MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS
Every car video game designer should visit Sardinia. At least once. It should be in their contract. I can’t think of an easier way to imagine ideal driving scenarios than to actually experience them in real life. The island is incredible. Coastal roads with ample views over the sea, minutes away from spectacular mountains, with picture perfect villages providing infusions of unmistakable Italian charm in spades . If only a game could recreate the latter…
Imagine our lucky game designer, once having taken notes about the perfect light, the correct vegetation and the appropriate yachts. The logical next step would be to find a car that can complete the research. Something that would be at the core of the game. The one drive that sums it all up. Fast, but characterful, approachable, but special, exotic but streetwise. A car with a great story, alive with potential. Anchored in the past, but with the future lurking just beneath its surface. Drumroll please. There’s been a major development.
In the shadow of a marble quarry in Tuscany, Gianluca and his team created his namesake car, the Maggiore Project M. Based on a famous Italian sports car of the 80s, his creation leaves no stone unturned in terms of upgrades. Resin infused carbon fibre body. Upgraded suspension and brakes. Upgraded lights. Even upgraded luggage. And driving gear. Of course, it is all topped up by the upgraded engine. Best part of it? It’s all done with Alfa DNA. Yes, we are biased, but you know why you are on this page, so I don’t feel I should explain that last statement in great detail. It’s not that any physical part of the car was ever on an Alfa. No. It’s better than that. Gianluca himself was part of Alfa. And not just any part, he was in charge of an essential part of the development of the 4C. He was Quality Responsible for the Alfa 4C engine. Slow down, I can hear your pulse accelerating from over here.
So now you know what you are looking at. An Alfista’s vision of an Italian restomod. Mechanically exquisite. Aesthetically voluptuous. Respectful to the car it is based on, yet with plenty of personal touches. The paint, for instance, is a custom shade replicating the colours of the sunset in their home town of Forte dei Marmi. I would call it video game red, but I think Gianluca has other ideas. Another nod to his personal story is the gear knob, crafted from marble originating in his home town’s quarry. Marble has been seen in many luxury cars, but rarely on sports cars. In theory, it’s heavy and should be avoided. Well, perhaps not when you think of a way to spec a weighted gear knob. This car is the brainchild of an engineer, very few things made it into the final spec for aesthetic reasons only. The pop up headlights were axed early on. Too heavy. Some of the plastic trim in the interior was redone from billet aluminium. The originals were too flimsy. Everything was investigated. Nothing that was left on the car was in any way overlooked. If it’s there, it’s doing something good. If it’s not, it was substandard.
"in Alfa c'erano meccanici che sapevano fare i guanti alle mosche!"
Some things never change.
