Stunning new Alfa Romeo Cuorerosso hints at brand’s bold future
Drop-dead gorgeous concept car to influence throng of new Alfa models, including SUVs and a C-segment hatchback
The future of Alfa Romeo has been teased on the brand’s Paris Motor Show stand, via the gorgeous Alfa Romeo Cuorerosso concept car. While it doesn’t preview a production model in the conventional sense, it will inform a throng of new Alfas due before the end of the decade – including a replacement for the Tonale SUV and a pumped-up hatchback to fight big-sellers such as the Volkswagen Golf and BMW 1 Series.
During an exclusive interview, Alfa CEO Santo Ficili told Auto Express: “[Cuorerosso is] a concept car, of course. But I’m thinking now to the model that we are going to launch at the beginning of 2028; it’s going to play in the upper part of the C-SUV segment. As soon as we launch that car, you will immediately recognise something coming from this concept.”
Translating directly as ‘red heart’, the Cuorerosso is a 4.7-metre-long, four-seat coupé painted in ‘Liquid Ink Red’ – a colour Alfa claims makes the finish look as if it is “suspended between liquid metal and incandescent lava”. Under the skin, there’s a hybrid version of the Giulia Quadrifoglio’s 2.9-litre twin-turbo V6 paired with the brand’s Q4 all-wheel-drive system. However, engineers claim the car “anticipates the multi-energy approach Alfa is taking”, confirming it could also be offered with full-electric or plug-in hybrid powertrains.
Alfa says the name “encapsulates the brand’s deepest essence by merging two symbols thoroughly rooted in its identity: Red, the colour of passion and an unmistakable sign of the Alfa Romeo imagination, and Heart, the origin of that same energy and symbol of the visceral relationship that unites every Biscione-brand creation with its drivers”.
At the front, the Cuorerosso gets the recognisable Scudetto grille, modernised by a “weave of small backlit triangular elements” that combine to mimic the famous cross and serpent on the Alfa logo. Its shape also informs a set of deep ridges that run the length of the bonnet to the base of the windscreen.
The headlamps offer a new, minimalist take on Alfa’s distinctive design, with a revised DRL pattern and combined high and low-beam. Head of design, Alejandro Mesonero, said: “For Alfa Romeo, a car cannot be reduced to a cold piece of technology but must be able to establish an authentic relationship with the observer.”
Huge, bulging arches hide a new take on Alfa’s famous teledial alloy wheels with subtle aero elements, while the slatted door mirrors have been pared back to save weight. The front wing features the familiar Quadrifoglio badge, which bosses say “reaffirms the desire to take one of the most authentic expressions of Alfa Romeo sportiness ahead into the future”.
At the back, the wide track and short overhangs emphasise the cab-rearward design. But with no active aero or moving wings, the Cuorerosso keeps things clean with a flick on the bootlid reminiscent of the iconic Alfa Romeo 8C. In fact, the concept’s entire rear end looks to be inspired by the company’s last proper supercar – even down to the circular lighting treatment. A central exhaust pipe, housed within a heavily sculpted bumper, completes the look.
Despite its sleek appearance, the Cuorerosso has four doors hinged at opposite ends that open up to reveal an inviting cabin. While we weren’t allowed or able to sit inside during our exclusive preview, the removal of the B-pillar should create easy access for rear passengers.
Yet the focus is absolutely on the driver, with a neat cockpit centred around a yoke-style steering wheel and high centre console. Behind that low-set wheel is an innovative instrument cluster that can be transformed from two distinct ‘telescopes’ to just one at the flick of a switch – with the right dial slotting in mechanically behind the left. The ‘immersivo’ layout presents only essential driving information, converging only what’s necessary into a single binnacle.
On the centre stack there are physical switches for the gear selector, drive modes and climate controls, above which sits Alfa’s ‘Magma Display’ – a backlit OLED screen that is hidden from view on a dark panel until the driver or front-seat passenger requires it. Alfa says the technology and controls “remain discreet until needed, then become intuitive, immediately accessible, simple, and precise”.
Being a one-off, multi-million-pound concept there are some rough edges, but Ficili told us he is asking for “big quality; [Alfa is] crazy for quality” going forward. Every inch of the Cuorerosso is trimmed in Alcantara, metal and leather – with the latter created using 60 per cent post-industrial waste.
Production of the current Giulia saloon and Stelvio large SUV will end next year, leaving only the Junior and Tonale to prop up an ageing Alfa range. However, as mentioned, a new take on the Tonale – inspired by the Cuorerosso – is planned for 2028, with a jacked-up replacement for the 147 and Guilietta due soon after. Ficili told us the maker is also “evaluating some possible evolution” of the D-segment, a project that could see a successor to the Stelvio flagship break cover before the end of the decade.
Looking to scratch that Alfa itch? The Auto Express Buy A Car service has everything an ‘Alfisti’ needs, from the compact Mito to the 4C Spider and the Giulia Quadrifoglio.
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