Italian Classic Performance Cars Archives

Lancia Delta HF Integrale

It would be difficult to overstate the impact made by the Lancia Delta HF Integrale. It swept aside all comers – on the road and in competition. In the year and a half following its ’87 launch, the Delta Integrale won 14 World Championship rallies. Miki Biasion made the most of its dominance. He garnered two world drivers’ titles in the car.

The Integrale’s 8-valve engine made 185bhp. In ’89, it was replaced by a 16-valve head. Power increased to 200bhp. The new model totted up 13 top-echelon rally wins. Juha Kankunnen duly took the ’91 drivers’ title. Over time, the fruits of such success trickled down to the showrooms. The road-going Integrale’s finely-tuned 4-wheel-drive set-up gave good handling – in all conditions. Combine that with a 2-litre turbocharged motor – and you had a perfect blend of speed and precision. As a hatchback, practicality was a given. But, there were luxuries, too. Like Recaro seats, electric front windows and a cutting edge instrument panel.

Wide wheels and fat tyres helped give the Integrale a look of purposeful muscularity. Giorgetto Giugiaro – at the Italdesign agency – did the styling honours. The bodywork was minimalist, not boxy! The original Delta – built for rally homologation reasons – was first glimpsed at ’79’s Frankfurt Motor Show. It was followed by a Delta dynasty of progessively more sophisticated models. Lancia’s HF acronym stood for High Fidelity. It was applied to several of the marque’s cars over the years. Never more fittingly, though, than to the Delta Integrale!

Lamborghini 350 GT

The 350 GT was Lamborghini’s first production car. It was launched in March, ’64. Touring – Italian coachbuilders extraordinaire – were tasked with styling it. Headquartered in Milan, Touring’s brief was based on the Lamborghini 350 GTV prototype. Bodywork comprised alloy panels. They were hung on a Superleggera steel frame. The 350 GT’s light body was key to its top speed of 152mph. The solid round-tube chassis was supported by coil spring and tubular wishbone suspension. Girling disc brakes stopped the plot.

Gian Paulo Dallara – alongside Giotto Bizzarini – engineered the GT. Power was supplied by the trusty Lamborghini V12. The crankshaft of the quad-cam 60° motor was machined from a single billet. 280bhp was duly produced. The V12 was fed by side-draught carburettors. That, in turn, led to a rakishly low bonnet line. Capacity was 3,464cc. The 5-speed transmission – and steering box – were by ZF. The rear diff was by Salisbury. Fast, smooth and tractable, the 350 GT handled superbly. So – with both the form and function of their first model sorted – it seemed Lamborghini was off to a flyer!

The 350 GT was eminently user-friendly. There was, for example, a synchro-mesh reverse gear. The cabin was a chic and comfortable place to be. Just 143 cars were built. Exclusivity, then, was part of the package. Of course – in terms of sheer glamour – the 350 GT falls short of Lamborghini’s supercars. But – as an opening sports car shot – it had all the allure and panache that would become so synonymous with the marque.

Ferrari F50

How to top the Ferrari F40? Well, with the Ferrari F50, of course! While the former was focused solely on speed, the new car offered more by way of creature comfort. Even so, the F50 was far from luxurious – given that it was a supercar, retailing at £330,000. There were leather seats, though, for starters – of course, cast from carbon-fibre. And, the front suspension spring/damper set-up was transverse – allowing extra leg-room. The F50’s ride was smooth, considering its performance stats. They were upped by a ‘firm’ computerised damping system. A V12 engine – and 6-speed gearbox – gave up tractable power. Precise steering was provided by titanium uprights, magnesium wheels and all-metal ball joints.

So, with a top speed of 202mph – and lightning-quick reflexes – the F50 was, effectively, a road/race hybrid. Its 5-litre motor made 521bhp. The 5-valves-per-cylinder V12 had its roots in F1 – in 1990’s Ferrari 641/2. Saying that, peak revs for the road car were 8,500rpm. Rather less than the 14,000 for the GP car! Still – with chain-drive spinning its quad overhead camshafts – the sound from the roadster was still pretty ear-splitting! By contrast, the F1 car’s engine used gears.

