Two decades ago Nissan located its Southern California design studios in La Jolla, near San Diego in order to tap into the top young graduate designers from nearby UCLA and now, in Italy, Alfa Romeo has done likewise.
The handsome Alfa Romeo Gloria concept car to be unveiled next month at the Geneva Motor Show is very much the work of students at the European Design Institute (IED) in Turin. Given a styling brief to create a new Alfa Romeo sedan to appeal to markets in North America and Asia, 20 students crafted quarter-scale models and the best one chosen by Alfa’s Style Centre has resulted in the curvaceous Gloria we’ll see in Geneva.
“We asked the students in the Master program to give us their completely independent interpretation of a new Alfa Romeo saloon,” explained Lorenzo Ramaciotti, head of Fiat & Chrysler Design. “During development, we commented, discussed and guided the projects in order to get the most from their spontaneous expressions of creativity. The result was stimulating and marked by professional and creative excellence.
Measuring 4700mm long, 1920mm wide, 1320mm high and with a wheelbase of 2900mm, the Gloria is envisioned to enjoy power from either a V6 or bi-turbo engine.
Even the 20-inch alloy wheels are new designs – created by the students in collaboration with wheel manufacturer OZ Racing.
While the Gloria is a concept and may lead to a future sedan, Alfa Romeo will unveil its all-new 4C concept sports car at Geneva ahead of local sales launch early next year.
