A Torinese mainstay, Studiotorino was founded and run by Alfredo Stola of the famed Stola carrozzeria. Stola helped guide the designer of this project, Piotr Degler Jablonski of the Istituto Arte Applicata e Design (IAAD) of Turin.
The Daimler advanced design offices in Como, Italy, were also consulted during the process. According to both Stola and Jablonski, the Coupetorino is based on the current Mercedes-Benz SL roadster, "with a preference for the SL63 and SL65 AMG."
The Coupetorino is a fixed-roof sport coupe with a thermal glass top and a large integrated rear wing in carbon fiber that effectively negates the bad aero effects possible with such an abrupt cut at the rear of the cabin. Studiotorino is known for this rear look, with two flying buttresses and near or total elimination of rear quarter-windows, which blends Euro style with a good-looking dose of muscle car. The SL new front end looks at home on the model.
After initial attempts to make the project a shooting-brake-style long coupe, it was the Italian office of Mercedes that suggested this finer-looking classic coupe. "Como just required us to remove the star on the grille, and they needed assurances that it was not destined for immediate production or precise computer modeling," Stola told Inside Line. "Piotr basically created all of this and formed the model by hand," he adds.
Inside Line says: The model is a stunning improvement aesthetically over the current-generation SL design which, to our eyes, essentially substitutes in the new family front look without having changed the rest of the car sufficiently to match. — Matt Davis, Correspondent
Add A Comment »