The rebirth of N.A.R.T. is a big undertaking, especially if you're going to create your own racer. Fortunately, big projects are Glick's forte. His post on FerrariChat below:

No Longer Red but a Flashing Green...
Things are starting to come together. It will take time but there is excitement and real interest.

Thanks to my Partners in this adventure!

This will be some trip and it has begun.

P 4/5 took on a life of her own.

May P 4/5 Competizione follow her example.

Actually, you don't see many Alfas on the island, period; our last one was this '65 Giulia SS, which we saw last winter. Before that, we had this 164 L- a '91, just like today's car. What are the odds?

Alfa Romeo stopped selling cars in North America in 1995, and it was pretty clear to car shoppers that they'd be folding their tents for quite a while before that year. That means the original purchaser of this car loved the idea of a sporty Italian sedan so much that he or she didn't give a damn that the car would soon be an orphan, repairable only by cranky non-factory-authorized mechanics using parts shipped from Europe at fabulous expense. We can totally respect that decision.

According to Glickenhaus in comments on the FerrariChat message board, the idea is to have it possibly race ready for 2010. Specifics, such as chassis/engine/gearbox, are "figured out" and will be announced soon. Although the above image, a rendering by Michiel Van Den Brink, based on the original, shows us what it may look like, Glickenhaus says it represents a "very rough" idea of what it'll look like when completed although "We're still working out the details and should have an image and specifications in a few weeks"

We're also waiting to hear what racing series it may be a part of, although in the spirit of the original N.A.R.T. they'll be looking at endurance racing and plan on hitting the 24 Hours Of Nürburgring.

"We're looking for one major sponsor. That race gets 250k spectators and a lot of TV. In addition we could do other races and when her racing days are over we'd keep her in that livery and she'd go to a lot of events. There'd be a lot exposure and it's not going to cost Crazy money," said Glickenhaus. It'll be interesting to see where Glickenhaus goes with this considering "Ferrari P 4/5 Competizione will not be sold." That'll limit the sponsorship opportunities. However, Glickenhaus claims he's willing to go it his own if necessary.

Glickenhaus also announced he won't be racing the vehicle stating "my driving in anger days are behind me. We have some interesting ideas for drivers."

All we know is we're excited as hell to see what he's got in mind and can't wait to see the first renderings when Glickenhaus releases them.

That's what's going on with Black Metal V8olvo team member and four-time DOTS honoree WhatWouldJesseDo, and the car left standing when the music stops would appear to be his frighteningly original 1966 Datsun 411. Bring A Trailer has discovered Jesse's 411, which features Pininfarina styling and an engine based on the BMC B. Sort of a Japanese-Italian-British car here, and not something you see every day. This was the very first car in the Down On The Street series, so I'm hoping an Alameda-based buyer will pick it up and keep it on the island.

[Bring A Trailer, Craigslist]

But first, the facts. And even before that, a clarification: Bongo is not from Congo. Delicious though the rhyme may be—as confirmed by Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Thorbjørn Jagland who introduced President Bongo as such during a state visit in 2001—Omar Bongo was actually born in French Equatorial Africa, a colony which later became the African west coast state of Gabon. After a career in the Gabonese military, in 1967 young Bongo found himself president of an independent Gabon, an office he would hold on to until this Monday, when he succumbed to intestinal cancer in Barcelona.

He was a true gent by the standards of African dictators. Neither facts nor rumors exist of him dining on enemies, building a Concorde airstrip in the jungles of the Congo or nurturing a machete-armed militia to decimate his country’s populace. All he did was treat Gabon and its oil riches as his personal fiefdom, being truly unable to appreciate the distinction between state funds and his checking account. Nobody knows for sure the wealth he siphoned off the Gabonese economy, but it is rumored to run into the billions of dollars—making Bongo, amongst other things, the biggest owner of real estate in France.

Although a petite man at 4'11" from the Bateke tribe, Bongo—often called “the last of Africa’s big men”—liked to live large. And large he lived when he purchased a presidential limousine a decade into his rule: he got himself a Stutz Royale.

Although Gabon is a staunch pillar of Francophone Africa, the French automobile industry at this point was half a century beyond producing Royales—the Bugatti Royale, that is, of which only six were built.

Enter a resurgent Stutz Motor Car of America—of Bearcat fame—resurrected after three decades in 1968, just as Bongo ascended to the presidency. The car they built him would prove to be even rarer than the Bugatti they’d named it after: only two were made, the other going to King Fahd of Saudi Arabia.

The Royale was a stretched version of the Diplomatica, itself based on a Cadillac DeVille. It was penned by Paolo Martin, designer of James Glickenhaus’s Dino 206 Competizione and the awesome Pininfarina Modulo show car. The massive limousine was delivered to Gabon in 1977—to be promptly sent back. Why? Because according to Gabonese law, Bongo’s royal behind could not come in contact with leather. So Stutz redid the interior. Hence the velvet presidential throne:

In the equatorial heat of Gabon, the Royale would soldier on for the rest of Bongo’s three decades in power. During his August 2007 visit, French President Nicholas Sarkozy rode with Bongo in his plush limo.

Bongo’s body made it back home on Thursday to a Gabon ruled by Interim President Rose Francine Rogombé. He will be given a state funeral next Tuesday. The fate of his Royale is unknown. Perhaps it will keep carrying leather-averse royal Gabonese ass for years to come, a relic of full throttle American luxury.

And while Bongo may be gone, he lives on in cyberspace: you can still friend him on Facebook.

Photo Credit: The Internet Guide to Stutz Cars, DANIEL JANIN/AFP/Getty Images. Special thanks to Erik D’Amato.

There is no way to get used to the size of Ferrari’s 612 Scaglietti. While most Ferraris—indeed, most supercars—tend to be larger in life than imagined, the Scag is a monster. Longer than a Mercedes-Benz E-Class and wider than an S-Class, it is the size and shape of a ballistic missile, especially in dark gray.

The size is a direct consequence of the car’s dual functions of high-speed handling and four-person capacity. Inside are four bucket seats intended to carry in comfort four actual people with eight lower extremities. This is unlike most 2+2’s where the comfortable ratio of humans and legs tends to be an unevenly distributed one to one. And while—unlike the Espada’s very comfortable rear seats—I have never had the opportunity to actually sit in a 612, those who have describe the rear seats as up to the task.

The other factor in the 612’s immense length is the engine, which is mid-mounted. But unlike with the traditional mid-engined layout—where the engine is between the cabin and the rear axle—the Scag’s 5.7-liter V12 sits low behind the front axle, similar to the supercharged V8 in the Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. And like the SLR, the 612 has a nose—or substitute your favorite metaphor based on human anatomy—any self-respecting Frenchman would be proud of.

