The Lamborghini WRC Stage One

Une Lamborghini rallye ? Mike Wavrecan et Steven Davies ont donc utilisé cette Lamborghini Gallardo sur un terrain qui ne lui est pas du tout commun, un chemin dans la foret.

Driving the new Carrozzeria Touring Disco Volante

At the Geneva Motor Show, Carrozzeria Touring will resurrect the legendary Disco Volante – and the famous coachbuilder exclusively allowed Classic Driver to commandeer the ‘UFO from Arese’ a week before its maiden flight.

Nothing against the industrial area of Arese, but how can such dreary surroundings produce something so elegant? It’s a 60-year-old question, as the first Disco Volante – the Alfa C52 of the early '50s – managed to spread glamour by floating between the same kind of anonymous post-War buildings. Touring stylist Federico Formenti had given the extra-terrestrial Alfa such an extraordinary form that, even six decades on, it still looks futuristic. At the 2012 Geneva Show, Carrozzeria Touring celebrated this by presenting a modern interpretation, and the skillful execution of shapes, lines and proportions was so well received that confirmation of a limited production run was inevitable. Fast forward 12 months to this year’s event, and the first production car is poised to wow the crowds yet again. Classic Driver has been following the creative development of the Alfa 8C-based car since September 2012, and has been exclusively allowed to pilot the machine on northern Italian highways just days before its worldwide debut.


Entering the industrial spaces of Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera would send any human with a millilitre of petrol in their veins into a dream-like state. Strewn across the factory floor are numerous prototypes from more than half a century of automotive history, all waiting to awake from deep slumber. Men in powder-blue overalls scurry between such classics as Alfa Romeo 6Cs and Aston Martin DB2s, readying them for the upcoming concours season. Among them hang the hand-sculpted body panels of the modern supercar, patiently waiting to receive their coats of paint. And what a treat they’re in for; just feet away, a pair of finished cars sit proud of the creative chaos, resplendent; as though bathed in molten lipstick. One is the wood-and-clay mockup that was the 2012 Geneva car; the other is the first production car – the key to the latter sits in my (slightly moist) palm, and right now it feels like the key to the city.


I’m caught gazing at the voluptuous bodies of the otherworldly beings by Head of Design Louis de Fabribeckers, who saves me from further locker-room thoughts. “From above they look like Coke bottles, don’t they?” he asks. “Sure…” is my sheepish reply. But I won’t be the last to compare the Disco to the feminine form in the coming weeks. It’s astonishing how faithful Touring has remained to last year’s curvaceous concept, retaining the distinctive hips, sweeping tail and characterful aluminium strip which extends from the familiar Alfa grille to the door handles, all of which contribute to making the Neo Disco such a unique phenomenon. Only small details – the most obvious being the adoption of Ferrari 599 headlights – have been altered in respect of feasibility and safety approval. The Alfa 8C donor car provides the V8 and associated running gear, but Touring is responsible for hand-crafting the aluminium and carbonfibre body, along with the newly-panoramic roof and interior flourishes such as the red and blue ambient lighting. That elegant tail also offers improved boot space, too.


It’s not just there to look pretty, though; attack mode is brought on by firing up the 4.7-litre V8, which offers the sort of rich, gruff sound only the Italians seem able to extract. Pedestrians track the car with open mouths, alerted by its bark then stunned into motionlessness by its appearance. Such attention just serves to put more pressure on the pilot, as if the car’s uniqueness and importance in Geneva weren’t enough. Even a single stone chip would be disastrous, so the car’s true abilities are only tested on the quietest, smoothest Tarmac in the surrounding area. Nerves are soothed slightly by the ride quality - which has been improved during its transformation from 8C to DV in order to match the coachbuilt car’s sophisticated character.


Its designers, coachbuilders, engineers, painters and interior trimmers have ploughed around 4,000 man-hours into perfecting the Disco Volante. The result speaks not only for the quality of a team that capably bridges the spectrum between high technology and skilled manual labour, but also embodies Carrozzeria Touring’s idea of a modern bespoke masterpiece. While many manufacturers produce design studies which are never intended to touch Tarmac, Touring has taken inspiration from its legacy and created a special series for small-scale manufacture. The Disco may wow on the showfloor at Geneva, but a fortunate few will also be able to order one for their own collection; Touring expects to produce four to six customer cars, with the show car being offered too. That’s one UFO encounter we’d be happy to recommend.

