Alfa Romeo 4C wins design award

It's official: the Alfa Romeo 4C is disturbingly, disarmingly pretty.

The mid-engined coupe was entered into this year's Concorso d'Eleganza at Villa d'Este to take part in a design content for ‘concept cars and prototypes'. And following an adjudication on the sumptuous, glorious banks of Lake Como in northern Italy, by public referendum, the 4C was declared the winner.

As Danilo Zuchetti, president of Villa d'Este noted: "We witnessed a Concorso that is second to none in terms of sheer class and quality."

Quite. You'll remember the Alfa Romeo 4C. It was launched at the Geneva motor show last year, scrambled together as a last ditch show car that essentially floored all comers and prompted Alfa chiefs to seriously consider putting it into production. Which they will, in 2013.

But, for those schools of thought promoting the theory that the glorification of surface beauty is a vacuous, destructive ideal, there is some manna in the Alfa's underpinnings. Because it ain't just a pretty face. Underneath sits a carbon tub designed by Dallara (the racecar manufacturer), skinned in SMC to keep things nice and light; Alfa's target weight is around 900kg. We're also promised 230bhp from a turbocharged petrol engine, too. You work out the power-to-weight.

Interestingly, the Alfa's win at Villa ends Aston's hopes of clawing three wins from the show. Its entrant - the AM310 - was pitched to continue Aston's previous form with the One-77 and V12 Zagato. The baby 4C also saw off the Stile Bertone Jaguar B99, Ford's EVOS concept and even the Lexus LF-LC.

Click through for more pics from the concept and prototype area, and then start wondering how to scratch together the 4C's estimated list price of £45,000...

Top Gear gets the inside scoop on the new Alfa Romeo 4C

The concept car and prototypes line-up at Villa d'Este

The Rimac Concept One

The BMW Zagato Coupe surveys the entrants

The Lexus LF-LC concept

Italdesign Giugiaro Brivido

BMW Zagato Coupe