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The Beautiful Child of Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera - the A8GCS Berlinetta revealed at the Geneva Motor Show.
In 2008, the gorgeous A8GCS Berlinetta bowed to oohs and ahhs from an admiring audience, who complemented its sleek styling, classic visage and inspiring panache. The A8GCS Berlinetta is the offspring from a renowned Milan-based automotive design and engineering company: Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera.
Established in 1926, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera creates “high performance sports cars: compact proportions and state-of-the-art building technology are blended in a highly refined style that combines the best Italian craftsmanship with the most advanced aerodynamic solutions.”
It has fashioned many illustrious sports and touring cars, including the BMW 328, Maserati 5000 GT and the Ferrari 340 MM Spider. All these automobiles were coachbuilt, as is the A8GCS Berlinetta, meaning they were built from existing automobiles and then fitted with new bodywork. Touring Superleggera continued crafting automobiles under the mid-1970s, when it took a three-decade hiatus until 2006.
It wasn’t long until Touring Superleggera unleashed its next triumph. The (Maserati) A8GCS Berlinetta debuted as a prototype at the 2008 Villa d’Este Concours d’Elegance, and then went public at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show.
The A8GCS Berlinetta is a rebodied Maserati GranSport Coupe with a few mechanical tweaks. The head designer, Belgian Louis de Fabribeckers, used classic styling methods to fashion his pristine creation. A strict 2-seater, the ACGCS Berlinetta is a throwback to the golden age of Touring Superleggera, the 1950s and 1960s. It is a “shooting brake,” – a 2-door hatchback - a perennial automotive favorite. Its perfectly balanced volumes - reduced front overhang, front central engine and large rear overhang – eliminate the need for a sagging waistline or decorations. In fact, de Fabribeckers seemed to believe that décor would be distracting, as the A8GCS Berlinetta has few chrome accents and plain 19-inch spoke Boranni wheels. This simple yet elegant approach garnered the A8GCS Berlinetta the “Most Beautiful Car of the Year (2010)” accolade at the Paris Festival Automobile.
The A8GCS features a body-over-steel construction with an aluminum frame. It is powered by a rollicking 4.2-liter V8, packing 400 horses and thrusting out 333 lb-feet of torque, mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. These figures are plenty powerful to propel the 3,307-lb (curb weight) A8GCS to a top speed of 238 km/h. It musters plenty of g-forces, zipping from 0-100 km in an impressive 5.4 seconds.
Take another bow, A8GCS Berlinetta. You are beloved. You are beautiful. Good work, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. You raised her well.