Mounting an engine midships is done to reduce weight in a car’s extremities, lowering its moment of inertia. This comes in handy when you take a corner fast, so I called Nino Karotta, the only person I know who has actually driven a 612 Scaglietti (if you’ll remember, Nino was the guy who showed us how to become a Formula One driver in one day).

The 612 he drove was in an environment rather alien to a leviathan GT—the Hungaroring, a racetrack in a dusty valley on the outskirts of Budapest, home to the Hungarian Grand Prix. He described the experience as similar to what happens when you take any very powerful but heavy car to a track. That while it’s very fast, capable of huge powerslides and much better composed than, say, a large V12 Benz, it is ultimately too soft and too heavy for proper track work. Unlike, he said, the Ferrari 599 GTB, which he drove on the same day and described as a sharp, violent track animal.

We had better find a more suitable environment for the 612 then. And remember: we’re looking for family use here. So let’s head to Regent’s Park, 487 acres of Central London flanked by white stucco houses where rich people live and exercise.

While Central London is perhaps not the perfect location to strecth a 550 HP grand tourer’s legs, nothing beats it when it comes to arriving home. The car is understated, elegant, majestic, no Italian waving of hands apparent in its flowing lines, inspired by a one-off Ferrari 375 MM its namesake Sergio Scaglietti created in 1954 for Italian neorealist film director Roberto Rossellini’s wife Ingrid Bergman.

An elderly couple then arrive in a Citroën C3—this is a very small French car—and maneuver into the space in front of the Ferrari.

They turn out to be the parents of the Ferrari’s owner, a dapper man who has by this time emerged from his house. My mate Máté and I are soon in the midst of a family cavalcade, admiring the lovely Ferrari.

Also in tow is a young girl, Orelia by name, who climbs down from her grandmother’s neck. This is it then: a real, live kid who actually rides in the back of a Ferrari! Our conversation as I remember it:

“Hi Orelia, my name is Peter.”

“Hi Peter.”

“So how is it riding in a Ferrari’s back seats?”

“It’s great. I sit there with my two sisters.”

Roominess? Check!

“And when you go for a ride, do you go real fast?”

Substituting for words, she offers a huge, jubilant nod. We wave our goodbyes. A few steps later, her father reaches down to pick a white strand of thread out of the Pininfarina logo on the left fender.

Gentlemen, a Jalopnik midlife plan is emerging here. Make a quarter million bucks, get a Scaglietti and a fine woman, sire children, then transport them in style and at speed.

And if you have dogs (or elephant guns), go get that Maserati Quattroporte wagon.

Photo Credit: Balázs Fenyő (Ferrari 599 GTB), Máté Petrány and the author (612 Scaglietti)

[via CarScoop]

But a Ferrari in chestnut brown?

As far as I recall, these were my first words when I heard the news that Steve McQueen’s first Ferrari, chassis number 4891GT, was set to go on the auction block. While far from being a rosso corsa purist and nurturer of a great soft spot for midnight blue 612 Scagliettis, brown sounded all wrong for a Ferrari. Think brown and what’s the first thing that comes to mind? A UPS truck, no great friend of high-strung V12’s.

Little did I know that two years later, I would be looking at McQueen’s Lusso beneath the namesake for its paintjob—a chestnut tree—and realize that in person, it’s shockingly beautiful.

Not that it hails from a particularly hideous age of car design. Modena in the early Sixties was a proper Golden Age. The Lusso was the last act in Ferrari’s first great play, the 250, a ten-year-old construction by the time they introduced the Lusso in 1962. Since the first prototype had been tested in 1952, 250’s won everything there was to be won in road racing, to transcend mere cars and become the sort of objects car geeks approach with a visible trembling of the knee.

Most 250’s are beautiful but the Lusso—Italian for luxurious luxury—stands out even in that crowd. As the name suggests, it was designed by Pininfarina as a grand tourer, with an eye on stylish, high-speed motoring as opposed to racing. There is ample luggage space behind the two seats swathed in beige leather, and the engine is set forward to allow for more legroom.

Beneath the aluminum and steel skin however, it’s a pure racer. The Lusso’s Borrani racing wheels, disc brakes, suspension and all-aluminum engine come from none other car than the 250 GTO. And the Lusso itself was more than suitable for racing: at 2,200 pounds, it weighed little more than a Miata and was in turn powered by the last version of the 3-liter V12 used in all 250’s, sucking air through three twin Webers to produce around 250 HP.

But forget all that. Though lovely numbers the Lusso has, they are not what make it interesting. What does is that the Lusso and its contemporaries—like the 250 GTO, the Breadvan or the Miura—stand out as the first generation of supercars to which we can relate to as proper cars. Pre-war Bugattis and Alfas are awesome, but they look way too fragile and old to be appreciated as actual cars as opposed to very nice objects on wheels.

Look at a Lusso instead and what you will feel is pure petrolhead lust. To fire up that V12, to motor out of wherever it’s parked, and to shove the go pedal right through the floor.

I wouldn’t be surprised if Steve McQueen drove it like that. Back in the 60s, when roads were sparsely populated, gas was ultra-cheap, and people knew how to party in style.

It almost makes you forget that these cars had live rear axles. Like Mustangs!

Photo Credit: Natalie Polgar and the author. Note: unfortunately, the owner of the Lusso was not around to pop the hood for us. The engine you see in the gallery is that of a Ferrari 250 GT SWB, very similar to the Lusso’s.

For someone untrained in the language of vehicular design, it’s not easy to describe what makes a car particularly Pininfarina or Bertone—but suffice to say that once you’ve seen examples of both, you will be able to tell them apart at the blink of an eye. An easy metaphor would make Pininfarina the designer of jet planes with Bertone in the business of sci-fi spaceships.

Think Bertone and you think Marcello Gandini, the man whose forehead the Lamborghini Miura sprang from like Pallas at the incredible age of 27. Gandini joined Bertone in 1965 and—following the Miura and the wonderful Espada—he went on to design cars which crave, simply crave ion drives and proton cannons, first amongst them the Lamborghini Countach.

The news last fall that Pininfarina’s Jason Castriota was to leave his employer of many years to follow in Gandini’s footsteps at Stile Bertone was quite a shocker. Pininfarinas and Bertones just don’t mix. Add to this that the cars Castriota had worked on at Pininfarina—the Maseratis Birdcage 75th and GranTurismo, the Ferraris 599 GTB and P4/5—are very Pininfarina, their aggression expressed not by sharp angles but flowing lines that hit you like an aikido throw.

Yet six months later, Castriota unveiled the Mantide, a car Bertone to its core. And while it has not become easier in the past three paragraphs for someone untrained in the language of product design to describe what that precisely is, there is one design element very easy to pinpoint: the angular rear wheelarches.

