This is the beautiful-looking 1996 Alfa Romeo Nuvola, which literally translates to ‘Cloud’ in Italian, however, also pays a tribute to the legendary Italian driver, Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari. The Nuvola was designed by a group of young designers at the Centro Stile Alfa Rome under the supervision of Italian car designer and former head of Volkswagen Group Design, Walter de Silva. The team included notable names such as German designer, Wolfgang Hegger, project leader, Carlo Giavazzi, Italian designer, Filippo Perini, and both Arcangelo Jeker and Daniele Masera who handled the interior design work. One of the main ideas behind the Nuvola concept was to revive the passionate practice of coachbuilding, and to do this, the Nuvola was constructed on a modern space frame chassis that was designed to fit virtually any body style. The project would have had Alfa Romeo themselves supplying a rolling chassis, and then work with independent coachbuilders to body the cars and potentially have them sold through Alfa Romeo directly. The concept car was similar in size to the Alfa Romeo GTV, which was also coincidentally penned by Enrico Fumia of Pininfarina in cooperation with Alfa Romeo Centro Stile lead by Walter de Silva, and both cars feature the same twin-recessed headlight styling which is separated by the traditional triangular Alfa Romeo grill. The classical styling continues on the interior of the vehicle with a cabin trimmed in bare metal and high-quality leather and a very unique wood-rimmed steering wheel to top it all off. Some design cues from the Nuvola were carried forward onto the Alfa Romeo 156 (Type 932), which debuted the following year in 1997, and was again also designed by Walter de Silva. The color of the car is known as ‘metallic sky blue’, although, at one point in time, the car was finished in red. The singular copy is said to be held on display at Alfa Romeo Historical Museum in Arese, Italy.
How many made? 1 of 1
Engine: 2.5L Alfa Romeo twin-turbo V6 (petrol) - 296hp
Debut: Mondial de l'Automobile Paris motor show - 1996
Top Speed: 174mph
0-60mph: 6.0 seconds
Photo Credit: @carsnkopi__sg
Research: @rarecarsonly