Style-oriented Europeans have transformed a distinctly American invention into a work of relaxation art.

Sleek cars? Trendy handbags? Designer clothes? Nope. How about a whirlpool bath?

Bath and spa-maker Jacuzzi has teamed with Ferrari designer Pininfarina to create a whirlpool bath that is expected to make a splash among high end tubs once it reaches the U.S. market in March.

The new appliance, dubbed Morphosis, elevates the premium whirlpool experience beyond the notion of warm water swirling in a tub.

“This will be a statement piece in a bathroom,” says Betsy Sikes of Charlotte, N.C. Sikes has sold jetted spas and tubs for more than 20 years for Hughes Kitchen and Bath Supply and sees this as a “whirlpool tub people will focus on in their bath design, not the other way around.”

Today’s whirlpool and spa experience is intended to be intensely personal for harried, tapped-out users who see spas as an escape, if not outright therapy. Sikes uses terms such as “hydromassage” and “chromatherapy” to describe what her customers seek in upscale tubs.

Hydrotherapy in premium models such as the Morphosis involves multiple well-placed jets of water heated to a constant temperature to gently pummel aches and pains into submission. Chromatherapy derives from a centuries-old belief that colors hold properties to sooth the stressed. Each model of this high-tech tub uses multicolor fiber optic lights in the jets and LED lights in the arch to merge water and light into a soothing experience.

Jacuzzi president Kent Baker doesn’t separate the physical functions of Morphosis from the esthetics of the Pininfarina design. Both, he says, complement each other.

“How often would you take guests into the master bathroom to show them a tub?” asks Baker. “We see consumers getting emotional about the design, and that is part of the overall spa experience.”

Pininfarina is an Italian studio best known for its design of Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and Peugeot sport cars. “Jacuzzi knows how to move water, but Pininfarina was really the best choice for design when it comes to an upscale model like this,” Baker says.

The sleek acrylic design is featured in white with chrome fixtures. There are three models available in oval shapes or to fit in corners. Retail prices are expected to be in the $19,000 to $22,000 range.

Sikes says many customers “won’t bat an eye” at the cost because many will “see this as an investment piece” that will be recouped when they eventually sell their home. Style, she believes, “is more important than ever.”

For others, a functional spa experience is worth it at the end of the day.

“My customers want a sanctuary, a place where they go lock the door in the bathroom and just sit in the tub and relax,” Sikes says. “There is an emotional attachment.”