"Weight is the enemy, air resistance the obstacle." Not novel ideas to anyone who's spent time around fast vehicles, but the all-new Aero 3 from Touring Superleggera was developed with a brief featuring that simple phrase quadruple-sized and bolded at the top. And it very much shows. With a massive rear fin and bodywork so smooth it could have been poured on, the 731-hp gussied-up Ferrari F12 slithers its way between air molecules on its way to a 211-mph (340 km/h) top speed.
Despite that brief, at the end of the day the Aero 3 is perhaps less a product of modern state-of-the-art lightweighting and aero practices and more an homage to mid-20th-century Italian coach building, inspired by historic Tourings like the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B LM Coupe Berlinetta Aerodinamica, original 50s-era Disco Volantes and modern Disco Volante series revived in 2012.
Just take the Aero's most distinguishing feature: the rear fin. It's purely decorative and meant to recall Touring's golden age of aero experimentation and testing in its first wind tunnel.
"The idea of a fin was born as a prominent but very natural extension of the teardrop shape of the passenger compartment and the purest way to illustrate the essence of Streamline Style," explains Louis de Fabribeckers, Touring Head of Design. "In the case of the Aero 3, it has no aerodynamic function in itself, but it evokes Touring’s aerodynamics legacy, from the 1930s onward."
Moving away from the crisp lines of the Prancing Horse-badged skin that usually adorns this particular 6.3-liter V12-motivated rolling chassis, Touring smooths over edges and angles in favor of sweeping, harmonious curves. This strategy is most effectively expressed by the round, muscular fenders and smooth, flowing hood. Making a Ferrari chassis look even more beautiful is not an easy task, but it's one Touring is clearly up to, its paintwork serving as the "stratosphere red" cherry atop the project.
Despite the aforementioned emphasis on lightweight, aerodynamic design, the Aero 3 weighs more than the donor F12 at 3,627 lb (1,645 kg) and shares the same performance estimates, achieving a 3.1-second 0-62 mph (100 km/h) time well ahead of the 211-mph (340 km/h) top speed. But as a gorgeous, made-to-measure limited-run coupe with retro style and modern Ferrari power and driving dynamics, it's a raging success.
Touring premiered the Aero 3 at this week's Salon Privé. It intends to sell just 10 to 15 examples, of which three are already spoken for. Pricing is available upon request and will vary according to buyer selections and requests.
Source: Touring Superleggera