Like most things Bertone, this is from Gandini. As far as I know, he first used it on the Lamborghini Countach LP500, the prototype which served as the basis for the first production Countach, the LP400. Over subsequent iterations, the Countach lost the angularity, but the motif cropped up in later Gandini designs like the Maserati Shamal—and this Quattroporte IV that was parked the other day on the very street I live on:

By Gandini’s outrageous standards, this car is a subdued Q-ship, especially in the neutral Germanic silver this example—one of only 1,138—was painted in. The Quattroporte IV was produced at the tail end of Maserati’s doldrums, before the company was acquired by Ferrari, and this is their last car that was built in the old Maserati factory, before the Ferrari people threw out all the old machinery. There was a lull of four Quattroporte-less years at the reborn Maserati until they began building the Pininfarina-designed Quattroporte V—the latest version of which we recently drove in Italy.

It’s comforting to see how quickly Castriota has grokked the essentials of Bertone design, as evidenced by this reference to Gandini’s last car for Bertone. I can’t wait to see how he will manage over the years to balance on the shoulders of the giants he’s standing on—and what he’ll add to the Bertone canon. Based on his work at Pininfarina, one is compelled to think he will do just fine.

Photo Credit: Lamborghini, Cartype, 25ora.ro, Stile Bertone and the author

Jason Castriota has spent most of his professional career designing some of the most iconic and beautiful sports cars of our era. Cars that kids, for years, will be playing interior decorator with, plastering them all over their walls. With the help of Pininfarina, and now, Stile Bertone, he's managed to put himself at the forefront of the newly re-emerged coach building game being played out at the top design houses around the world. Jason has been fortunate, and insanely talented enough, to have his say with the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, the Maserati Gran Turismo, the Maserati MC12-based Birdcage 75th Concept, Rolls-Royce Hyperion, the Ferrari 612 Kappa for collector, Peter Kalikow and of course, the Enzo Ferrari-based Pininfarina P4/5 for the now famous collector, Jim Glickenhaus.

After the official reveal of the Stile Bertone Mantide at the 2009 Shanghai Auto Show, we were able to catch up with Jason for a chat in between his picture taking with the extremely excitable Chinese journalists that were also attending the show. At first, we thought the man that had designed all of these mesmerizing vehicles would be kind of a self-appreciating prick as so many other car designers are, but our conversation with him proved this wasn't the case. Actually, he seems like a pretty cool guy. But of course he is, he reads Jalopnik, and your comments. But let's talk cars:

The Auto Insider (TAI): So Jason, how did you ever get to be so lucky as to design some of the most iconic cars of our era?

Jason Castriota (JC): Well, basically from the time I was literally five-years-old, I was sketching Ferraris, quite literally, with little Pininfarina badges on the side. People would say; "Wow, is that your name on the side?" And I'd say; "No, that's a Pininfarina badge." It was actually quite funny at the time. And from there I just followed it, though I didn't quite know how to get there.

TAI: What gave you the idea to pursue car design as a career?

JC: Well, around the time i was twelve-years-old, one of my good friends, who was also a very good artist — His father was a in advertising in New York and he said; "You have to go to Art Center, that's where all the car designers go."

TAI: Pretty cool that your friend's father let you in on that little secret — I got mine by happening across a Southern California AAA magazine article about Art Center, not as helpful, but it was a big wow moment to realize that you could get paid to design cars and not just draw them in the margins.

JC: Well, I was always obsessively drawing cars and when it rolled around to graduation in high school, my parents looked at Art Center and said that it was a technical school and "you're not going to get an education there, you need a liberal arts education and be more well rounded." And plus, at Art Center, at the time, the average student was already pursuing their second degree. They were already 24, 25, 26 years old, guys who were really ready to enter the industry, as opposed to being kids out of high school and frankly, now having the hindsight of eventually going to Art Center, it was absolutely correct because at eighteen-years-old, to be doing the things we did, I wouldn't have had the discipline or the head or the mental strength to do it.

TAI: So how did you get yourself ready for Art Center?

JC: I ended up, let's say in classic rebellious youth style, saying; "Okay, now I'm never going to draw cars again!" And I went to film school because I like photography and I also like to write. I was there (Emerson College in Boston) for five years and I had a blast and for about four years it was all about film, and I lived, ate, breathed the indie film scene. It was great, but then around my fourth year I started picking up a pencil and anytime there was a TV Guide lying around I'd start doodling cars again. And, you know, I remember graduating and there was that classic emptiness going, well, okay I'm supposed to go and be a PA (production assistant) on a new film that was going to shoot in New York, I think maybe it was, uh... I don't even remember what it was anymore. It was nothing of grandeur, let's put it that way. And I just said; "To run around and get coffee or to start trying to pursue this dream of being a car designer again and realizing that dream, I think I'll roll the dice."

TAI: Pretty ballsy move. How'd you ultimately get into the program?

JC: I called up Art Center and I said; "Listen, I really want to do this, but I haven't drawn in five years, you know, do you guys have a preparatory course or something to that effect?" And they said; "Yeah, we've got Art Center at night. No one gets in here without going to Art Center at night." They were like, who do you think you are kid? You foolish little boy. (laughs) They said the next session started in four weeks and I said; "Sign me up!" And, I went home that night and told my parents and my girlfriend at the time; "I'm moving to California in three weeks." And everyone wondered what I was talking about, so I told them. I'm going to become a car designer.

JC: During my time there I was under full scholarship, which was great, 'cause God knows it's costly. During my time there I won an internship with Volkswagen/Audi California and then right after that I went to Ford in Dearborn where I worked under Moray Callum actually. Then I came back for my sixth semeseter and right at the beginning of the semester Pininfarina gave the opportunity for an internship, so I went to Pininfarina and I just said to everybody; "I ain't coming back. That's it." I had already had some job offers, but I really wanted to go to Pininfarina. I remember when I walked into Art Center, I said that from day one, and people were like; What are you talking about? That's crazy! No one goes to Pininfarina. Why would you want to go to Pininfarina? Because, at the time, maybe they weren't doing the most exciting stuff anymore and the hot places to go were Audi or Renault, or Honda who has like a mafioso grip on Art Center because a ton of iconic instructors are from Honda.

TAI: It seems like all your dreams came true at that very moment.

JC: When I went (to Pininfarina) the internship went really well, I started actually winning and contributing to real projects and a few months in they offered me a job and asked; "Do you want to stay right now or do you want to go back and finish your dream and come back after?" Because I still had a few semesters left and I said; "No, I'm good." I went to Art Center to get a job. I didn't need another degree. So I stayed on and a year and a half later I won the (Maserati) Gran Turismo project, two in was the (Ferrari) 599, three years was the (Maserati) Birdcage, four years in it was the P4/5 and things just snowballed from there and it was an amazing experience. I really was able to realize all the dreams I could have had there. Eventually being Chief Designer and also being jointly responsible for the special projects program.

