Traditional auto shows may no longer dominate the automotive calendar as they once did, but several major events continue to soldier on. We’re just days away from the 2026 Paris Motor Show, which runs from October 12 through 18, and one of its most noteworthy debuts will come from Alfa Romeo.
Over the past few days, the Italian automaker has been teasing a new concept called Cuorerosso ahead of its world premiere on October 12. Its name combines the Italian words cuore, meaning heart, and rosso, meaning red, fitting for a marque that has long associated itself with passion and emotion.
Alfa Romeo hasn’t revealed much about the car, but an early teaser showed a low, dramatic silhouette, accompanied by the unmistakable sound of a combustion engine. Alfa has not disclosed what’s powering the Cuorerosso, although the soundtrack certainly gives us reason to hope that something interesting is lurking underneath, with early speculation that a six-cylinder engine could be involved.
The latest images that dropped earlier today reveal considerably more, including what appears to be a wing-mounted rear-view mirror incorporating the Tricolore, or colors of the Italian flag, along with a deeply recessed circular lighting element and a steeply raked rear window flowing into a truncated tail. The interior is particularly interesting, with the Alfa Romeo badge incorporated into the skeletal structure of a heavily sculpted front seat. Another seat is visible behind, suggesting the Cuorerosso could feature a 2+2 or four-seat layout, similar to what we saw with the 2014 Lamborghini Asterion concept.
Created by Alfa Romeo Centro Stile in Turin, a city synonymous with Italian automotive design and coachbuilding, Cuorerosso is officially a “design manifesto.” According to Alfa, this concept will explore new ideas, design languages and solutions while retaining one of the storied marque’s fundamental principles: putting the driver at the center of the experience. Crucially, Alfa says Cuorerosso is neither a preview of a future production model nor simply a styling exercise.
Still, its arrival comes at an interesting time. Within Alfa's recent lineup, outside the extremely limited 33 Stradale, which revived one of the most celebrated names in Alfa history and produced 33 individually configured cars through the Bottegafuroriserie program, a dedicated sports car remains conspicuously absent from the brand’s portfolio. The marque’s last regular-production sports car was the mid-engine, carbon-fiber Alfa Romeo 4C, which ended production in 2020.
That absence feels increasingly significant as legacy European automakers face growing competition from new-age rivals. Bugatti Rimac CEO Mate Rimac recently argued that traditional manufacturers should lean into their strengths, focusing on areas such as craftsmanship, quality, design and heritage, instead of attempting to compete solely on tech.
Alfa Romeo has plenty of history to draw from, going back decades. Its back catalog is filled with racing cars, sports cars and striking concepts, several of which ultimately influenced production models. The 2011 4C concept evolved into the production 4C, while the stunning 2003 8C Competizione concept eventually led to the production variant.
The Cuorerosso may not be headed for production, but what it tells us about the next generation of Alfa Romeos could be considerably more important. We’ll know more when it makes its debut in Paris on October 12.
Images: Stellantis
