First Look: ItalDesign Alfa Romeo Brera

Grazie mille, Guigiaro

Among the joys of the annual Geneva Motor Show are the dazzling new concept cars brought forth by Italian design houses-Pininfarina, Zagato, Fioravanti, Bertone, and, of course, ItalDesign-Giugiaro. Many of these independents will choose a marque, perhaps one they're attempting to attract some business from, and create a design study in its name. Last year, ItalDesign developed and debuted the Aston Martin Twenty Twenty (MT, Nov. '01) in Geneva. This year, it was a dazzling Alfa Romeo named Brera.

Powered by the same 4.2L/385-hp V-8 found in the new Maserati Spyder and Coupe, the carbon-fiber-bodied Brera represents a rakishly proportioned 2+2 luxury-performance coupe concept. The traditional Alfa grille blends nicely with the modern front end's aggressive lighting clusters. The hood is long, the roof is low, and the rear deck is tight. It seems Saab was trying to accomplish some of the same design themes with its 9X concept-but why does this one look so much better? Any sort of production version could be equipped with either the Maser or an Alfa engine, with or without all-wheel drive.

Alfa is due to return to our shores in a few years' time and will need a high-performance flagship. It could do little better than to consider something as tasty as the Brera.