TAI: Tell me more about the Pininfarina special projects program and what it meant to be apart of it.

JC: Well there was sort of a renaissance of that type of project because that was something that Pininfarina and Stile Bertone, and actually, all the Italian coach builders, that's what they did. They were coach builders. And you know, there was that famous Sultan of Brunei-era that kinda went away unfortunately when the well dried up over there. And from there on out, things just sorta petered out and there was no more interest. Every now and then, if we'd do a showcar there was some interest, but nothing ever really came of it. But with the Birdcage, that's what really opened up people's eyes again to say; "Wait a minute, there's an MC12 under there?" And that's pretty special and especially when you have the pedigree of basing it on a championship-winning racing chassis, like the MC12, that makes it all the more interesting. Out of that, is really what birthed P4/5 and other sorts of project cars, which a lot of, haven't even been seen because a lot of our clients are also anonymous, they don't present their cars, they keep them garaged. (Jim) Glickenhaus is a little special in that respect that he really likes to put his car out there, which is great. You know, these things should be shared, they should have a life. If you're going to go to that extreme, then you know, why just throw it in your own private museum. I mean, to each his own, but I like to see cars on the road. We're car guys, we're all there on YouTube watching the Nurburgring Ruf Yellowbird video and you know, we're all the same, we're all cut from the same mold in that respect.

TAI: You left Pininfarina prior to the Paris show in 2008. What caused you to make that decision?

JC: That was a great experience, but after eight years there, it was time for something else. And you know, I really had the full intention of starting my own company and I created my little LLC in America and I was all set to go. I really had some good projects on the docket already and then Bertone just kept knocking on the door and they said; "Look, we know we haven't had the best years, but we need to bring this place back." And at the end of the day it's really seductive because you're really following in the footsteps of some amazing designers, Michelucci, Scaglione, Giugiaro, Gandini, I mean, it's unbelievable. Just to be honored like that, to take that role. Not being a guy who internally took the role because some big guy left, but being a guy that they sought after — That was real special for me.

TAI: The Mantide design has become quite controversial, especially among the Jalopnik commentariat. How do you feel about that? And does that gauge its success?

JC: The Mantide is definitely going to be a provocative car that when people see it in images, people are either going to love it or their going to hate it. And that's great. That's what I wanted to design and I love it because it means people care. It means you're bringing forth emotion and whether that's good or bad (emotions), that's a good thing. People hung Chris Bangle on a cross for how many years, for the 7-Series, even though Adrian (Van Hooydonk) did it, but you know, that's great. If you can get people talking about it, that means that it's important enough to be talked about. So that's pretty cool. And I think when people see it in person, as you have, their impression will change quite a bit and I think that's true for a lot of sports cars. Sports cars are so much more three-dimensional and seductive when you see them, you know, compared to a regular car and this car, when you see it next to other sports cars, will still be seductive.

TAI: What was your inspiration for the Mantide? I saw your sketches and there was a little thumbnail sketch showing, what appeared to be, a form study with a huge flying buttress, can you elaborate on that?

JC: Well, I spent half my career at Pininfarina in the wind tunnel, I've worked on Le Mans cars and when you have that experience you really become passionate about it (aerodynamics). Even the Birdcage has a similar theme, in that it's got that teardrop suspended within a wing, so this was a similar type of theme. I believe that iconic car design always has to have a very clear theme that you read, after that, it can have many, many different layers. But you need to first read a theme of volume that creates a graphic statement. So, with the Mantide, what it is, is this teardrop, this central fuselage, much like if you look at an old jet fighter, you know, it has that shark-like fuselage and that's suspended within this wing that basically embraces it. It looks like it's two pieces interlocking, so that gives it a visual strength, but at the same time it's very dynamic because if you look at the Mantide from the rear, you can see that volumes are really all converging to a similar point in space. And then you have this very sensual, yet technical wing that embraces it, and of course it's functional. You know, it's really taking the 599 buttress idea to a really super extreme and it makes for a really strong graphic statement that you can really recognize. And then from there, there's a lot of detailing that ties into Bertone's history of very technical and more geometric, but what I think is really interesting about the car is that it has an interesting blend of being organic yet geometric at the same time. And I think that great design has contrasting elements, you know — There's a sensuality about it, but there's a brutality about it as well. I like to use the analogy of that sexy woman, think of Angelina Jolie with that spiked heel. There's that dangerous quality, you know, you want to touch it, but at the same time you're a little bit afraid. And that's a good thing.

JC: So that's what we wanted to express with it at the end of the day. And of course, for us, it was really important to create something that would get people talking. We wanted the wow factor, we wanted to make people go; "Woah, what is that? What the F is that? What were they thinking? What were they on?"

TAI: I think you've accomplished that goal. So, tell me, what were you on?

JC: (Laughs) You know, people who really know me, know that I'm really boring. I was on San Pellegrino water, which does have very high mineral content though, and protein bars. But, you know, it's one of those ideas that you have in your head for a long time, but when I was at Pininfarina, it didn't matter how much you could tone something like that (the Mantide) down, you know that you could never get that passed the management of a car company. You just go; "Nah, I'll keep this one in the drawer, just keep it in the head." And one day, who knows, maybe an opportunity will come about, where you can go; "Viola! There it is!" And you know, people will love it or they'll hate it.

TAI: We could probably guess, having driven the car ourselves, but why the choice to go with the Corvette ZR1 as the basis for the Mantide?

JC: You know, the ZR1, is a SPECTACULAR car and here's the reality okay, there's a certain snobism, especially in Europe against the Corvette, and I have to admit, I had it as well. I worked on Ferraris and Maseratis, and I always dreamt of working of Ferraris and Maseratis. So, in America, you know how it is. You're either a Ferrari guy or a Porsche guy or a Corvette guy. And everybody's got their blog and everybody's got their opinion and Ferrari guys are like; "You're not in my class, dear." And Porsche guys are like; "We're honest, we're technical, we've done the same car for fifty years, and we're the best." And look, you can't really beat their formula. And Corvette guys are like; "You fancy-pants Europeans don't know what you're talking about, good ol' American V8 muscle." It's three really different groups for three really different buyers, but you know, let's say, true car enthusiasts respect all three and I love and respect all three. The Corvette continues to use, in certain respects, dated technology, but does it in such a clever and efficient way. It's bulletproof and pretty amazing. The ZR1, I have to say, when it broke the record at the Nurburgring, and I know there's a story about the ACR Viper, but you know what kids, that's got a wing on it the size of... you know, its really a race car. And the ZR1 was really built as a road car and it's really impressive. It's got the FXX brakes on it, it's got the same shocks as the 599, it's got an aluminum chassis, the motor, it's brutal. It's not a 9000rpm Ferrari V12, but you know what, it does the job and arguably it does the job more reliably and efficiently. And let's not forget that the Corvette has dominated, DOMINATED, Le Mans and GT racing and you can't beat that pedigree and I think it's time for people to really take notice.

