A look at the new Alfa Romeo Cuorerosso

Alfa Romeo unveiled its new Cuorerosso concept car at the Paris Motor Show over the weekend. The Cuorerosso is turning heads as a concept car which is actually pretty, and because it boasts a 2.9-litre V6 full-hybrid powertrain.

Notably, Alfa Romeo said that the Cuorerosso marking a starting point in how it interprets style, function and technology. This means that it is unlikely to ever make it into production, but it does act as a manifesto for the Italian carmaker on how it plans to design future models in an increasingly electric era.

“Alfa Romeo has always created cars that are capable not only of moving people, but of arousing something within them. With Cuorerosso, we bring this identity into the future, one open to different energy solutions, in which technology, function and quality are always at the service of emotions and driving pleasure,” said Santo Ficili, CEO of Alfa Romeo and Maserati.

The steer-by-wire system replaces the mechanical link between the steering wheel and the front wheels with electronic controls.

Alfa Romeo kept physical controls in the cabin, with haptic and acoustic feedback from the switches and dials.

The driver faces a motorised instrument cluster called the Cannocchiale Vivente, which can switch between two layouts.

In the Immersivo setting, the cluster shows two separate dials, while the Concentrato setting physically merges them into a single dial.

The display shows less information as the driver engages more with driving, keeping only the essentials on screen.

Alfa Romeo said this technology could feed into STLA SmartCockpit, the digital in-car platform used across Stellantis brands.

A control panel on the centre tunnel, called the Magma Display, combines a touch surface with a rotary dial, a drive mode selector and toggle switches.

The three driving modes also change the cabin lighting, with Quadrifoglio mode dimming the lights and showing four points of light in the air vents.

Specifications

Alfa Romeo released the following specifications for the Cuorerosso:

• Body: 2+2 coupé with four individual seats
• Length: 4,700mm
• Width: 1,980mm
• Height: 1,331mm
• Wheelbase: 2,930mm
• Weight: 1,750kg
• Drag coefficient: 0.28
• Powertrain: 2.9-litre V6 full-hybrid
• Drivetrain: Q4 all-wheel drive, torque converter and carbon fibre driveshaft
• Suspension: air suspension
• Brakes: Brembo carbon-ceramic system with Alfa Romeo calipers
• Steering: electronically controlled steer-by-wire
• Driving modes: Cruise, Sport and Quadrifoglio
• Wheels: forged three-spoke wheels based on Alfa Romeo’s “telephone dial” design

The Cuorerosso uses a truncated “Coda Tronca” tail and a low diffuser built into the bodywork to reach its 0.28 drag coefficient.

The car has no traditional door handles, with a touch control on the roof opening the doors instead.

Its rear doors open backwards, and the windows sit fully flush with the body.

The grille uses small backlit triangular elements that pulse in a heartbeat pattern, and the same light greets the driver on approach.

The paint, called Liquid Ink red, layers a coloured transparent coat over a fine aluminium base and shifts towards black at certain angles.

Inside, Alfa Romeo used hand-finished Poltrona Frau nubuck only on surfaces that occupants touch directly.

The cabin also uses a regenerated leather made with 60% post-industrial waste from premium upholstery production.

Alfa Romeo developed a lightweight monofilament fabric for the dashboard with the Luna Rossa sailing team, based on technical clothing for ocean racing.

The dashboard design draws on both the original 1967 33 Stradale and the recently launched 33 Stradale.

A removable bag sits in the passenger-side dashboard, and its securing straps double as a carry handle.

Alfa Romeo also said it is experimenting with recycled carbon fibre combined with red resins for future composite materials.

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