The one off Alfa Romeo concept car as a homage to the legendary Italian racing driver Tazio Nuvolari

ONE-OFF If lately we are very interested in cars that have been made or designed by Alfa Romeo independently or in collaboration with third parties in the past. Not only because most of these automotive creations have a beautiful, unique and attractive shape, but also we could be seen the Alfa Romeo’s interesting attempt at reviving the glory days of coachbuilders. Apart from it, we can also see how much Alfa Romeo appreciates its historical journey, by launching various car models as a homage for figures who are considered to have contributed to the brand or the automotive world in general.

Alfa Romeo Nuvola concept car is launched at the Paris Auto Show 1996 and named after Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari, the legendary Italian racer. (Picture from: Motor1)

For example is when the Italian brand launched the Alfa Romeo Nuvola at the Paris Auto Show 1996. The concept car is named after Tazio Giorgio Nuvolari, a legendary Italian racing driver who started his career as a motorbike racer and then switched to concentrate on the one-seater sports car racing, and continued to race until he was approaching 60 years, as qouted of the Skoda Motorsports.

Alfa Romeo Nuvola concept car has a long snouted car with a heavily sloped roofline ending with a short rear in the same vein as a TVR sports car. (Picture from: Motor1)

Now we feel it's a good time to take a look back at the two-door sports coupe made by Alfa Romeo in the 1990s. The Novula is built by the Alfa Romeo's Centro Stile led at that time by none other than renowned car designer Walter de Silva. As we all knew, he is the figure who created the original Audi R8, not to mention the gorgeous Lamborghini Miura Concept and the wild one-seater Lamborghini Egoista Concept. He is also the man behind the beautiful Alfa Romeo 156 and a number of other models from the Volkswagen Group.

Alfa Romeo Nuvola concept car was created by Alfa Romeo as a design study as well as a new style approach, the car made its debut just a year before the Alfa Romeo 156. (Picture from: AutoDesignMagazine)

Judging by its appearance, it is a long snouted car with a heavily sloped roofline ending with a short rear in the same vein as a TVR sports car. Meanwhile, many say that at first glance some parts of the Novula are similar to GTV which is yet to be launched. Can you see the similarities between them boths?

Alfa Romeo Nuvola concept car is built by the Alfa Romeo's Centro Stile led at that time by none other than renowned car designer Walter de Silva. (Picture from: AutoDesignMagazine)

As for sure, the concept was created by Alfa Romeo as a design study as well as a new style approach, the car made its debut just a year before the Alfa Romeo 156. At the same time, the one-off vehicle came up with an interesting idea. The Italian brand envisions Nuvola as a resurrection of the coachbuilt car, with the automaker providing rolling chassis for independent companies to build bodies and then selling the vehicle through Alfa Romeo dealers.

Alfa Romeo Nuvola concept car is powered by a 2.5-liter V6 twin-turbo engine capable delivering power of 296 hp and 285 lbs-ft (386 Nm) coupled with six-speed manual gearbox. (Picture from: CulturesofCars)

Actually it based on a modular space frame chassis that can accommodate almost any kind of body style for Novula if it wants to be developed further, from the sleek coupe shape to a more practical shooting brake. Unfortunately, it never happened, and a two-door, two-seat sports car with a polyester body and fully integrated bumpers remained purely a concept.

As mentioned before, the Nuvola is a 2 door all-wheel drive coupe and features an aluminum frame and polyester body and is powered by a 2.5-liter V6 twin-turbo engine with 296 horsepower and 285 lbs-ft (386 Nm) coupled with six-speed manual gearbox. While about its performance, it's noted that the car able to accelerate from still to 100 kph in 6 second and pace up to the top speed of 280 kph (274 mph).

Currently, the 1996 Alfa Romeo Novula concept is one of the car collections inside the Alfa Romeo Historical Museum (Museo Alfa Romeo) in Arese, Italy. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | MUSEOALFAROMEO | MOTOR1 | ALFAROMEO159 ]

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