A connection to motorsport instantly makes a car cooler. Renault’s rally-honed 5 Turbo, Ford’s Cossie-prepped Sierra and Subaru’s Group A Impreza are all great in their own right, but it’s that link to racing that sends them off the Richter. The Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring Superleggera does not boast such a tangible link. Yet the modest tie it does have is part of why each car cost well north of half a million quid when new. Even if it’s purely design-related.
Mind you, the aesthetic relationship with the 1952 Disco Volante is clear, that boat-like front end and curving silver side-line obviously inspired by the vintage racer. Make no mistake, Touring Superleggera’s rebodied Alfa 8C is very much a road car, one that takes 4,000 hours of handwork to create and is more likely to appear statically on the lawn of a large manor house than ever grace a race track.
By contrast, the original Disco Volante – also known as the 1900 C 52 – was crafted with aerodynamics in mind. Its streamlined, UFO-like form was designed to pierce through the air with as little disturbance as possible, the body having been built by Carrozzeria Touring following extensive wind tunnel tests. The space-framed Disco Volante’s low, wide shape meant it was less unsettled by wind direction changes from any angle, handy when the 750kg four-cylinder racer was capable of more than 140mph.
It’s fair to say Touring Superleggera’s creation has a vastly different set of priorities. The 8C donor car beneath is capable enough, mixing the Ferrari-made F136 Y 4.7-litre V8 and transaxle automated manual with the same 450hp. But Alfa’s 1,585kg sports car – designed by Wolfgang Egger – has always been more a capable grand tourer than thrill seeker. Touring Superleggera’s work takes some weight out of it, but not enough to really change that philosophy.
Most of the new panels are hand-worked aluminium and carbon fibre, with almost everything - barring Ferrari 599 GTB headlights, used to help reduce the homologation workload – being completely bespoke. Each of the donor cars is an existing 8C, a car that was only produced in 500 coupes and 500 Spiders, and presently are regularly valued at well over a quarter of a million pounds. Touring Superleggera also offers less drastic 8C alteration, as shown by the car on sale on PH here, but the rarest and arguably most special is the full Disco Volante conversion.
Pricing was never officially revealed but half a million pounds including the value of the donor 8C was speculated back in 2013. The mind boggles at the potential value of today’s Spotted when that rarity and the original spend is accounted for. This 2017 car is particularly special, wearing one-off Blu Largo (inspired by Ferrari’s Blu Tour De France) paint, with an interior trimmed in beige and blue leather with red stitching. The car’s aluminium bits are anodised in light blue, while this is the only car to get a wood-trimmed interior. It’s said to add to the yacht feel of the cabin. We can believe it.
With only 125 miles on the clock, the car has plainly not lived its best life. And is almost certainly going to be snapped up by a collector who values beauty and craftsmanship in near equal measure. But here’s hoping the V8 gets the occasional tickle between concours events. It would certainly be appropriate given the lineage and all that effort put into ensuring its handed down shape cuts through the air like a swung sword.
SPECIFICATION - TOURING SUPERLEGGERA DISCO VOLANTE
Engine: 4,691cc, V8
Transmission: 6-speed automated manual, rear-wheel drive
Power (hp): 450@7,000rpm
Torque (lb ft): 347@4,750rpm
MPG: N/A
CO2: N/A
First registered: 2017
Price new: circa £700,000
Price now: POA
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