You won't have to look too far beyond my personal logs to find something, somewhere mentioning two magical words, "Alfa" and "Romeo". There's a romanticism in the values they project, and as to how they've embodied this into building cars for 110 years. More aspirational than a typical Fiat, and more attainable than a Ferrari or Lamborghini. Celebrated and preserved, Alfa Romeo of today holds firmly to their motto, "La Meccanica delle Emozioni", or The Mechanics of Emotions.

An Alfa Romeo is more than machinery, as its beauties and aspirations ever so slightly masks the imperfections that lie underneath. It doesn't attempt to hide these faults, yet its existence creates a more humane persona, as we too are flawed in our nature. This explains why we bond so well with Alfas, more so than most other cars. Nevertheless, there are those that attempt to magnify the special qualities of an Alfa Romeo. The art of coach-building, as I've written before, is considered a dying art - a craft practiced only by the few who still dare.

Credits to: Paweł Breshke Czyżewski, Alfa Romeo FURIA | Pardon the clickbait, but these lovely renders aren't related to the car in question, but it's an Alfa, and its beautiful, and it's close enough.

In the early days of the automobile, the bodywork was designed to be separate from the skeleton that lies below. If one so desires, they could have the original body removed, and to be rebuilt to your specific tastes. Tracing back to the days of horse-drawn carriages, coach-building allows the affluent and characterful to have a personalised touch, something that speaks to them and stands the tide of changing times. In today's world of red-tape and regulations - for better or worse - the boundaries of cars start to blur, making coach-building a difficult, and expensive hobby.

Among those coach-builders that are still among the living, they have since combined the passions for human craftsmanship that has been passed down and refined over centuries, alongside advanced computerisation and utilising modern engineering to forge their art into reality. Among them is Touring Superleggera, a Carrozzeria founded in 1926, and has since made some of the prettiest cars in history. Among them are early Alfa Romeos, Maseratis, Aston Martins, one of the first Ferraris, and the very first Lamborghini that isn't a tractor.

A Blast From The Past.

Credits to: Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione - 2007 | After years of dull cars, from the Brera to the 159, the 8C was a breath of fresh-air for Alfa Romeo fans.

Their most recent creation was the Maserati Sciàdipersia, a modern reincarnation of the famed 'Shah of Persia' from the 1960s, and something I've covered in great depth not that long ago. Prior that that, they had worked on the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, a jaw-dropping grand-tourer produced in limited quantities as a cheerful consolation, while the world plunged into the Great Recession. It was borne in a time when most people didn't think much of the company, thus embedding itself as a reminder of the good old days - a statement that Alfa Romeo is back.

For the most part, it was more beautiful to look at than to drive, though Touring had somehow managed to mold the Competizione into a vehicle so angelic, one might shed a tear to behold it. Seemingly, and perhaps literally it came from another world, called the "Disco Volante" - Italian for Flying Saucer. Indeed, it had such a silhouette, with a curvaceous face, looping around and carrying a single, but pronounced body-line all the way along the side. It's exhausts and taillights mimic that of a spacecraft's thrusters, as it was no less menacing than a real flying saucer.

Following the 8C's namesake, it had a V8 engine borrowed from Ferrari, creating a sumptuously throaty howl with all 4.7-litres and 444-horsepowers. It might not have been the most perfect car to drive, with braking, suspension, and overall handling to be comparatively half-arsed. Yet, it was a special car to drive, with each atomic molecule of petrol melting away the crudeness of the human soul. Especially so with the Disco Volante, it just tugs at one's heartstrings, and unlike other cars, it won't fill you with adrenaline, savagely charging a stretch of road. Rather, it asks you to cherish it, savouring every last patch.

Credits to: Touring Disco Volante - 2013 | Tell me this doesn't look like a UFO, I dare you. It's made more striking by the use of gold metallic flakes in the red paintwork.

