Now it’s ready to be driven. Auto bild gets an
exclusive opportunity to do just that
The Italian countryside is at its resplendent best, as if to
greet the Diso Volante. Now it might sound romantic, but it somehow befits the
occasion. The area around Lake Como looks as beautiful as the gorgeous body of
the Touring Superlaggera, which has been pulled out exclusively for an AUTO
BILD test drive. This is the street-legal version of the show car that was
displayed at the Geneva Motor Show, where it literally spiked the hearts of
every motoring enthusiast.
Villa Erba, where
Luchino Visconti lived, serves as a stylish backdrop for the new Disco with its
opulent metal swings and the fine roofline
It is a dream to be here, at the lakeshore in front of Villa
Erba, where erstwhile film director, Luchino Visconti, resided. It’s even a
bigger dream to see the gorgeous curves of the Disco and hear its gorgeous
soundtrack. Clad in aluminium, and churning out a whopping 450bhp, the Disco
does not look one bit different from the show car that was displayed in Geneva.
Has anything really changed? “Yes, a few things,” says
designer, Louis de Fabribeckers. “The hood is higher so that the V8 can fit
underneath; hence all lines had to be changed. The trick is that no one can
make out those changes. You will be surprised to know that the production car
is longer and even taller.” What’s that in millimetres? “Oh, I don’t work with
numbers. That’s the job of the controllers. I work with my feeling.”
If there is
anything, which the Volante has, it has to be the fact that it is draped in the
finest materials possible. Not to forget the craftsmanship
Lucky devil! His car is so close to the iconic car built by
Alfa Romeo back in 1952. That was a racing car, which was soon named the
“flying saucer”, thanks to its streamlined design. In the past, the Disco
Volantewas an ancient creature created by Carrozzeria Touring, a coach building
company. Itactually dressed up some of the most exotic looking Ferraris,
AstonMartins and Lamborghinis intheir light aluminium bodies, always according
to the maxim of company founder, Felice Bianchi Anderloni, who used to say,
“Weight is the enemy, drag is the obstacle.”
Aerodynamics and lightweight structures are things, which
even today are considered to be the holy grail of automobile designing. So when
it came to making a new version of the “Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera”,
things morphed to a “saucer in neo-retro design”, says Fabribeckers. The design
stretches back an aluminium profile and the blazing wings are a nod from the
past. The front wheels are partially covered, making it both captivating and
eye-catching. “As a viewer, one can notice the traits from various parts of the
world.” The Belgians show the courage to smoothen out matters more, which
results in a dramatically rising end, somewhere between the Italian Opera and
the tall narrow tail of the first Jaguar E-Type. The neo-Disco awakens the
will-have-reflex. An emotion charged attraction for the rich and the famous,
who collect exclusive artwork without looking at the price tag.
“Carrozzeria Touring belongs to the league of few
manufacturers worldwide, which can offer to work on a finished car,” adds Piero
Mancardi. The head of the company combines almost Teutonic punctuality with
unbelievable Italian generosity. We say this because the Disco you see in these
pages draped in “Flame Red” is the only one in existence. Not to forget that
this Disco is an essential exhibit at motor shows. It’s also surprising to see
that the top boss of the company does not keep his unique whips away from over
enthusiastic journalists, who plead to get a drive. But let me also tell you
that this fear also resulted in mine keeping a tab on how much the throttle was
pressed.
The Disco Volante
is a light car with a massive engine, which gives it an impressive
power-to-weight ratio
The saucer in the mean time was set free. Upfront, the
4.7-litre roared, at the back the transaxle clicks. Under the aluminium skin,
the complete technology is off the Alfa 8C, which in itself is quite an exotic
car in itself considering only 500 pieces are being built, and that too with
Ferrari engines. In the workshop at Terrazzano, a stone’s throw away from the
old Alfa factory, workers separate the expensive carbon fibre shell of the 8C
and start assembling the Touring specially. An aluminium skin over a steel
frame, which takes 4,000 hours to make, is handmade and guaranteed to be not a
serial good. It’s also a good time to mention here that the Disco Volante harks
back to an era when cars were made like fine clothes: stitched to a perfect fit
and not a mass market item found at the large departmental stores.
The interior of
the Disco is draped in ‘Flame red’ theme with a hint of gold under the red. The
materials shine, thanks to the glass roof
“We will build more than one dozen Discos,” says company
president Piero Mancardi. “Our customers appreciate this exclusivity.” In the
second line of business, the metal artists at Terrazzano restore rare classic
cars that are hidden behind cloths. “Please, no photos!” Customers appreciate
discretion. But that is not all. Customers also prefer discretion when it comes
to something as vulgar as the price. That is also the reason why it is better
that we keep the price of the Disco Volante in the dark, says Mancardi. Let’s
say that the customer continues to buy the car for a long time. When we left
the Villa Erba, it seems even the weather is paying tribute to the Disco.
