 2500mm.
As with many of life's pleasures, Pininfarina maintains the outline design of its new concept is essentially simple, although the execution of the surfaces is more sophisticated.
Key elements include a new Alfa grille treatment with an aluminium shield and floating vanes, an imposing bonnet and large windscreen with its frame also fashioned from aluminium.
The front headlights, which adopt latest LED tech, are embedded under a body line that encircles the car. A strip of carbon in the lower part of the front acts as an air splitter, channelling the air to the rear.
The roll-over bars are contained in two bumps that rise from the tail to become 'floating wings' behind the occupants.
Great attention went into the design of the interior, Pininfarina says, and the result is described as 'a spacious, comfortable passenger compartment, conceived with light, dynamic volumes, which envelop the occupants in a strong, reassuring embrace'.
The facia extends to the sides merging into the doors, while the dashboard has a driver-oriented configuration with an innovative approach to the classical circular Alfa Romeo 'tubes' that contain the instruments. The centre tunnel contains the Alfa DNA gear selector, and the runs through the passenger compartment giving structure to the chassis. The steering wheel, which is a modern interpretation of the Duetto's perforated three-spoke wheel, has a shift paddle for sequential control of the dual-clutch gearbox.
The 2uettottanta is not a pure styling exercise, but also a research project for which Pininfarina says its creative team were given carte blanche to express the values inherent in the Alfa spider 'by Pininfarina', and which made the Giulietta Spider or the Duetto all-time classics.
To that end, the car was given a particular set-up with a low centre of gravity and a passenger compartment that is very exposed, so as not to isolate the occupants from the surrounding environment. The result is to bring the road 'nearer' to the eyes of the driver and to increase the sense of dynamism even at low speed.
As with all concepts, the chances of a production future for the car are limited, but is anyone still reading anway? We wouldn't blame you for skipping straight to those fantastic pictures...