Project Scarabeo came about in the mid-1960s, when Alfa Romeo was developing a racing prototype with a view to returning to major competition, following its withdrawal in 1953. Thanks to an improved financial position resulting from the sales success of the Giulietta in its various forms, the company had the means to continue from where the development of the stillborn Tipo 160 Grand Prix prototype of 1954 had left off.
At an overcast Silverstone last weekend, the be-trilby’d guv’nor of the HRDC presented its 2012 programme. As ever, all HRDC-organised series are first and foremost fun. However seriously competitors might take this ‘amateur’ sport (and I have been there… and done it…) the ethos behind HRDC racing is good-value entertainment for spectators and competitors alike.
Combined with a significant weight reduction against the previous model, this gives the new Viper a power-to-weight ratio that positions it neatly between the Ferrari F12berlinetta and the Lamborghini Aventador.
That is impressive, considering it will cost around half the price of either. The colossal engine achieves this despite being naturally aspirated, its 600lb ft of twist making it the most torque-rich, non-turbocharged engine in the world.
Although its basic engineering principles were set out by Ferry Porsche, it was Ferdinand Alexander Porsche and the company’s head of bodywork Erwin Komenda who completed the styling of one of the world’s most famous cars, the 911. The new car was unveiled at the 1963 Frankfurt Show.
In those relatively early days of the company, it was a tradition that one member of the Porsche family was involved in the styling of new cars. ‘FA’ also penned the aerodynamic bodywork of the Porsche 904 glassfibre-bodied production racing car. He always claimed it was his favourite.
In its customary, superlative-laden press material on the new car, Mercedes promises “S-Class ride comfort with pioneering driving dynamics – on the road and off it.”
It’s clear, though, that the latest GL 7-seater is a limousine in all but name, with four-wheel-drive capability for North American winters.
Expect to see a fleet of all-black GLs at music awards ceremonies worldwide, then.
Commenting on the new Jaguar, the company’s Global Brand Director, Adrian Hallmark, said: “That car will be called the F-type, and it will be unveiled in production form later this year.
We owe our thanks for this fantastic sports machine to Giotto Bizzarrini. Born in 1926 in the province of Livorno, Italy, Bizzarrini was a gifted all-rounder – some would say even a genius. He worked for Alfa, for Iso, for Lamborghini and for Ferrari. His portfolio includes perhaps the most famous (and valuable) Ferrari sports car ever: the 250 GTO.
The Evantra is the most recent project to emerge from the workshop of F&M by Mazzanti Automobili, an Italian company whose name is understandably shortened to simply ‘F&M’.
It seems to have got off to a better start than some similar custom-built supercars, by having a design which is not only aggressive, but relatively cohesive as well.
Of particular note are the rear-hinged doors which, when opened, give the car a menacing poise not dissimilar to a predator mid-pounce.
The new car may bear more than a familial resemblance to its older brother, but in fact it’s quite a bit smaller – think Audi A5 dimensions.
And it’ll be in a similar price range, too; at a special VIP preview event the night before the New York Auto Show, executive chairman Henrik Fisker suggested pricing would be at "the upper end of the BMW 3 Series”. So around £35,000, then.
The self-sufficient cabin in the woods is not the only solution. A sustainable lifestyle starts with the little things: buying locally grown vegetables, for example. In a similar vein, most of us have now realised that the ideal of zero-emission mobility is far more complex than we first thought, not least because modern man doesn’t relish the discomforts of total abstinence. So the auto industry has developed a certain eco-pragmatism.