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Engineers at the Elasis engineering arm took full advantage of the
location of Villa d’Este Concorso d'Eleganza event, to take the Alfa Romeo Diva prototype to the nearby Balocco high-security test-track for a set of high-speed trials on Monday last week. Situated under an hour away from Arese, and merely 108 km from Cernobbio, the Balocco test track presented a clear temptation to the team of engineers.
The Alfa Romeo Diva represents a true collaboration of effort between Elasis, the ESPERA design school of Franco Sbarro, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, and the Arese based Carozzeria GT who prepared the prototype for the Villa d’Este event. “The car received a notable amount of approval from the public, and buzzing interest on the part of the specialised press,” commented Elasis after the event.
“On Monday the 24th of April, numerous laps were driven on the circuit of Balocco (Vercelli), during which the sports two-seater reflected excellent performance, including sprightliness, manoeuvrability, and steering precision – a typical characteristic in the Alfa Romeo tradition.”
No doubt also that the prototype showed tremendous braking
capability with the car sporting twin calliper rear brakes. The Alfa Romeo Diva is not a concept car in the strictest sense, but rather a research prototype used by engineers as a physical test bed to evaluate components.
The Alfa Romeo Diva is the latest car is a string of projects which have focussed on light weight construction techniques, following the likes of the Centro Ricerche Fiat Alfa Romeo Sportiva Evoluta, the Sportiva Latina, and the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione which
will be presented in production format next year at Paris. It is anticipated that the experience that is being gained with these projects, particularly in the field of light-weight
metals and carbon-fibre composites, will be reflected in performance versions of current Alfa Romeo models, including the Brera and 159 GTA variants.
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The Alfa Diva prototype represents a 'moving laboratory'
which is
continuously evolving where new and innovative solutions in the
fields of technology, materials and control systems are
tested. |
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PDRELASIS001-2006:
The first three letters of the Diva chassis number
stand for "Prototipo di Ricerca" |
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The
compact Alfa Romeo Diva's technical specification is
impressive: a power to weight ratio of 290bhp/tonne,
and a 40/60 split front-rear weight distribution
make it a highly nimble car. |
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The Alfa Romeo Diva
project represents a true collaboration of effort.
Seen here are several
members of the Elasis team who presented
the prototype at the Villa d'Este event. |
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Alongside light-weight parts, the Alfa Romeo Diva also showcases the use of LED lighting, a technology which is becoming increasingly popular in production cars and which is expected to feature on the
next production Alfa Romeo family car. LEDs are the future of automotive lighting, providing automotive manufacturers with a far higher degree of styling flexibility due to the small footprint of the LEDs. Several automotive manufactures already use LEDs for rear lighting. From a safety perspective, LEDs turn on instantly, reducing braking response time by 2/10th of a second, which equates to 5 extra meters of stopping distance at motorway speeds. The Alfa Romeo 8C competizione uses LEDs for its rear lights, whilst the Diva has LED front lights. LEDs also last 100 times longer than conventional bulbs, thus do not require replacement, and also perform better in poor weather conditions.
by Paddy Granger
Alfa Romeo Diva - Technical Specifications:
Engine: Alfa Romeo 3.2 V6;
Gearbox: 6M Selespeed;
Max. Power: 290 bhp @ 6,200rpm; Dimensions: Length - 3894
mm; Width - 1896 mm; Height - 1182 mm; Wheelbase - 2402 mm;
Track - 1608 mm (front), 1578 mm (rear);
Weight: 1,000 kg; front/rear split - 40/60 pct;
Performance: Acceleration 0-100 km/h - 5.0 seconds; Max. Speed
- 270 km/h
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