Etceterini

“La bella figura” means presenting the best face to the world. Mussolini wore tailored uniforms and was equally attentive to his cars {vsig}2008-6_2184{/vsig} By the early 1930s, Alfa Romeo was accumulating silverware and losing money in seemingly equal measure. It was rescued by the state-backed I.R.I. (Institute for Industrial Reconstruction). To attract new customers while…

There are quite a few Delahaye 135M chassis with this body, which makes the car seem like a guest at the Ascot Races wearing a rented tux {vsig}2008-5_2171{/vsig} Ettore Bugatti never recovered from the tragic death of his 29-year-old son Jean, shortly before WWII in 1939. Neither did his company. The war and its aftermath…

Values have been rising steadily for the least expensive coachbuilt Italian racing car with a decent history {vsig}2008-4_2158{/vsig} Abarth was an Italian tuning company founded in 1950 by engineer and designer Carlo Abarth. His 750 Zagato was designed to be equally at home on the track as on the street. The cars were built on…

Sbarro’s interpretation of the 1957 Ferrari 335S is in some ways prettier than the one Scaglietti built in the 1950s At the age of 17, Franco Sbarro, whose real name is Francesco Zefferino Sbarro, left his native Italy for Neuchâtel, Switzerland, in order to live his dream of being an auto mechanic. In 1957, he…

This Grifo may not seem expensive for long. Euro-Americans are the ultimate street rod, and already great performance can easily be improved {vsig}2008-2_2132{/vsig} Renzo Rivolta started building Isothermos refrigerators before World War II. Following the war, Rivolta recognized another Italian need, transportation, and named his new car company Iso Rivolta. Starting with scooters, he expanded…

The last SVs finally received separate lubrication for engine and gearbox, so the engine didn’t have to swallow metal shavings from missed shifts {vsig}2007-12_2103{/vsig} Factory records indicate that chassis 4882 was finished on November 29, 1971, as production number 627. The original paint color was Fly Yellow with a black leather interior. The car was…

With the body bare, the originality of the car could be confirmed, down to markings inside panels left by craftsmen who created it in 1931 {vsig}2007-11_2092{/vsig} Alfa Romeo and Zagato are two of the most charismatic names in Italian automotive history. Alfa Romeo built thousands of cars with bodies by other coachbuilders, and Zagato bodied…

That Club Bugatti France actually welcomes owners of the EB110 is testament to the members’ regard for Artioli’s effort Forty years after Ettore Bugatti’s death in 1947, the once legendary marque-one of the most renowned in automotive history-was acquired by ambitious Italian businessman Romano Artioli. His aim was nothing less than a resurrection of Bugatti…

The ultra-glamorous French coupe became the car of choice for owners including Picasso, Tony Curtis, Ava Gardner, and Stirling Moss   Almost all automobile marques carry the name of their creator. But that’s not the case of FACEL (Forges et Ateliers de Construction d’Eure-et-Loir), the company founded in 1939 by Jean Daninos, which became Facel-Métalion…

Formerly part of the Barris Star Car Collection in Hollywood, California, this Chevrolet G20 van is believed to have been supplied unregistered directly to Universal Studios during the last year of production of “The A-Team” television show. An all-action adventure series first screened during the 1980s, the “A-Team” starred George Peppard as Colonel John “Hannibal”…