The Alfa Romeo Cuorerosso concept showcases an ambition to break from the “war of centimetres” on screens inside new cars, according to its chief designer.
The striking fastback was revealed at last week’s Paris motor show and hints at key cues coming in the brand’s next-generation cars – including a simplified interior that minimises digital surfaces.
“Let’s get rid of the screens,” Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos told Autocar. “We were in search of emptiness. Screens are nice when you’re sitting in the car, but when you’re driving I’m not convinced.
“We're in a kind of war of centimetres for the screens, and to me it doesn’t make any sense, because they become huge. They are designing the dashboard for you, basically.
"I think that in some years’ time, these screens will become obsolete, they will be old, they will start costing money.
“Whatever you put on a screen, you don’t put somewhere else – and I prefer to put it somewhere else.”
To this end, the Curorerosso previews a new take on Alfa Romeo’s long-running ‘cannocchiale’ instrument binnacle design, in which two round screens can merge to form just one, displaying only the most important driving information.
Mesonero-Romanos said the split-instrument approach produces additional flexibility, which could mean a conventional central touchscreen becomes redundant.
For example, one of the two roundels can be used to display the sat-nav, the other the instrumentation.
“I want to have an infotainment screen but I don’t want to have it on all the time, so I want to hide it,” said Mesonero-Romanos.
“I’m aware that a big part of the public wants to have big screens, but then don’t buy an Alfa, buy something else.
"I’m sure there are a lot of people out there who think like we do. There’s a lot of people that will be happy with this experience.”
The other key development inside the Curorerosso is its ‘Magma’ centre console. This retains physical buttons, dials and switches for vital functions such as the fan speed and temperature, but a small projection is positioned at the top of the spine, displaying secondary functions that are selected using the upper dial, such as the current song or the sat-nav. These are then adjusted using haptic touch controls.
“The whole thing is a screen, but it’s not a [conventional] screen,” said Mesonero-Romanos. “It’s a support for the physical commands with one part that's like a proper screen, like on a telephone. It has a film on top that isn't intrusive: you see through it and then it’s hidden when you don’t need it. You can switch it off.
“It’s my dream to drive at night with a single cannocchiale, all lit red, and nothing else.”