Related Links You can read the story of the first Disco Volante in 1952, and the recent development of the new version in our detailed dossier If you're interested in a new Disco Volante, contact www.touringsuperleggera.eu for more information; the price is available only on request Numerous classic and modern Alfa Romeos can be found in the Classic Driver Marketplace

Text & Photos: Jan Baedeker(ClassicDriver)

Ferrari Sergio by Pininfarina: Tribute to a legend

Pininfarina is using the Geneva Motor Show to showcase its ‘Sergio’ concept: a one-off barchetta, based on a Ferrari 458 and built to commemorate the achievements of its late chairman. 

The concept's aim is to “renew the spirit of the extraordinary achievements born from Sergio Pininfarina’s pencil,” achievements which encompass the likes of the Alfa Romeo Duetto, Bentley Azure and, of course, numerous Ferraris.

Pininfarina’s design team has taken the chassis and powertrain from a 458, and cloaked it in a unique, barchetta-style body with no roof or windscreen. Like theother Ferrari to debut at Geneva, a great deal of thought has gone into the aerodynamics; the deflector ahead of the cockpit creates a ‘virtual windscreen’ to protect passengers from buffeting, while the roll bar doubles as a spoiler to create more downforce. Additionally, the dashboard-mounted rear-view mirror is said to divert turbulence away from the occupants.



As arguably the world’s most famous design house, Pininfarina has ensured the car's styling puts form on a par with functionality. All ‘technical’ parts of the design (handles, fins and air intakes) have been confined to the dark areas of the car, leaving the two expansive red surfaces to retain clean, uninterrupted lines and elegant curvature. The latter is said to be inspired by the sports and racing cars of the 1960s; interestingly, the LaFerrari casts a nod to the sports prototypes of the same era – perhaps the two would make for the ideal fantasy pairing in your motor house.



That will have to remain a fantasy, however. While Ferrari plans to make 499 LaFerraris, there are no plans in place to begin small-series production of the Sergio concept. However, we’re sure that if you delivered a 458 to Turin with a blank cheque in the glovebox, the legendary coachbuilder could knock something similar up for you.

Related Links For information on all the important premieres at Geneva, take a look at our detailed dossier Hundreds of Ferraris, both modern and classic, can be found in the Classic Driver Marketplace

Text: Joe Breeze(ClassicDriver)
Photos: Pininfarina

WHY YOU SHOULD RESPECT THE SAAB 96

by Alan Franklin / 14 Mar 2013

The Saab 96 was essentially the 2nd revision of their first production car, the 92. Built from 1960 to 1980,  the 96 was Saab's first car exported in significant numbers, and it served to cement Saab's reputation  as a maker of safe, economic, fun-to-drive cars. School teachers, engineers and architects loved the 96  and found its practical, quirky nature very appealing. Like its predecessors, the 96 was equipped with a rorty, smoke-belching screamer of a two-stroke engine,  specifically an 840cc three cylinder, which was later superseded by a Ford-sourced, four-stroke V4.  Though fittingly unconventional, the Ford-sourced four was quite gruff and reluctant to rev— though it did retain Saab's traditional and super-cool freewheeling feature, originally fitted to their  two–stroke cars to ensure adequate lubrication during deceleration. The 96 racked up win after win in international rally racing, frequently with the legendary  Erik Carlsson behind the wheel. Carlsson piloted the little teardrop-shaped cars to first place victories  at the 1960, 1961 and 1962 RAC rallies, as well as the 1962 and 1963 Monte Carlo events.  Erik's 1962 RAC victory came in thanks to a rear suspension component which he surreptitiously  "borrowed" from a spectator's car after the same piece fitted to his race car was damaged— the owner was reportedly furious when he turned up to drive home and found his car immobile,  but the two later became good friends. We love the 96 for all its engineering madness, its idiosyncratic style, and most of all, its wailing,  off-beat, two-stroke, three-cylinder soundtrack. As you know, Saab was lost to history last year,  the fault of decades of inept and neglectful GM management, changing marketplace dynamics,  and the ever increasing sanitization of modern cars. We miss them like crazy. - - - Click here to save the Saab 96 cutaway image as a wallpaper. from petrolicious