TAI: You're an American living in Italy, did that have anything, at all, to do with your choice in donor car?

JC: A little bit of patriotism came out in me and I like the idea that in this moment of crisis, particularly for the American manufacturers, we celebrate this crown jewel of American industry is important. I think it's important for people to realize that GM isn't the anti-christ, that they're not all bad. They've made some mistakes, and that's okay, and hopefully they'll resolve the issues, but the ZR1 is a masterpiece and it really shows that Americans can be leaders and I can tell you this — When we took this thing apart, and again, I've worked on the Enzo, the MC12, I worked on a Le Mans car that I can't really talk about, the 599... I know what good chassis engineering is and I know what good aerodynamics are. This thing (the ZR1) is amazing.

TAI: Tell me what modifications were done to turn the Corvette ZR1 into the Mantide.

JC: It was difficult to improve it because the car is already lightweight, it has a lot of carbon fiber in the bodywork, the chassis is already aluminum, the upper frame is in magnesium, it already has carbon ceramic brakes. So we decided to redo the entire exterior in carbon fiber, we used Dymag Racing UK for the carbon fiber wheels, there's also polycarbonate in the upper, but the windscreen and the windows are glass and it's the original window drop from the Corvette. We tried to maintain as much of the Corvette so the Mantide will retain full serviceability, it even has a trunk. We added a full FIA certified rollcage, so if someone really wants to go to the track they'll have everything they'd need including the racing harnesses and racing seats, which the Corvette didn't have and we were also able to save some weight there. So at the end of the day we were able to take 100 kilos out of the car, which in a car that already has an impressive power to weight ratio, that's scary. This car (Mantide) is going to be really scary.

TAI: You said earlier, that you had knowledge of aerodynamics. What aero improvements were made over the ZR1?

JC: Well, we put the ZR1 in the wind tunnel and got all the base line numbers, and you know, it's very well-balanced aerodynamically, but there's nothing spectacular or special about it, aerodynamically speaking. We were able to improve the drag point five percent less to .298, which is a really exceptional figure for a sports car, and for those of you like numbers at home, Ferrari 599 is .34, I think the SLR is around .36, the Ferrari F430 is around .34, so for those that don't think that .29 is impressive for a super-sports car with 335 wide tires isn't good, think again. And, we were able to increase the downforce by thirty percent and maintain a fifty percent distribution of downforce, which means the car maintains very neutral balance. It's something that race drivers always want, so the performance of the car should be spectacular, but we're not out here to make any claims, nor will we.

TAI: Based on what you've told me, it seems like the Mantide might just out-perform the ZR1.

JC: Let's say this, if the owner want to take it to the Nurburgring and put it in the hands of an experienced driver — I'd like to have GM's Jim Mero take it for a spin on the Nurburgring. I mean, he's the guy who gave everyone a hammering with the ZR1, so it would be very cool to give the car to him and let him run, so long as he keeps it out of the kitty litter. I'd like to get the car on Top Gear. We'll have to see if The Stig is still around.

TAI: The car on display here in Shanghai is a foam model with a waterline interior, what, if anything did you do to improve on the Corvette's lackluster interior?

JC: In the real car, of course, we've maintained all of the interior structure and airbags. We've added the roll cage, racing seats, but the whole thing was created out of carbon fiber, but it's very minimal, very spartan. We use the same digital display that's in the FXX, LEDs on the wheel and some Italian touches like a gated shifter. We added a little more romance, a little more Italian sensuality to it. But it's very, we like to say in Italian, puro e duro, which means pure and hard. It's very spartan, very race car like. It's not a show car interior, you know, it's function driven and light and user-friendly. The ergonomics have remained absolutely that of the Corvette. Unlike a car like the P4/5, which has a very different roof line and is very tight on the passenger cell; this maintains the interior space of the Corvette. So, we've got one of our engineers, who's 6'5" — He can fit in the car with no problem with a racing helmet. The car maintains its tremendous usability.

TAI: So what's coming up in the future? Any more special projects coming down the pipeline?

JC: The future? Well we're (Bertone) working on a lot of things now for the Chinese market, which is a lot of the reason why we're here now. We really wanted to point out and really celebrate our relationship with China, just as Porsche did with the Panamera and BMW with the CS. Everybody knows that this market is very important, so we're doing a lot of work with emerging car companies, but it's all very top secret because they like to be very top secret about who they work with. We're definitely looking forward to Europe and America ramping backing up so that we can start working more heavily with our more traditional clients because, of course, we'd like to keep our roots. But as far as special projects, show cars and one-offs — We have some ideas that we'll hash out very, very soon. Though, I want to take a week off first (laughs). But we would love to do something, maybe Italian, above all. But there are definitely some interesting things on the table.

TAI: Can you tell our readers where they might have a chance to see the 'real' Mantide in the near future?

JC: The 'real' car is going to be presented first at a private event in Italy on Thursday, the 23rd, then on Friday I'll present the car at Villa d'Este, Concours d'Elegance at Lake Como. The car has been invited to Goodwood, so we'll do some runs in the super car class, so we're super excited about that, and then after that, the car will go to Pebble Beach. So the car is definitely going to make the rounds.

TAI: So, sounds like some of our readers will be able to see the car in person very soon.

JC: Absolutely. And I look forward to them seeing it in person because I think the disbelievers will change their opinion, but maybe they'll never love it, but I definitely think they'll change their opinion.

TAI: Thank so much for taking the time to sit down with me Jason. We're all very excited to see what you've got in store for us next and l look forward to seeing the beautiful Mantide in action in the next coming months.

Check out our exclusive live coverage of the Stile Bertone Mantide HERE

[Birdcage via Flickr]

The Cadillac Allanté was the first salvo in the "reimaging" of Cadillac to be viewed once again as a purveyor of world-class automobiles. Intended as a Mercedes SL competitor, the ultra-luxury roadster shared drivetrains with the Eldorado and Seville, but little else. The modern body looked nothing like its baroque brothers and sisters due to having been penned by legendary design house Pininfarina, who also handled the body assembly. The cars were then loaded into a 747, 56 to a flight, for an 18 hour journey to the Cadillac plant in Hamtramck, Michigan. Nicknamed the "World's longest assembly line" this method added substantially to the cost of producing the car, but does make it eligible for inclusion in our wacky week of Nice Price or Crack Pipe Italian iron.

