1976 Fiat-Abarth 131 Rally: An Italian Rally Legend in Tuscany

Tuscany has all manner of public roads doing a laudable impressions of a tarmac rally stage, and if you’re going to drive an Italian homologation special around for a day you’d struggle to find a better area to get lost in on purpose. The Fiat-Abarth 131 Rally had some big shoes to fill when the Fiat Group hung its WRC hopes over its widened fiberglass shoulders. Unlike the Stratos which had brought Lancia a trio of constructors’ titles in the mid 1970s, it was decided that the Group’s rallying involvement would be more directly related to its mass-produced road cars; in this case the humble Fiat 131. To get the entry-level car up to the task at hand in the WRC, Fiat got Abarth involved with the preparation for rallying, and had Bertone take care of the restyling and construction of the lightweight bodywork for the 400-car homologation production. The transformation was enough to bring Fiat three WRC contractors’ titles (1977, 1978, and 1980), and drivers’ titles for Markku Alén and Walter Röhrl (in 1978 and 1980, respectively). The road-going version of the factory rally cars was impressive in its own right, with its dramatic styling backed up by the four-corner independent suspension and the Abarth-tuned twin-cam inline-four. In Stradale trim the motor made just shy of 140hp out of its two naturally aspirated liters. Fed by a single Weber carb but packing four valves per cylinder in its aluminum head, the engine isn’t what you’d call powerful outright, but it’s an impressive example of highly strung natural aspiration for a 1970s road car. Though there are some things that could make this 131 even sweeter to steer down these roads—like a limited-slip—it’s impossible not to find some enjoyment from this fascinating familiar yet wild relic from the formative years of world rallying. More films, articles, and photos: https://www.petrolicious.com

AMG GT Black Series faster than Porsche GT2 RS MR & Ferrari Pista | HOT LAP Hockenheim-GP sport auto

Top 10 Hockenheimring 1. McLaren Senna 1.40,8 min 2. Mercedes-AMG GT Black Series 1.43,3 min 3. Manthey-Porsche 911 GT2 RS MR 1.43,5 min 4. McLaren 720S 1.45,5 min 5. Ferrari 488 Pista 1.45,9 min 6. a-workx-Porsche 911 GT3 RS 1.46,0 min 7. Lamborghini Aventador SVJ 1.47,3 min 8. Porsche 911 Turbo S 1.47,8 min 9. Mercedes-AMG GT R Pro 1.48,0 min 10. Mercedes-AMG GT R 1.48,5 min

Lamborghini Miura S — Derek Tam-Scott

The Lamborghini Miura is often described as the world’s first supercar, but it was actually something of an accident. Rather than being ordered by Ferruccio Lamborghini, the Miura was the result of his talented and young engineers riffing on what they themselves wanted to make. They brought their ideas to Ferruccio, who told them to go ahead and develop the concept. When it was shown publicly, everyone absolutely lost it over the car. Because of this reaction, what was intended to be an exploratory concept became a production car, one which created an entirely new genre of car, forever altering the course of the sports car.

2004 Maserati MC12: The Racing Supercar

If you’d ever wondered what a Ferrari Enzo built for GT racing might look like, look no further than the Maserati MC12. Developed off of the Enzo’s chassis and V12 power plant, the road-going MC12 was built in very limited numbers (there were just two batches of 25 cars), and it was primarily built to return the Maserati marque to the international motorsport stage. After sorting out some regulatory issues with its homologation and dimensions, the racing variant of the MC12 performed more than admirably in the mid to late 2000s, racking up a number of constructor, team, and driver championship titles in GT racing series around Europe, mostly in the FIA GT series. The homologation special road car, while sharing a chassis and engine with the Enzo, had its output slightly detuned to ensure the Enzo remained the premiere Italian supercar offering, but the improved aerodynamics of the MC12 made the Maserati a bit quicker around circuits such as the Nordschleife. To find out just how good the road car really is, our host Sam Hancock took an MC12 out to the Vairano Handling Course in Vairano, Italy, to put it through its paces—with the mode selector set to “race,” naturally. More films, articles, and photos: https://www.petrolicious.com

Aston Martin Callum Vanquish 25

Moto Technique - The EVO Program

To celebrate our 40th Anniversary we are launching our EVO Program. For nearly 35 years we restored all our customer cars virtually nut and bolt perfect to period correct specification. Most modern cars are now too big, too powerful and too clinical. Some say, too sterile. Clients are now approaching us and telling us how much they love classics like the Dino 246 and Ferrari 308, but these cars are getting on for 40 and 50 years old. They want to drive them, but they also want modern standards of power, handling and reliability, whilst retaining the charm and character of the original. At Moto Technique we have probably restored, repaired or upgraded more Dino’s and Ferrari 308’s than anyone else in the UK. We really do know these cars inside out and back to front. That’s why we know all the areas where we can improve these wonderful machines and adapt them with more modern upgrades that just were not available at the time of manufacture or not viable for a production car due to cost effectivness. Our EVO Program is bespoke and based on a menu system of different specifications and finishes. This program really is limited only by a customer’s imaginations.