Monthly Archives: February 2021

Fiat

2017 Fiat 500e eSport

Believe it or not, we have been working in the EV industry since getting out of the gasoline powertrain world in 2018. We prefer a nuanced approach to EV adoption, where increasing the number of electric vehicles on the road sees more thought than simply converting the current fleet over to electric. The current trend seems to be to create electric vehicles that can meet the driving range of typical gasoline-powered automobiles, and it just leads to massive curb weights and underutilized batteries.

To us, a good application of electrified powertrains is in commuter cars for people with commutes under 30 miles or so. Stuff like eGolfs and the 500e. For many people, it's pretty feasible to do those 60 miles per day and then charge the vehicle using AC power in the garage once home for the day. Small packs like the 24kWh pack in the 500e don't take long to charge, eliminating the necessity of DC charging, which takes a toll on battery longevity. We would expect a 500e to charge in around 8-9 hours on a 120V outlet, meaning you could plug it in at work to get your full range back, or you could just plug in once home for the evening. Sure, it would charge at 6.6kW (30amp 240V service) if you installed a level 2 charger at your house, making for a 3-4 hour charge, but we wouldn't even bother for a pack this small.

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Ferrari

1994 Ferrari 512 TR

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We're too young to have had a Ferrari Testarossa poster on our childhood bedroom wall. Instead, we had a New Beetle, 996 911, and a Plymouth Prowler, all purchased from the book fair at school. Still, the Testarossa made quite an impression on us at an early age as we paged through our pocket guide of new cars from the 1980s.

We recently watched a video from Jason Cammisa that explained the mid-engine V12 Ferrari GTs, from the 365 GT/4 BB to the F512 M. The premise of his video is that the Testarossa was taken out of context due to its styling. It projected an imagine of a world-beater, a reputation it did not live up to, but in reality it was a competent V12 GT. In developing the 512 TR, the flat 12 was lowered an inch from its position in the Testarossa, and the result was a much better car to drive. Due to the better driving characteristics and their rarity in comparison to the relatively common Testarossa, the 512 TR is worth 2-3 times as much as its predecessor.

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Lamborghini

2006 Lamborghini Gallardo

The Gallardo really exemplifies the supercars of the 2000s - an era where livability began to see the same attention as performance. At the time, the method of make a comfortable Lamborghini was to adapt an Audi stereo, switches, and HVAC system and go heavy with leather interior surfaces. Since then, the scale has tilted in favor of performance, and the interiors reflect that. On today's supercar, such as the Gallardo's Huracán successor, you'll find a lot less leather and carpeting and a lot more exposed Alcantara and carbon fiber.

Recently, McLaren has introduced their GT model, which is aimed at the 911 or perhaps the Mercedes-AMG GT series buyer. The idea behind the GT was to increase interior comfort while changing the performance characteristics to better suit those who travel in their McLaren more than they drive it on the track. We can't help but to think that a Gallardo, with its 513bhp V10, AWD, gated manual shifter, and handsome interior by Audi, might have been a decade and a half ahead of McLaren with this format.

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Lancia

1974 Lancia 2000 Berlina

We're going to overlook the most half-hearted ad that we've come across in a while to feature this Lancia 2000 Berlina because these are cool, rare, and deserve to stay on the road. Seriously though, we can't imagine listing a vehicle for sale and offering to ship to another country with a description so sparse and flip phone photos.

These cars were interesting in that they offered Bosch D-type electronic fuel-injection as an option that was coupled with the optional 5-speed transmission. Selecting the fuel-injection option got you 123bhp, which was competitive for a 2.0L engine in this era. Mechanically, the layout was a continuation of the Flavia layout, utilizing a boxer engine with front-wheel drive.

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Fiat, Pininfarina, Reader Classifieds

SOLD: 1981 Fiat Spider Turbo

Reader Classified

Reminder: please send your cars in when you list them and we will feature them here on the site!

As the seller notes, this Fiat Spider Turbo is one of about 700 produced for the US market. With about 120bhp, the turbo matches the output of the European market model. We think the turbo adds some character and unique appeal to the Spider model. There is something about an early 80s turbocharged sports car that is tough to resist.

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Bertone

1972 Fiat 850 Spider

As automakers converge on the best solutions to powertrain packaging, some of the romanticism of automotive design and engineering is lost. To meet emissions requirements, automakers ship out so much of the same: downsized and turbocharged mills with high pressure direct injection and 48V mild hybrid setups.

In the 1960s, when the 850 series was designed, there was no known optimal powertrain packaging solution. Take a look under the rear decklid of the 850 Spider; a longitudinal 4-cylinder sits vertically behind the rear axles. Next to it is the radiator, whose fan is driven by a belt that also powers the remote water pump. Long header runners make their way to a muffler that is suspended from the engine block itself - no need for body mounting.

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Alfa Romeo

1979 Alfa Romeo Sport Sedan

When we moved from the BMW e30 world to the world of Alfa Romeo Milanos, we thought that finding a Milano Verde would be impossible. It turns out that Verdes come up for sale pretty often, so it's not necessary to snatch up the first one that comes up for sale. Alfetta sedans, or Sport Sedans, are much more rare in the US. The condition of those cars that do come up for sale varies widely. So today, we are happy to feature a very nice low-mileage Sport Sedan.

Technically the Sport Sedan was the predecessor to the Alfa 90; the Milano was preceded but the Nuova Giulietta, a sedan based on the Alfetta chassis, but featuring a shorter height and length than the Sport Sedan. In the US, we didn't get the full model range offered to the rest of the world, so our succession of sedans went Sport Sedan, then Milano, then 164.

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Ferrari, Pininfarina

1995 Ferrari 456 GT

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We sort of set ourselves up for this one. Last week, while writing up another manual Ferrari 456 GT, this is what we had to say about maintenance on modified Ferraris:

At this juncture, the featured 1995 Ferrari 456 GT could end up with an enthusiastic new owner, who might tint the taillights, lower the suspension on 19" wheels, cut out the mufflers, and add Ferrari shields to the front fenders. That owner might not put aside the cash necessary for routine maintenance - we've seen listings where this has been the case. 


Which brings us today's feature. It's not a high-mileage example, but the owner has modified it almost exactly as we described last week! From the 19" wheels to the (replaced) exhaust to the (partially) tinted taillights to the fender shields, it's what we had in mind. So, was our assumption that a modified Ferrari would have deferred maintenance true? Not even close! While this car might have had some new issues crop up since its PPI in fall of 2019, we would imagine that most issues were corrected by the seller. The car has 400 miles on its most recent belt service - a far cry from the neglect that would have validated our claim from last week.

This doesn't mean that there aren't some neglected examples of modified Ferraris out there, but we'll refrain from generalizing in the future. We ourselves are in no place to pass judgement. After all, our Milano Verde - our favorite car - is lowered on 16" wheels, and has an exhaust, a couple of silly decals, and even has a vanity plate with an Italian word on it, which we are pretty sure gets us made fun of on YouTube by the Italian commenters. We'd say that our Verde is far from neglected. Live and let live.

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