Most references politely say that Fanalone means “large lights,” but Italian friends have told me that it’s actually slang for “big breasts” During the 1960s, the wonderfully nimble, front-wheel-drive Lancia Fulvia reigned consistently among the highest echelon of international rally contenders. Campaigned by the Lancia factory team in 1966, they […]

The expense of restoring these cars can be surprisingly high even if you get the local basket-weaving class to refurbish your seats for free {vsig}2005-9_1873{/vsig} Few cars that Fiat produced had the “cuteness” of the Jolly. With coachwork by Ghia, the Fiat Jolly 500 was introduced in 1957, and had […]

No regular OSCA MT4 had made anything like this at auction recently-and probably not even at the peak of the sports car madness in 1989 {vsig}2005-7_1851{/vsig} Chassis 1153 is undoubtedly one of the most original surviving OSCAs in the world today. Only the patina of age would distinguish it from […]

Even if the Lamborghini V8s are stuck playing character actor roles to the V12 stars, the Jalpa stands as a better car than you might realize Introduced in 1981 with production starting in 1982, the Jalpa was one of three Lamborghini production models imported to the United States at the […]

Credit or blame it, this car inspired years of “folded paper” design {vsig}2005-5_1838{/vsig} The Maserati Boomerang was first displayed as a non-functional model at the Turin Motor Show in 1971. By the Geneva Salon of March 1972, it had been transformed into a fully operational vehicle, fitted with the race-bred, […]

Integrales of any sort are incredible performance machines, massively capable in almost all conditions, sort of the Subaru WRX of their day {vsig}2005-4_1832{/vsig} This Lancia Hyena was purchased new by the present owner from Walkers Garage, official Lancia factory-appointed Integrale specialists for the U.K., who sourced the car from Zagato. […]

Is a Fiat Dino a Ferrari? This question is sure to heat up the conversation the next time you’re kicking tires at an auction {vsig}2005-3_1825{/vsig} In the present ownership for the past seven years, this Fiat Dino Spider benefits from partial restoration at the hands of recognized specialists Garage Auto […]

The DMC-12’s greatest and most enduring claim to fame was its starring role opposite Michael J. Fox in Robert Zemeckis’ “Back to the Future”, the box office hit of 1985 {vsig}2005-2_1818{/vsig} As described by the seller, who just happened to be me, on eBay Motors: Never before offered for public […]

These lightweight, small-displacement sports cars provide a true pre-war motoring experience at a fraction of the cost of their more expensive French cousin from Molsheim {vsig}2005-1_1807{/vsig} Of all the small sports-racing cars that proliferated in France after World War One, the Amilcar was the most famous and most successful. Built […]

The little jewels from Bologna won everywhere-from the small regional Italian events to major international venues like the Mille Miglia, Targa Florio, Le Mans and Sebring {vsig}2004-12_1538{/vsig} A tiny bantam of a racing car, the OSCA Mt4 was ahead of its time, winning overall at Sebring in 1954 with Stirling […]