There aren't many more romantic car events than the legendary Mille Miglia race held in Italy. Named 'a thousand miles', this was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927, which attracted thousands of fans who would come to see some of the world's finest sports cars battle it out. Modern tributes to the famous race include the Maserati MilleMiglia, and the hauntingly beautiful concept car that is the Mercedes-AMG GT Silver Echo. Despite it being stopped back in the fifties, people still love to romanticize the race, and contemporary designers are still paying tribute in one form or another.
Take this design by Francesca Fonio, which is part Alfa Romeo, and part childhood dream. The designer drew up this car from scratch and uses influences from 1930s Alfa race cars, as well as modern cars such as the Fiat 124 Spider.
The genesis of the design starts off with the 1938 Alfa Romeo Tipo 8C 2900 B, with the 8C denoting the amount of cylinders. This car was used as the world's first genuine single-seat Grand Prix racing car after some modifications. Fonio then moves on to his mood board which includes flowing shapes and lines that resemble a windows screen saver of some sort. These lines are then clearly incorporated into the original 1930s design to form an attractive silhouette. Early sketches reveal a striking wedge shape with massive five-hole wheels.
In the rear, the car takes on design elements from Ferrari and Fiat with a bold, flowing trunk that blends into the rear taillight segment. The front resembles the classic Alfa Romeo Spider.
As the sketches take form, the striking beauty of this idea becomes apparent: Fonio has managed to take classic lines and incorporate them with modern muscle. The fender flares are barely able to contain the massive wheels, and the cabin is slung way back, covering the rear axles. In the final stages of the sketching process, the headlights appear. These thin slivers look pretty menacing, and tie the front end together with style.
The final renderings are drool-worthy: the cloverleaf wheel design hides a set of massive red brake calipers, and the rear cowl contrasts the red paint color with a smattering of black. The car clearly pays tribute to the open top sportsters of old in a refreshing take that we wish was a real car.