Just to put you in the mood:

This polo-green Allanté is presently in Toronto, so you know the car is immaculate and the seller scrupulously honest. The '93 Allanté, lacked the standard aluminum hardtop of the earlier cars, and it appears the option box for that 60lb add-on went unchecked when this car left the line. Also missing are the Recaro seats of the '89 – '92 cars, having been replaced with less expensive Lear thrones for 1993. What this car does possess is both twilight and centennial lighting, which sounds like something you could debate the merits of with your polo buddies, or the supermodels lounging on your yacht- if Cadillac advertising is to be believed.

Your progress on the road to the finer things in life will be both stately and sedate because while the Pininfarina design has held up very well, the 290bhp Northstar V8 tends to be lethargic, and sounds like a strangled fart if you do give it some right foot.

So how is $22,436 (or $27,000 Canadian) for some 16-year old Cadillac style? A nice enough price? Or does the preferred lifestyle Cadillac imagined include a healthy dosage of crack pipe?

You decide!

eBay, or go here if the ad diappears.

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Following last week’s news of Italian space jacket-clad ex-Pininfarina designer Jason Castriota’s new supercar to be unveiled in April at the Shanghai Motor Show, here is the first episode of Inside Project M, a documentary series by Kinetic Fin and Bradley Farrell about his new car. Castriota talks about the heritage of his new employer, Bertone, and how car designers have an arc of creativity in the first chapter of Bradley Farrell's documentary of the build:

The American-born Castriota has done more to advance teenage boy bedroom decorations that any other designer since the early 70s. In a few short years at Pininfarina, he has built up an awesome portfolio. He has had a hand in designing the Ferrari 599 GTB and the Maserati GranTurismo and has created two of the most beautiful one-off cars ever made: the Maserati Birdcage 75^th and James Glickenhaus’s Ferrari P4/5. As of December 1, 2008, Castriota is the design director of Pininfarina archrival Stile Bertone.

We also have an exclusive still shot of Castriota’s new supercar. Here it is, in Maserati racing colors:

Now, you might be thinking along the lines of “Hey Jalopnik, that’s a vague car shape covered with a rumpled tarp on a forklift!” Do not despair. We happen to have a similar photograph of Castriota’s previous project:

And look how well that turned out:

Follow Project M yourself at the website or on Twitter.

Back in high school and middle school the wedgie (or as we called it, the wedge) was something you most certainly didn't want, under any circumstance and you definitely didn't appreciate it when it came along. But in car design, the wedge is something you can appreciate.

The beautiful and technical shape was used by many of the top design houses of the seventies and was a signal the future had officially arrived. While not the most aerodynamic form in practice, it certainly looked the part and helped usher in a new era of automotive design. Italian design houses ItalDesign, Bertone and Pininfarina were at the forefront of the movement, but the Japanese, Germans and the U.S. jumped on the bandwagon shortly thereafter

10) 1972 Lotus Esprit M70

First displayed at the Turin Motor Show in 1972, the Lotus Esprit M70 was designed by Giugiaro at Ital Design and was built on a widened and lengthened Europa chassis. After positive reviews from the public Colin Chapman decided to put the Esprit into production. The final design was completed in 1973 with many of the concept cues intact and when the then GM owned Lotus decided to build Peter Stevens redesign in 1987, many of those original cues remained.

Fun fact: that you couldn't call yourself a car guy without knowing already: Roger Moore drove a submersible version in the 1977 James Bond movie, The Spy Who Loved Me.

9) 1989 Vector W8

In 1989, after nearly two decades of development, Gerald Wiegert revealed his Vector W8 to the public. Extensive use of aeronautical building techniques were to be W8s selling point, but shoddy quality and a lack of funding eventually brought down the U.S.-built Lamborghini competitor in the mid-nineties. The W8 drew its inspiration from the 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo and many other wedge cars in our list and is still a beautiful car today and you can pick up one of the few examples for a steal; nearly 20 percent of the original $685,000 asking price.

Fun fact: The Vector W8 was featured briefly in the 1993 movie, Rising Sun.

8) 1972 E25 BMW Turbo

The E25 BMW Turbo was initially built to celebrate the upcoming 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, but was later used as the inspiration for the M1, 8-Series, Z1 and the new M1 Homage concept. BMW built the Turbo concept as a rolling display for new safety and engineering technologies as well as showing that BMW had officially left the difficult 60's behind. Penned by BMW's French head of design, Paul Bracq, the Turbo concept was styled after the most dramatic Italian supercars of the day and featured an advanced radar system that warned the driver of close objects such as curbs and cars.

Fun fact: The Turbo featured two BMW badges on the rear – symbolizing BMW's exceptional quality – a cue that made it onto the production M1 and M1 Homage concept.

7) 1978 Dome Zero

Dome was and still is a race car manufacturer in Japan and in 1978 they gave the world the Dome Zero concept at the Geneva Motor Show. Intended to show Dome's intention of building a homologation special for a new line of sportscars; it was unable to pass Japanese homologation. In 1979, Dome debuted a revised Zero, dubbed the P2, with U.S. market bumpers and safety equipment added to the design. In the same year, a racing effort was launched at Le Mans but the ‘Zero RL' failed to finish the race. Shortly after, investors pulled their funds and the Dome Zero was officially dead.

Fun fact: The Dome Zero was featured in Gran Turismo 4, Auto Modellista on the PS2 and Sega GT on the XBOX.

6) 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero

At the 1970 Turin Motor Show, Bertone showed off a styling exercise called the Lancia Stratos Zero. The Lancia Stratos HF roadcar was based very loosely off of this concept though the similarities are few and far between. The futuristic Zero stood 838mm tall and was so low that conventional doors could not be used and to gain access, drivers would have to raise the windshield and walk into the car.

Fun fact: The Stratos Zero appeared in Michael Jackson's 1988 film, Moonwalker.

5) 1972 Maserati Boomerang

In 1971 the Maserati Boomerang was shown at the Turin Motor Show as a mockup and then in 1972 the Geneva Motor Show saw the debut of the fully realized Maserati Boomerang concept. It sat next to the Lotus Esprit M70 as both were designed by Giugiaro at ItalDesign. At 1070mm high, it's not the shortest wedge in the list, but it did have a 15 degree windshield rake – the steepest rake you could achieve while maintaining visibility, albeit very little. ItalDesign used the Boomerang as inspiration when designing the DMC Delorean (most noticeable in the rear view) in the eighties.

Fun fact: Intended as a showcar, the Boomerang was registered as a roadcar and was actually sold in 1974 to a private collector which brings us to 2005 when it was auctioned at Christie's for a cool $1,000,000.

4) 1969 Holden Hurricane RD001

The Holden Hurricane was an experimental concept built in 1969 and was the first product of the GM Holden Research and Development group. The Hurricane's ultra low 990mm stance would have made ingress and egress difficult with traditional doors, so an electro-mechanical powered canopy was used and swung forward over the front wheels. Also included were power elevated seats that both rose up and out of the way along with the steering column to make exiting the Hurricane easier. When climbing into the car the seats would lower to a semi-reclined position and the roof would close overhead.

