Giovanni Rizzo, a 'Transportation Design' course graduate of the prestigious Art Center in Pasdena, has presented his interpretation of a modern day Alfa Romeo 'Disco Volante' sportscar.

The Project: Reinterpreting the Alfa Romeo 'Disco Volante'

This new Disco Volante, in the eyes of Giovanni Rizzo, sees the return of the purity of the Italian sports machine. Far removed from the comfortable, cosseting GTs most manufacturers now prefer, this new Disco Volante is closer to a four wheeled motorbike in it's focused approach to speed and exhilaration.

Designed from the outset as an open car, its intention is to have a vehicle which skirts the fine line that used to exist between Sunday race car and Monday road car. The layout calls for a mid-engine platform powered by a highly tuned 300bhp Alfa Romeo V6, sitting on a compact 2320 mm wheelbase.
 

The inspiration for the new shape is, as the name would suggest, from the original Alfa Romeo Disco Volante with it's bisecting break through the body and perched fenders to encompass the wheels.  Also evident in plan view is further inspiration taken from the Alfa Grand Prix cars of the pre-war era, with the main cabin volume stretched tautly around the driver/passenger and encompassing the mechanicals at the rear, and the cooling systems just ahead of the cabin, with the large radiator exhaust outlets cut out of the top surface echoing the slots in an Alfa grille from the top view.

Another prominent feature of the car is the integrated and centrally located air intake/roll structure which takes a nod from the modern day F1 racer, as do the chimney-type exhausts located at the rear of the vehicle. The special aluminized red finish underscores the lightweight nature of the car.

Art Center: Transportation Design Course

The Art Center Transportation Design Course in Pasadena is an 8 term (Semester) course in which the early terms 1-4 are generally regarded as the foundation terms after which students generally take place in Funded Educational projects, which are projects carried out in collaboration with automakers and where students have the opportunity to work with the professional designers of these companies in order to gain real world experience.

The 8th and Final term at the Art Center is an opportunity for students to design their own project, choosing brand, concept and vehicle type and is thought to be the product of the accumulation of educational and professional experience (many students undertake professional internships at design studios throughout their Art Center career) to that point.

Giovanni Rizzo

Born in New York City to Italian parents, Giovanni Rizzo quickly established a passion for Italian cars in general and the Alfa Romeo marque specifically. "When the opportunity came in my final semester at the Art Center to choose and design a project completely of my own vision, an Alfa Romeo was the only choice," Giovanni told Italiaspeed, before adding that "the Disco Volante was chosen for it's unfettered purity and for possessing what I always believed to be the quintessential Alfa Romeo spirit. I believe when most people think of Italian sports cars and Alfa Romeo, visions of red, open sports cars charging down public roads in the legendary races such as the Targa Florio or the Mille Miglia come to mind. This new Disco Volante aims to pick up where those cars left off.

"I graduated Art Center in December 2004, my professional experience includes internships at the Exploratory Studio at Nissan Design Center in Atsugi, Japan as well as Mazda Research and Development in California," explains Giovanni, before concluding, "I'm currently doing freelance design for several companies while looking looking for a spot as a full-time automotive designer."