The front bar appears to float in the air just below the front row of keys. Overall it's a very simple shape - an extruded rounded rectangle sliced at an angle where the keyboard is. The bright orange caps of the ribbon reels perk up the actual mechanism, something which in other typewriters is typically hidden from view.
The body is made largely of shiny ABS plastic, while the case has a heavy matte texture, and some key structural pieces, such as the ends of the platen, are of painted metal. This example still has them intact, but given it's age, it's not a good idea to rely on them to carry it around! Unfortunately, over time these would often dry out, crack, and break off. It came with a slide-on case that ingeniously fastens to the back plate of the typewriter with rubber straps.
Shown here in its signature bright red it, it was also produced in white, egg yellow, blue and pea green. Designed by Italian Ettore Sottsass and Briton Perry King, and launched in 1969, this was probably the most famous of Olivetti's typewriters.
