The Touring Superleggera Aero 3 is the latest creation to leave the halls of Italian coachbuilding house Touring Superleggera. Coachbuilding is the art of taking an existing car and fitting it with a body of a new design. The art of coachbuilding goes back to the early part of last century. Wealthy car owners weren’t happy to own a model with the same appearance as everyone else. They would have cars delivered to a specialist fabricator that would style and (usually) hand-form a bespoke body over the existing cars chassis and powertrain.

Follow Double Apex on Instagram and Facebook where we share more car content.

Order from our online store and take advantage of free delivery in South Africa on orders over R349.Double Apex T-shirts

Make it personal

The art of coachbuilding seems to have new momentum in the 21st century as the uber-wealthy of today also want to differentiate themselves from the thousands of other sports- and supercars owners. Touring Superleggera has a long history of bespoke automobile creattioin that goes back to 1926.

Check out two coach-built supercars produced by Ares Design, one based on a Lamborghini Huracan and the other on the latest-gen Corvette.

Its newest creation the Touring Superleggera Aero 3 is based on an Italian V12 supercar of unnamed origin. Though reading through the specs it can only be a Ferrari F12. Touring Superleggera whips off the donor car’s body panels and replaces them with a carbon-fibre suit of a new design, helping to shed a few kilos in the process. The Aero 3 is said to tip the scales at 1 645 kg.

Touring Superleggera Aero 3 fin

Alfa Romeo-esque nose treatment aside, it is the large rear ‘fin’ that will be the talking point for many. “The idea of a fin was born as a prominent but very natural extension of the teardrop shape of the passenger compartment”, according to Louis de Fabribeckers, head of design for Touring, “and the purest way to illustrate the essence of Streamline Style. 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.”

Powering the Touring Superleggera Aero 3 is the same V12 engine as found in the F12. The naturally aspirated unit produces 537 kW of power and 690 N.m of torque. All of it is delivered to the rear axle through a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Touring Superleggera estimates its new creation will sprint from standstill to 100 km/h in 3,1 seconds and it will have a top speed of 340 km/h.

Bespoke interior

Owners of the Touring Superleggera Aero 3, of whom there will be just 15, will enjoy a fully customised interior. The cockpit has highlights black soft-furnishings, along with flashes of polished aluminium, black matte aluminium and matte carbon fibre detail fittings. Foglizzo leather hand crafted and hand-stitched by Italian artisans will give occupants a sense of comfort and luxury.