In an exhibition-performance lasting six months, artist Dario Pasqualini, who has brought the Testadoro brand back to life, will bring the new Testadoro Essenziale model, equipped with 18-inch MAK Mark gun metallic mirror wheels, to life before the eyes of MAUTO spectators.

Arte di Boita: Turin’s Art of Transforming Substance intends to propose an artistic and artisanal approach to the conception and realisation of the car as a work of art, unique and unrepeatable, in antithesis to mass production. At a time when cars are designed for production in millions of units in different parts of the world, ‘Arte di Boita’ stages the unique creation of a car and pays homage to the creativity and technique of the Turin ateliers of the 1950s and 1960s.

The work created is called Testadoro Essenziale, a name that is a clear reference to the absence of everything in the car that is superfluous and, indeed, non-essential.

In fact, the car consists of a tubular steel chassis, mechanics reduced to a minimum and a lightweight aluminium body. There are no components that are not essential to the primary function of the mechanics: the aim is to allow the car to move efficiently.

The Essenziale is a berlinetta with a front engine and rear-wheel drive, in the tradition of Italian sports cars of the 1950s and 1960s. The volumes are those of the classic Turin style of the time, but reinterpreted in an artistic key and with unconventional solutions. The car’s skin, made of exposed aluminium, is like a veil that voluptuously rests on its forms, sometimes smoothing them, sometimes sculpting them into sharp, taut edges.

The spirit of subtraction of the superfluous is also used in the definition of the styling, going so far as to eliminate any element that interrupts the continuity of the lines. The light clusters are inserted into the large empty volumes below the body, spaces created by subtracting the front and rear bumpers from the body, elements that are increasingly predominant in mass-produced cars. The work seems to float in the air rather than weighing on the wheels and, therefore, on the ground. In this regard, in terms of unsprung parts, Testadoro relies on three exceptional partners: the alloy wheels are supplied by MAK Wheels, with the 18-inch Mark gun metallic mirror model. Fitting these splendid, yet essential, alloy wheels are Michelin Pilot Sport 5 tyres, a guarantee of high performance for Testadoro’s berlinetta. Inside there is Alcantara® that dresses some fundamental parts of the cabin, creating a unique and refined ambience at the same time, perfectly matched by the predominance of wood and aluminium.

Stripped of all non-essential parts, the car intends to stop the needle of the scales at under 900 kg, despite the fact that the dimensions see a final length close to 5 metres, due to the front and rear bodywork rakes.