Once more, Touring wants to attempt that same magic with another car, one that also carries that fabled mark of an Alfa Romeo. Having since teased it, Touring's remake of a pre-war special will be called the Berlinetta Aero, taking inspirations from the 8C 2900B Speciale Tipo Le Mans from 1938. Even for an Italophile, the name is quite the handful, yet it carries provenance that forged Alfa Romeo's heritage. It was also the last of the original 8Cs before the Second World War broke out, having then conscripted the company into making warplanes instead.

In fact, there is only ever one 2900B LM Speciale ever made, with its sole purpose being to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Unique in every way, it was made to have a streamlined body, creating a closed cockpit around the driver. Back then, almost all Le Mans race-cars were open-top roadsters, and this aerodynamic body was built by Touring themselves. Applying the same aeronautical learnings that they had learned prior, the 2900B's gorgeous bodywork was made to be as slippery as possible, with edges, protrusions, and venting kept to the bare minimum.

Credits to: Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Le Mans | Form follows function rarely ever looks so awe-inspiring.

The 2900B was powered by an equally special engine in mind. As characterised by the incredibly long, sweeping bonnet, the so-called 8C 2900B had a 2900-cc (2.9-litre), straight-8 engine. Sometimes called an inline-8, this design is particularly interesting, as we've become accustomed enough with straight-6s from today's BMWs, but rarely has a straight-8 ever been used. Unlike a typical V8, where there are two banks of four-cylinders arranged in a V, a straight-8 has all eight-cylinders arranged in a line. When fitted with a pair of superchargers then, the 2900B's powertrain made nearly 220hp, which was quite the feat for a 1930s automobile.

It sadly never finished the 1938 Le Mans, as it had trouble with tyres, and most critically, it dropped a valve. Had the engine been working, the 2900B could've won, as it made a great impression at the hands of its two drivers, Clemente Biondetti and Raymond Sommer. The whole point of endurance-racing is to accrue the most number of completed laps within 24-hours, riding in circles around a track, and switching drivers in intervals. When the 2900B was pulled into the pits for the last time, it had managed to lead the next car by 160km. It boggles the mind to conceive just how much faster and efficient this Alfa was back in the day, and to put into context, the Le Mans circuit of today stands at about 13km in its entirety.

What Hides Beneath The Mask?

Credits to: Touring Superleggera - Instagram | These are the teasers you're looking for.

Touring's new creation will hopefully aim to pay a fitting tribute to this old racer. Not a lot of details are presently known, and even the teasers don't show off much. We can see at least, that it's taken some design cues from the Disco Volante, with those wide hips at the back, and the distinct curves on the front. One major point of speculation is the engine, since straight-8s have been extinct in road-cars since the 1970s.

It's possible that Touring could use another 8C for its Berlinetta Aero, though having done that twice before, its might require something more fresh. The most agreed upon theory so far, is that Touring would use the new Giulia as its test bed. My favourite super-saloon by far, it has a Ferrari-derived, twin-turbocharged V6 putting out 540hp. A healthy sum no doubt, though I'm uncertain if its right to call it an 8C, given the loss of two-cylinders.

One thing we do know about the Berlinetta Aero however, is that Touring aims to lift the veil at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in early July. Naturally, with the outbreak of Covid-19 (Coronavirus) having thrown a wrench into things, we might be expecting an online reveal instead. In any case, I'm shaking with excitement to know what they'll be working on, which has since been able to gradually offset my disappointment that Maserati's MC20 unveiling was pushed to September.

If you're keen on the Berlinetta Aero, I do hope you've been saving up those pennies, or that you've strapped yourself to a chair. As with every coach-built creation, the Aero might comfortably cost seven-digits, and in sharp contrast, it's production will likely be made in a batch of no more than a dozen cars. This then, is something that I'll keep dreaming to own.

Credits to: Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Le Mans | Another final at it. Notice the length of the bonnet, just to contain the straight-8 motor.

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