Overview

The Alfa Romeo Brera Portfolio Set includes an elegant clamshell box, the portfolio and a separate panoramic print, as seen on the portfolio's cover. The clamshell box and portfolio are covered in sumptuous fine grain black leather. The portfolio's contents are: a quote from the Brera's creators that is hand signed; an essay; 20 handmade, tipped in prints that were hand mounted onto the pages; an Afterword signed by the photographer; and the colophon.

The Inspiration

"The one-off Alfa Romeo Brera was one of the most beautiful cars I photographed and tested in 2002," says award winning writer and photographer Winston Goodfellow. "Ital Design-Giugiaro’s 35th anniversary was rapidly approaching, and I wanted to make a special present for the company and my friends to honor that."

And so was born the Alfa Romeo Brera Portfolio Set. "The idea behind it was to make something that looked chic but, at the same time, was art," Goodfellow goes on. "That is why we did the clamshell box, portfolio and even the pages in black." The black "setting" makes the prints’ vibrant colors leap off the pages, and a subtle theme of red is used throughout the text.

The Brera’s Creators

Goodfellow has known the Giugiaros for many years, and has had great admiration for their work. Giorgetto Giugiaro was born in 1938 and is one of the true Rembrandts of automotive styling. His career began at Fiat in the mid-1950s. He then worked for Bertone as its chief designer from 1959-1965, and Carrozzeria Ghia from 1965-68. He started his own firm Ital Design with Aldo Mantovani in 1968, and it has been one of the world’s leaders in designing and making prototypes and production cars ever since. Giugiaro’s design portfolio reads like a "who’s who" of the automotive world, and includes companies such as Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Jaguar, Volkswagen and Audi. He was voted "Designer of the Century" in 2000 by an independent panel of automotive journalists.

His son Fabrizio is Ital Design-Giugiaro’s current head of design. Fabrizio is one of the writer/photographer’s closest friends in Europe, and has a zest and zeal for life that is seen in many of his creations. Born in 1965, Fabrizio Giugiaro is one of the world’s most experienced designers at creating mid-engine machines and has more than a dozen in his constantly growing portfolio. Still, he takes great pride in what he and his father created in the front-engine Brera, and frequently drives this unique, million-dollar machine for the pure joy of it.

The Portfolio Set

The Brera Portfolio Set took three months to create. The elegant clamshell box features a handmade, hand-painted de-bossed Ital Design logo on the soft, creamy black leather cover. The inside of the clamshell is covered with black silk.

On the cover of the portfolio is a hand-tipped inset panoramic print of the Brera with the hillside town of La Morra in the background. Those familiar with fine wines know this ancient village overlooks Barolo, the even smaller town where some of the world’s best red wine is produced.

When closed, the Brera Portfolio Set’s clamshell box measures 14 1/2" x 10 1/2" x 2 3/8". The Portfolio’s measurements are 13 3/4" x 9 1/2"; opened it measures almost 28". The inset panoramic print on the cover of the portfolio is 9" x 3 1/4".

The Portfolio’s contents are the title page, the signed quote page, an opening essay on the Brera, 20 5" x7 1/2" prints, a signed photographer’s statement in the Afterword, and the colophon. All 27 pages inside the portfolio are black, and the text is white/silver. Red accents sprinkled throughout the pages quietly play on the Brera and Ital Design-Giugiaro logo’s colors. Like the panoramic print on the cover, the 20 prints contained in the portfolio are all individually handmade, archival processed and hand mounted.

A 14" x 40" panoramic fine art print identical to the photo on the cover is included with the Brera Portfolio Set. It is numbered to match the portfolio, matted and hand-signed by the car’s creators Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro and writer/photographer Winston Goodfellow. With the mat, the print’s size is 23" x 48".

An Edition of Three

The first copy of the Portfolio Set was presented to the Giugiaros in Giorgetto Giugiaro’s office in the Ital Design works outside Turin, Italy in the spring of 2003. After Giorgetto received and looked through the Portfolio Set, he turned to Goodfellow and simply said, "You are truly an artist." Portfolio Set Number 1 remains in their possession.

Portfolio Sets Numbers 2 and 3 and the accompanying panoramic prints were autographed and numbered in the photographer’s office in Carmel on August 16 just prior to a private dinner party for Giorgetto’s 65th birthday. The following day, Giorgetto and Fabrizio Giugiaro were guests of honor at the famed Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance where the Brera and a number of their other creations were featured.

For the aficionado or collector who wants a unique masterwork collectible autographed by the Designer of the Century on one of the new millennium’s most memorable pieces of rolling sculpture, the Brera Portfolio set is it. Only three Portfolio Sets were made. Number 1 is owned by the Giugiaros, Number 2 by the photographer, and Number 3 is now offered for sale at the price of $5,000.00.

The Alfa Romeo Brera Portfolio Set:

• Three Sets Only: #1 to the creators; #2 to the photographer; #3 to the collector
• Leather clamshell box with de-boss handmade and painted logo on cover; clamshell measures 14 1/5" x 10 1/2" x 2 3/8"
• Handmade portfolio is 13 3/4" x 9 1/2" x 1 1/2". The portfolio is covered in leather with 9" x 3 1/4" hand-tipped inset print on the cover. The contents of the portfolio’s 27 pages are the title page; quote page (signed by the Giugiaros); essay (written by the photographer); 20 5" x 7 1/2’ images; Afterword written and signed by the photographer; and a colophon that includes the variable imaging field that states what number the portfolio is number three in an edition of three
• 14" x 40" matted, numbered and signed panoramic print
• The portfolio set was made entirely by hand. All prints are individually handmade, archival processed and hand mounted
• Price is $5,000 SOLD!