The Ferrari F50, then, was technically awesome. Naturally, it needed styling to match. Up to the plate stepped Pininfarina. The esteemed Italian design house unveiled a feast of tastefully-placed lines. Ducting was particularly delicious. Cowled projector headlights lit up the front-end. Inside, the LCD instrument panel was straight out of F1. A ‘black box’ flight recorder was also included! Track days inevitably beckoned – brakes and suspension both being race-derived. 349 Ferrari F50s were built. All they needed was a road with enough scope!

Ferrari F40

The F40’s name referenced forty years of the Ferrari marque. It was boss Enzo Ferrari’s brainchild … but, even he had to get board approval! Once given, the project was passed to Pininfarina. The doyen of Italian design agencies had a longstanding relationship with Ferrari. Just a year passed for the F40 to go from concept to production. It helped that it was based on the Ferrari 288 GTO. Theoretically, then, the F40 was a roadster. Practically, though, it required little modification to go racing. In large part, that was down to its weight – or lack of it. For a car that cost $275,000, there was a notable lack of luxury. Indeed, the cabin verged on the spartan!

The F40’s low weight was down to its bodywork. Composite materials had been used to fashion it. They were 20% lighter than their metallic counterparts would have been. That – and minimal interior décor – meant the F40 weighed in at just 2,425lb. Add a 288 GTO V8 engine – and the result was explosive! The 3-litre twin-turbocharged set-up was fitted with sequential ignition and fuel injection. There were silver/cadmium con-rod bushes and nicasil-coated liners. Grand total – 478bhp. ‘Competition mode’ threw in a further 200bhp, if needed.

The F40 topped out at 201mph. 0-60 arrived in 3.9s. On its ’87 launch, it was the fastest road-going Ferrari yet. It stayed in production until ’92. Even the standard version featured a raft of competition parts. It had Group C brakes, 3-piece wheels and removable rear bodywork. Oh, and soft fuel cells. The racing pedigree of the Ferrari F40 was clear to see!

Iso Grifo

The Iso Grifo was exclusive. In ten years, a mere 504 were built. Styled by Bertone, the Grifo was rooted in the Rivolta GT. Giotto Bizzarrini – ex-Ferrari engineer – shortened the latter’s chassis. That added agility to the base model. It was then passed on to Bertone. With that sort of pedigree, Iso were ready to take on Ferrari!

Time, then, to add some speed to the mix. Enter the Chevrolet Corvette. Well, its engine, anyway. The American V8 imparted some serious grunt to the Grifo. It probably did not please European purists. But, for drivers content with beautiful bodywork – plus muscle car oomph – things were bubbling up nicely. The top-spec Grifo came with the 7-litre version of the Chevy V8. That made it good for 170mph. It hit 70 in first gear alone. 390bhp was duly unleashed. Bizzarrini’s reduced wheelbase helped transmit power to tarmac. Wisely, Iso had fitted a full set of disc brakes!

As it turned out, the Grifo did indeed go toe to toe with Ferrari – in the form of the Daytona. The Maserati Ghibli, too, was given a real run for its money. For a small outfit like Iso, that was some achievement. Sadly, financial woes would plague it, in years to come. The fuel crisis – in ’74 – finally sealed the firm’s fate. By then, though, the Iso Grifo had already established itself as a thoroughbred Italian sports car!