Fun fact: A similar canopy design was used on both the Saab Aero X and the Batmobile from the Tim Burton Batman movies.

3) 1970 Ferrari PF Modulo

Painted black for the 1970 Geneva Motor Show and then re-sprayed white for its debut at the 1970 Turin Motor Show; the Paulo Martin penned Pininfarina-Ferrari Modulo concept gained quite a reputation and won numerous international design awards – 22 of them – for a car that almost wasn't produced. The cars release was held for over a year because of an apprehensive Sergio Pininfarina. Developed using the Ferrari 512-S racer as a basis, the 935mm high PF Modulo was built to explore new construction technologies and to show off the raw passion of the Italian design house.

Fun fact: Paulo Martin was sketching a Rolls-Royce Camargue dashboard when the idea struck him to make the first sketch of the Modulo. You could say he was more than a little bored with the Rolls.

2) 1971 Lamborghini Countach

Designed by Gandini for Bertone in 1971, the original Lamborghini Countach concept was the most pure version the public would ever see of this car. The wild scissor doors were first seen on another car in our list (the Alfa Romeo Carabo concept) and were used primarily because of the extremely wide chassis, but we think the real reason is because Gandini knew every rice boy would want them on their econo-hatch some day. The Countach name was derived from the dialect of the Piedmont region in northern Italy, literally meaning astonishment and amazement. The pure design of the concept translated loosely into the production LP400 though it was short lived when splitters, wings and U.S. bumper requirements were added to the mix in the LP400S, LP500 and QV models.

Fun fact: The Countach was featured in the 1981 movie, The Cannonball Run, and is one of the most replicated cars to date.

1) 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo

The 1968 Alfa Romeo Carabo is the most significant wedge car and paved the way for many of the cars on this list. Designed by Marcello Gandini of Bertone fame, it was revealed at Porte de Versailles in Paris in 1968 to an absolutely stunned crowd. The Lamborghini Countach concept that arrived 3 years later drew inspiration from the Carabo in its wedge form, wheel house openings and its notoriously cool scissor-doors, though the Countach wasn't the only car that took inspiration from the Carabo. You can see inspired cues from many sports cars and supercars like the Diablo, 4th gen Camaro and Vector. Vector took the inspiration quite literally by duplicating many of the shapes of the front and side profile in its W8. Many wealthy individuals tried to purchase the Carabo including an Arab prince or two, but thankfully Bertone decided to hold on to it and now the Carabo spends its days relaxing inside the Alfa Romeo museum in Arese, Italy.

Fun fact: The unique name "Carabo" and its green paint were derived from the small green beetle, Carabus Olympiae.

Honorable Mentions

Narrowing down our search for the top ten wedge cars was difficult and we couldn't let this list pass without mention of a few other notable wedges. The DMC DeLorean was the hardest to leave off the list based on its cult follow from the Back to the Future films. Another difficult car to omit was the popular Triumph TR7/TR8 which was produced from 1974 to 1981. In the gallery below you'll find the rest of the cars that we thought were worth mentioning. Enjoy!

[via Lotus Esprit Turbo]

Pininfarina B0 (to be pronounced B Zero) is dedicated to the memory of Andrea Pininfarina who was a firm believer in the project.

“To think, draw, design and build cars is not only an enthralling mental process.
Nor is it simply a business choice. It is also and above all a great social responsibility.”

Andrea Pininfarina (1957-2008)

The B0: the solution for a cleaner world

Bolloré and Pininfarina have entered into a partnership featuring all the expertise required to launch serial production of an electric car which, thanks to its technical characteristics and its attractive styling, is bound to make waves in motoring circles.

This car will not be a prototype. It will be a mass production model, with the first units coming off the production line at the end of 2009, after which production will be ramped up gradually based on the availability of the batteries. Built in Turin by Pininfarina-Bolloré, a joint venture formed by the two family-owned groups, the B0 electric car will be powered by Bolloré’s proprietary LMP technology, using a combination of batteries and supercapacitors manufactured in Bolloré’s plants in Quimper, France and Montreal, Canada. The B0 will be a fully-electric vehicle without any carbon dioxide production, having been designed from the ground up with that aim in mind. Its batteries will be housed in a compartment specially designed for that purpose and located under the car, between its axles, lowering its centre of gravity and providing it with outstanding road-holding properties.
With its superb body styled by Pininfarina, Italy’s renowned vehicle design shop, the B0 electric car will be an elegant four-seater, four-door hatchback with an automatic gearbox. Its LMP battery, which will be rechargeable in a matter of hours from a standard domestic main socket, will provide it with a range of 250 km (153 miles). The B0 will have a top speed that is electronically limited to 130 km/h (80 mph) and will feature potent acceleration, reaching 60 km/h from a standing start (0 to 37 mph) in 6.3 seconds. The B0 will also feature solar panels on its roof and hood, so as to help recharge its electrical power reserves.

Physical characteristics
Volume (litres) 300
Mass (kg) 300
Communication bus CAN

Electrical characteristics
Power rating 30 kWh
Nominal voltage 410 V
Peak power output 45 kW(30s)
Min. / max. battery voltage 300/435 V
Capacity at C/4 75 Ah
Energy density per unit mass 100 Wh/kg
Energy density per unit volume 100 Wh/l

Thermal characteristics
Internal temperature 60°C - 80°C
Operating temperature -20°C à + 60°C

LMP: revolutionary battery technology

At the heart of any electric car, lies the battery. Bolloré is a highly diversified group of companies with a combined yearly turnover of 10 billion US dollars and 35,000 employees. For the past 30 years, the group has been the world’s leading producer of components for capacitors. Thanks to its acquired know-how in extruded polymers and the storage of electrical energy, Bolloré has been working for 15 years through its subsidiary, Batscap, to develop a solid-state lithium polymer battery. This battery is able to store, weight-for-weight, and it can be recharged in just a few hours. The battery does not require any maintenance and has a lifespan of around 200,000 km (125,000 miles). Another key benefit is its unmatched safety while in operation. Added to that, the B0 electric car does not emit any exhaust gases, nor any fine particles. The car’s LMP batteries thus help combat air pollution. The batteries of the B0 also contribute to reducing noise, another nuisance which affects people’s quality of life in urban environments.

Supercapacitors: boosting acceleration and recycling power

Supercapacitors are sophisticated energy storage components developed by the Bolloré Group. In an electric car, supercapacitors draw and store energy generated while the car is braking and feed it back into the system when the car moves off again. The result is greater acceleration, increased range and a longer lifespan for the car’s battery. The electric cars powered by BatScap’s LMP batteries and supercapacitors have a range of over 250 km. They are fast (with a top speed of 130 km/h), pleasant to drive, safe, and long-lasting.

