Following yesterday’s leaked photos, Maserati officially unveiled the Alfieri concept at the Geneva Motor Show, with the study hinting at the brand’s future design language.

The 100 percent functional, 2+2 coupe concept also celebrates the brand’s centenary, with the name being a tribute to Alfieri Maserati, the most prominent of the Maserati brothers and the engineering genius who founded “Officine Alfieri Maserati” in Bologna a century ago.

Designed at the Maserati Centro Stile in Turin by a small group of young designers led by Marco Tencone, the project was masterminded by Lorenzo Ramaciotti. Maserati says the sleek study is “sportier in character than the GranTurismo” and that its proportions “might well be archetypal for a future true sport car and certainly hint at the brand’s stylistic intentions for the near future.”

According to Ramaciotti, the Alfieri may not be produced in two years time, but something very similar will definitely be launched. The study was inspired by the 1954 Maserati A6 GCS-53 racing car, designed by Pininfarina, from which it took cues like the diminutive cabin positioned almost over the rear wheels, a very long bonnet and long, sinous wings stretching nearly to the rear wheels.

The Alfieri features a long, low nose and a grille divided vertically into two concave sections that seem to hang in the air. The aggressive headlights incorporate bi-xenon-LED bulbs and feature characteristic eyebrow, repeated on the twin exhaust tail pipes.

The 21-inch wheels (rear) and 20-inch (front) wheels were forged from single aluminum elements and feature integrated decorative spokes that wink at the classic spoke wheels of the 1950s. The car sports a liquid metal color called “Steel Flair”, while the decorative spokes of the wheels, the brake calipers, the grille, the triple air ducts, the rear diffuser and the eyebrow of the exhaust tail pipes are all finished in Maserati Blue. The front bumper spoiler and rear diffuser are in carbon fiber with aluminum inserts.

The minimalist interior features a suspended dashboard with an organic, two-tone design built around a central TUFT screen. The instrument panel has a classic layout with two main clocks and two smaller ones in between, but feature TFT displays inspired by modern photographic camera menus in the way they indicate km/h and engine rpm. Dominant colors inside the Alfieri cockpit are Luna white and dark Basalt blue, while Poltrona Frau aniline leather covers the seats, dashboard and central console.

The Alfieri is based on the GranTurismo MC Stradale chassis but has a 240mm (9.45in) shorter wheelbase. It is 4,590 mm (180.7in) long with a 2,700 mm (106.3in) wheelbase, 1,930 mm (76in) wide and 1,280 mm (50.4in) tall. The study is powered by a 4.7-liter, naturally aspirated V8 engine producing 453hp (460PS) and 520 Nm (383 lb-ft) at 4,750 rpm. The engine is linked to a six-speed, electro-actuated gearbox (MC Shift).

By Dan Mihalascu

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