Ferrari 275 GTB

The Ferrari 275 GTB was not just beautiful to behold. It hit the technological sweet spot, too. Superlative suspension, for example, was brought to the Ferrari party – in a way not previously seen or felt. The result was a car which looked like $1m – and had handling to match. And, for once, the Ferrari engine – an alloy 60° V12 – was not the centre of attention. It was trumped by the transmission. For optimal weight distribution – and top traction – motor and gearbox were separate entities. The two were joined at the hip, on early models – by a slender prop shaft. Later, a stiffer torque tube did the job. Double-wishbone rear shock absorption had now been added to the mix. The 275 GTB was thus uniquely positioned to make the most of its 280bhp output. That came courtesy of a single-overhead-cam engine. 150mph was on tap.

Technical excellence was topped only by styling. Pininfarina did the design work. The steel body was coachbuilt by Scaglietti. They were based but a stone’s throw from Ferrari HQ. That was in Modena – a town with near-mythical status among the marque’s fans. Scaglietti fitted a multi-tubular frame – in familiar Ferrari fashion. The Borrani wire wheels sported a set of ‘knock off’ spinner centre hubs. A sporty 2-seater coupé, the GTB’s exterior was pure Berlinetta. The interior did not disappoint, either. Its finely-crafted focal point was the wooden Nardi steering-wheel.

Launched in ’64, there would be several versions of the GTB. ’65’s Series Two sported a longer nose and smaller air-intake. For ’66, the quad-cam GTB/4 came with six carburettors – as well as dry-sump lubrication. The wind-in-your-hair model – the GTS – was aimed squarely at America. Just 200 GTBs were made. The GTB marked the point at which Ferrari began transcending mere beauty – to deliver on every level. Of course, the perfect Sixties roadster does not exist. The Ferrari 275 GTB, though, probably came as close as any!

Maserati Ghibli AM115

The Maserati Ghibli AM115 was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro. At the time, he was on the Ghia payroll. The maestro considered the Ghibli among his finest designs. It is not hard to see why!

Flat out, the Ghibli delivered 165mph. Even at that speed, suspension and handling were solid. And not withstanding its steel bodywork – meaning the Ghibli was no lightweight. Equally impressive were its four potent disc brakes.

Highest-spec Ghibli was the V8-engined SS. As you would expect, its torque curve was out of the top drawer. And from way down low in the rev range, too. A ZF 5-speed gearbox did its best to stay with it. Suffice to say, acceleration was not an issue! Capacity was 4,930cc. Power maxed at 335bhp. Just 1,149 Ghiblis were built. In ’67, the AM115 was a 2-seater supercar. Maserati were on a charge. Ferrari and Lamborghini – take note!

Italdesign Aztec

The Italdesign Aztec came with dual cockpits. A 2-seater, driver and passenger were ensconced in separate ‘compartments’. It was a concept car, after all! The Aztec was made to commemorate Italdesign’s twentieth anniversary. Its designers never envisaged it on the open road. A group of maverick Japanese businessmen, however, had other ideas!

Giorgetto Giugiaro was chief stylist for the Aztec. As a rule, his work was far from flamboyant. Indeed, he had penned many a family runabout. Who knows – maybe it was just time for him to let his creative hair down. At any rate, Giugiaro was immensely proud of the Aztec. And – certainly, from a visual point of view – it was nothing, if not striking. Slick and sophisticated – and with a silvery sheen – showgoers’ eyes were riveted. The Aztec’s rear end was seriously high-tech. Wrapped around the wheel arches were ‘service centre’ panels. They housed a raft of gizmos and gadgets. There were coded door locks, built-in hydraulic jack controls and engine fluid monitors – just for starters. Somewhat more down-to-earth features included a torch and fire extinguisher. Not forgetting a petrol cap! The Aztec’s interior was equally cutting edge. Communication between the two cockpits, for example, was via electronic headsets!