Natural energy from solar panels

Because it is 100% electric powered, the B0 does not generate any pollution. But the process of generating the electricity which the car uses must also, as far as possible, not have produced any atmospheric pollution. That is why the creators of the B0 have designed it to incorporate every possible solution designed to optimise the car’s energy efficiency and use of clean energy sources. For instance, the B0 electric car is fitted with supercapacitors, which enable it to store and recycle the energy that is generated while braking. Similarly, the car’s roof and part of its hood are covered with highperformance solar panels which help power some of its equipment. It goes without saying that a responsible environmental approach must be coherent throughout. Which is why all the materials used to build the car’s body, battery and interior trim have been carefully selected for their low environmental impact. All are recyclable or reusable. The Bolloré Group is also in the process of developing straight-forward panels of photovoltaic cells which might be installed by individuals or in public places to fully or partly recharge the B0 electric car’s batteries using solar energy.

The combined power of two major industrial groups

Ergué-Gabéric / Bolloré
LMP batteries and supercapacitors were developed at the research centre of the Bolloré Group’s production site at Ergué- Gabéric near Quimper in Brittany, France. They were the outcome of a concerted research effort founded on the Group’s core activities, Bolloré being the world’s leading producer of ultra-thin extruded films used in the production of capacitors, another energy storage component. The success of its research programme led the Bolloré Group to form BatScap, a subsidiary dedicated to these activities, some 15 years ago. Nowadays, BatScap’s employees have access to the most advanced laboratory and production facilities and comprise more than 120 engineers, research staff and technicians.

Montréal / Bolloré
In 2007, the Bolloré Group bought the assets of Avestor, the only other company in the world which possessed the technology and the patents required to manufacture LMP batteries. Avestor’s Canadian team, which numbers some sixty highly qualified staff, thus joined BatScap. By pooling the talent, technologies and facilities of both sites, the Bolloré Group is able to wield major and highly sophisticated production facilities which are ample to cater to the production lines of the B0 and electric Microbus vehicles.

Cambiano / Pininfarina
World-renowned for the talent of its design teams which have created many of the world’s most beautiful cars over the years, Pininfarina is also a highly experienced carmaker which produces high-end vehicles on contract for many makes. The B0 electric car will be produced by the Pininfarina-Bolloré joint venture at a plant located near Turin. The joint venture will benefit from the
tremendous know-how and experience of Pininfarina’s personnel, who are proud to be involved in producing the world’s first serial production electric car powered by LMP batteries and supercapacitors under the company’s own badge.

Two concrete examples of LMP batteries in use

La BlueCar
Designed from the ground up to take advantage of all the benefits provided by electric propulsion thanks to the highperformance batteries developed by BatScap, the BlueCar was created by Philippe Guédon, the designer of Renault’s first Espace vehicle, in cooperation with the Bolloré Group and Matra Engineering. The BlueCar is a compact vehicle that is ideal for driving around town. The first sketches for the BlueCar were drawn in the early 2000s. The car was exhibited at the Geneva Motor Show in 2005 and is now in its second version.
BlueCar vehicles have been driven for tens of thousands of kilometres in all traffic conditions, acting as a testbed for Bolloré’s LMP batteries, which were officially approved for use in motor vehicles in Autumn 2007. The BlueCar has served as a mobile laboratory for the soon-to-be-released serial production electric car and has demonstrated that electric-powered cars are not merely a distant utopia but a concrete prospect in our time.

The electric microbus
In parallel with its work on private vehicles, and in order to ensure that the benefits of electric motoring are extended to public transport, the Bolloré Group has formed a second joint venture with the Gruau Group, a maker of buses and coaches, to design and build an electric version of the Microbus. Uniquely suited to urban transportation, this attractively styled, diminutive bus (5.46 metres long) features tremendous accessibility and is able to carry up to 23 people. The all-electric version, powered by LMP batteries and supercapacitors developed by Bolloré, will provide a simple and effective option for local authorities to offer their constituents a means of public transport which is environmentally friendly.

You like the Ferrari 360, but you say it's just not extreme enough for you? Well, then you're an obvious candidate for the 360 Challenge, the stripped-down, race-only version of the 360 Modena, and we think you have what it takes to convince the bureaucrats in your state that it deserves street-legal status. Before you can do that, however, you need to find one that you can afford (hey, all those lawyers ain't gonna be cheap), so we've found you this one for a paltry $40,000. No doubt you're having a hard time accepting that a genuine Ferrari 360 Challenge can be purchased for that kind of small-time cash, but it's for real. You see, it needs some work. Tell the truth, it's been in a bit of a fender-bender… or maybe a more accurate term would be chassis-bender. You know how most Ferraris come with an exhaustively documented history? How boring! Not so in this case, though; the seller states "I really can not tell you alot about this car,I do not know how it was wrecked,I do not know how many miles or hours are on this car." It appears that the engine was spared during the crash- though perhaps it was one of those throw-rod-then-hit-wall incidents- and the seller adds that he or she "was told engine was recently overhauled by ferrari of new england but i do not have the paperwork at this time." So there ya go- blurry photos, information-free description, no title, all on a hideously mangled somewhat battered factory race car. We like it!

Ferrari, Italy, Pininfarina… blah, blah, blah. Don't your eyes sort of glaze over when Italian-car geeks go droning on about "soul" and "passion" and all that noise? You want precision in your factory race car. Science! Naturally, that means you must start shopping for a BMW… but where could you possibly find one with a description as maddeningly vague as the Ferrari Challenge we just contemplated? Impossible! The bar has been set too high! Put your monocle back on, Helmut, because we've managed to find this BMW E46 M3 (go here if the ad disappears) for the steal-it-today price of 36 grand. The listing for this car- that is, if "car" is the right word in this case- is a genuine Craigslist masterpiece; we can't even figure out quite what's being sold here. The "factory built roll cage is up for sale," but there's also the "rolling chassis is as is in photos shown below." The photographs muddle more than they enlighten; we've got two blurred shots of what appear to be shipping labels, one shot of a car that appears to be a chassis that rolls only on pallet jack wheels, and one shot of a vehicle- perhaps the same one- surrounded by packing materials. Do you get a suspension? Does the cage come with the deal? How about ownership paperwork? We're pretty sure there's no engine involved, so you can go ahead and start building up a wild Bavarian six-banger now; we know you'll leap all the other hurdles as they come.

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Well, I haven't got much to say about this car.It's a Peugeot 404. It was in a pretty good condition, although it looked like it was repainted, so probably that wasn't the original color. Nevertheless, it looked great, with the chrome details looking good, and no visible rust, although It was a bit dirty. I think these cars were common in my country, specially in the northern part of my country, but in my city, they are a very rare sight. It's actually, the second i have seen here. The other, was, actually, in a scrap yard.