While we are still trying to get a grasp on Ferrari’s move in naming the Enzo successor the “LaFerrari”, there is actually another Italian participant in Geneva that bears a pretty unique name, but also comes with the looks too. With a name that seems like a bunch of random words bundled up together, the car in question here is the Touring Superleggera Disco Volante.
To those that know your Alfa Romeos, the “Disco Volante” might bring you back to the 1950’s icon of the beautiful Alfa Romeo C52 Disco Volante. Crafted by Carrozzeria Touring, it was developed to test new technologies that could be easily adapted for racing. And this new Disco Volante is actually made to commemorate this icon, retaining the car’s combination of wonderful innovation, emotion and that evergreen looks.
For this modern Dicso Volante, Touring starts with stripping down everything from an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione to the bare essentials. They keep the steel spaceframe chassis with separate elements which includes a carbon fiber cell for torsional stiffness. The 8C’s front-mounted V8 engine and the rear transaxle are also kept in its place since the performance and the near-ideal 49-51 weight distribution is more than enough for what Touring is about to make.
Artisans at Touring’s Milanese atelier hand-beats the aluminum for the body panels, and osme of the parts like the bumpers and substructures are constructed from carbon fiber, preferring the material’s light weight and incredible strength. The aluminum-shaping process takes about 4,000 man-hours to complete.
The 8C’s 4.7-liter V8 pulls out 443-horsepower and 353 lb-ft of torque, sending all the power to the rear through a six-speed automated manual gearbox with paddle shifters. Although it makes an impressive 0-100 time in 4.2 seconds and having a top speed of 290km/h, speed is not entirely what Touring’s modern Disco Volante is going after.
Touring has confirmed that they will only make a maximum of 500 Disco Volantes, and each of them could be tailored to the buyer’s individual specifications. The process of making one is also not that easy. Firstly, one should get an original 8C to play the role as the donor car. The car should then be shipped to Italy and the 6-month waiting game starts for Touring to finish the conversion.
While they had confirmed that all modifications come with a two-year warranty and both maintenance and servicing could be done at any dealerships that service the 8C, the price is only available on application.