The Aztec’s engine was a 5-cylinder Audi unit – turbo-charged and transversely mounted. Transmission was Quattro 4-wheel drive. A dual-canopy body allowed easy access to the bay. The Aztec was unveiled in ’88 – at the Turin Motor Show. Among the enraptured onlookers were the aforementioned suits. They were sure there might be a market for the car back in Japan. With the rights to the Aztec safely in their pockets, they set about putting it into production. 50 replicas of the prototype were due to be built – though less than half that number would roll off the line. The bodies were made in Italy. They were then shipped to Germany. There, they were entrusted to engine tuners Mayer MTM – who installed the Audi powerplants. Finally, they arrived in Japan. When transportation costs had been factored in, the Aztec retailed at the yen equivalent of $225,000. That was a lot of money. Each car, though, came with an added extra. Giorgetto Giugiaro signed every Italdesign Aztec personally. He was indeed proud of his outré creation!

Maserati Khamsin

The Maserati Khamsin was the latest in a line of things automotive to reference the weather. Le Mans has a straight named after the Mistral – a cold wind, blowing through southern France. In similar vein, Ford’s Zephyr namechecked the classical breeze, which has meandered through many a piece of poetry over the years. Another car, too, played upon the ethereal theme. The Khamsin was a scorching gust of air, which seared through Egypt each summer. Maserati brought in Marcello Gandini – of design house Bertone – to draft the Khamsin’s super-sharp shape. Its fluid bodywork lines were fabricated from steel. Spanning the back was a glass panel – inside which, tail-lights sat in suspended animation.

The Khamsin was a technological tour de force. Its four-cam V8 engine abutted the bulkhead. Front-engined though it was – with a full tank of gas, weight distribution was 50/50. The motor was an all-alloy marvel. Its 320bhp gave a top speed of 153mph. Torque output was 354lb/ft – at 4,000rpm. The V8’s powerband surged from 800-5,500rpm.

When the Khamsin entered production – in ’74 – Citroën were still a part of Maserati. A year later – and they were gone. The Khamsin, though, felt the full hydraulic force of the French giant. The steering, brakes and clutch – plus, pop-up headlights and driver’s seat adjustment – were all Citroën-controlled. Rear suspension was double-wishbone. Only the Khamsin’s dashboard let the design side down a tad. Its haphazard array of dials and switches clashed with the simple elegance of the exterior. Unveiled at the ’72 Paris Show, the new Maserati was as stylish as you like. Yet, it was also practical. The huge torque reserves of its V8 powerplant further boosted its already abundant carrying capabilities. And, on top of all of that – as its name suggested – the Maserati Khamsin went like the wind!

Pagani Zonda

As a boy, Horacio Pagani made supercars out of wood and clay. In adulthood, his designs would be fashioned from the most exotic of materials. They included carbon-titanium and carbon-fibre. An early spell at Lamborghini did his career no harm at all. Pagani worked for them as a junior mechanic. While there, he helped develop the Countach Evoluzione – the first car to be built around a carbon-fibre chassis.

In ’88, Pagani set up his own company. But the ties with Lamborghini were still strong. Pagani’s new firm did some development work for them – on composites for the Diablo and Countach Anniversary models. Increasingly, though, Pagani’s thoughts turned to a product of his own. In ’94, he and his team began work on a proprietary supercar. They duly sourced a V12 engine – from Mercedes-Benz. It was not until ’99, however, that the prototype was unveiled – at the Geneva Motor Show. Pagani had intended it be called the Fangio F1 – after one of the finest GP drivers ever to hold a wheel. Sadly, though – by the time it was finished – Fangio had died. Pagani then opted to call it the Zonda – after a wind which blows through the Andes mountains.

The Zonda C12 was suitably cutting edge. Mercedes’ V12 motor was placed behind the cockpit – driving the rear wheels. After being tuned by AMG, it delivered 542bhp. Top speed was 220mph. 0-60 arrived in 3.7s. Key to those speed stats was the carbon-fibre bodywork. Ultra-aerodynamic lines likewise played a part. C12s retailed at $320,000. Pagani turned out just ten or so a year. There have been several additions to the Zonda range since. Each has refined and improved upon the original. The boyhood toys Pagani made have long since turned to tinder and dust. His more mature creations, however, are still dazzling onlookers the world over!