Part 2 was all about finishing the body and its component parts. Now, it’s time to create the interior panelling and carefully paint the new car.
Yes, it looks almost like the finished car, but the unpainted ‘body in white’ still needs further checking for alignment. Plus, the panel gaps need to be carefully regulated for both distance and consistency. This is a hand-made car, after all, by one of the world’s great coachbuilders.
Miami might officially belong to the US, but it’s arguably the northernmost city in South America. Two-thirds of its residents speak Spanish, and the exuberant lifestyle is reminiscent of the cities of Brazil or Colombia. In the 1980s, the big arms and drug deals were forged under Miami’s palm trees – films and TV shows such as Scarface and Miami Vice have burned these dark themes from the past into our collective consciousness.
The Londoner is probably best known for what many consider to be the world’s first ever stressed monocoque racing car, the Lotus 25. The simplicity of the classic, cigar-shaped racing car is staggering and the principle (now in carbonfibre, rather than aluminium) is still used today.
Chapman’s mid-engined single-seaters (after fellow British garagiste John Cooper had led the way) transformed Grand Prix racing at the turn of the decade from the 50s to the 60s. Teams such as Rob Walker Racing and UDT Laystall could now buy ready-made racing cars and engines ‘off the shelf’.
In Part 1, we saw how an Alfa Romeo 8C is prepared for its new bodywork. Now, it’s time for the hand-beaten panels to be fitted to the carefully prepared chassis.
In 2012, the prototype stunned the crowds. This year, a handful of collectors will be able to order the gorgeous coupé.
Over the next few weeks, we will show you how craftsmen at the famous Milanese coachbuilder take an Alfa Romeo 8C coupé and clothe it in voluptuous bodywork penned by designer Louis de Fabribeckers. The new Disco Volante (‘Flying Saucer’) embraces the spirit of the famous Touring-designed, 1950s Alfa Romeo original.
It’s probably the least famous of the Lotus Bond cars, but the ‘Copper Fire’ Esprit Turbo not only survived filming without being blown up or driven into the sea; it also kept a smile on Roger Moore’s face between takes.
Every year, this rally season-opener attracts participants with promises of wild rides on snowy mountain roads and icy mountain passes but, when the rain comes, the conditions degenerate into a hydroplaning ballet. My mount is the BMW 2002ti rally car and it has far more relevant rallying experience than I do.
The Idea
I’ve always wanted to go to the ‘Nordkapp’, writes Frank Strothe. I’ve been before, in the summer, but there was no challenge in it. So for years I’ve pondered a winter expedition; driving in the snow is more fun, especially in a classic car that relies on your driving skill to keep it on the road, rather than a host of electronic safety measures. In Finnmark – Norway’s northernmost county – mothers use run-of-the-mill hatchbacks to take their children to school in -40deg temperatures.
Incidentally, looking back on another hectic year, with a host of state-of-the-art cars filed under ‘Driving Reports’, my vote for ‘Car of the Year’ would go to the Series I’s youngest relation, the all-new, fourth-generation Range Rover we drove in Morocco.