Interviewing Horacio Pagani in His Factory: meet the Man Behind the Fastest Form of Art on Earth!

These lines are the result of one of the best days at work for me. As a trained political and market analyst, I did a study on the car market in 2013, commenting production and sales data as well as the impact the automotive sector was having in producing jobs and wealth in Europe, America, and the BRIC Countries. In the last chapter of my work, I talked about product differentiation and what makes a customer choose a car over another. No other could provide insights on how to make a car attractive than Horacio Pagani of Pagani Automobili in Modena, Italy. 

He is a true gentleman: in the time I spent at His factory in Caesano sul Panaro, I felt like I was being treated as one of His customers ordering their Huayra or Zonda. With the very first Zonda Revolucion behind us, we chatted for an hour about Pagani Cars and what makes a car an object of desire.

Best day at work if you ask me!

Here's the transcript. Enjoy!

What does mean car making to Pagani?

In our concept, in our philosophy, we take inspiration from the Renaissance idea of Leonardo da Vinci. More than 500 years ago, Leonardo used to say that art and science could walk together. This idea, this philosophy has been an integral part of my professional  formation, that eventually led to the creation of Pagani Automobili. We produce automobiles that are an "object", where the technical and artistic components are crucial, as our cars are street-legal and are capable of high speeds, this imposing that all the design phase has to be carried out with great expertise, from the testing and the definition of the vehicle to the quality system, which is unique to Pagani in order to produce the each one of our products. But this is just a part of it. The other part, is the artistic and emotional component, the one that makes a customer to spend one, two or three million Euros on one of our cars. With this we are entering into a subjective sphere that justifies why we are talking about art. You have to recognize that the word art comes from "arto", the hand and the expression through it. I believe that one of Renaissance's key concepts has been the intellectual expression through the hands, the mind that creates, that imagines, that becomes enriched by the heart and the hand that follows; without making excessive use of the word "art", I believe that the amount of craftsmanship and work that goes in a Pagani has a strong artistic component in it: I believe that all my colleagues at Pagani, that are more than 80, express their mastery, their passion, their love trough their hands, that follows each part, each design, and each object. This is what I intend for making automobiles.

How has an automobile to be different from another one?

We can say that a brand has to maintain its character, and it has to be that way. If we see a Ferrari, a Lamborghini, an Aston Martin or a Jaguar, they all have their characteristics, their philosophy which were imposed at the beginning by the manufacturer: Ferrari gave the input to His engineers on how he wanted his cars, and so a legend was born these wonderful cars; same thing for Lamborghini, who had his own idea on how his cars were: so I think that a very important strong point we have here in Italy, talking about supercars, is that in a 20km range we have all best manufacturers in the World, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and Us, and we are four makers that, us being the smallest, add value not just to the area of Modena, but to everyone of us, as ambassadors of Modena in the World.

According to You, with the spread of mass produced motorcars, had we experienced a loss of the product's identity?

We can point that out if we have a glance at a Quattroruote catalog of cars being currently produced, and we compare it with a 20-30 year old one, we will notice that the latter will be shorter: it is clear that today we have an enormous productivity of automobiles, which is a highly consumed product, with a very short average car lifespan; if we previously had a new S-Class model every 10 years, we now have one every 5. I am now talking about high-level vehicles, maybe with day-to-day cars happens more often.

Trying to mass produce automobiles that will sell in very high quantities all across the globe, has certainly made many of these cars lose their identity. Today is more difficult to recognize a Kia from a Hyundai or Toyota or Mercedes, and we have to look at the front grille to see the symbol they have to differentiate them, since they are all similar.

What kind of connection has an Automotive brand and the territory in which it is produced? Do you think that this relationship is still valid?

If we are talking about supercars, we sure can say that there is a tie with the territory: it is highly improbable that Ferrari, for instance, which is synonymous with Maranello, Modena, and Italy, could one day be produced in China, and this is can be applied also to our cars and Lamborghini. Regarding other automobiles, I believe that this tie is becoming a bit lost: from the moment in which part of the production of Mercedes or BMW is sold 20% within the Country in which they are manufactured, while the rest is destined for exportation, it is only a matter of time that makers will move production lines elsewhere: a good example is the R-Class Mercedes that is built in the United States and not in Germany. We can also mention other examples, like Japanese cars, of which the majority is not built in Japan. Aside from supercars, I do not see strong ties with the territory.

Which economic, R&D and sales challenges must a Company like Pagani take?

This is a very delicate point and we have to be very careful. We concentrate a lot of energy in order to produce a car that has to be homologated and be able to be street legal worldwide, as our customers live in every corner of the globe. This means designing a car that must be able to be legally retained within all laws, from security to pollution. This poses a major strain on the designing phase: think about the complexity of the American laws for homologation. This becomes increasingly difficult, and maybe I magnify it by 1000 or 2000, but compared to a regular mass produced car we have to be able to keep the costs low in order to produce in very low volumes. This becomes easier if we have a very dynamic factory and the decisions are taken quickly and in the right way. I believe that designing a car is the most important step, because having a good overall project, i.e. a car that is born already to be homologated, that is not difficult to build with either left or right hand drive: if all these issues are quickly dealt with, the homologation will be much easier to obtain. So you may not proceed by trying, but by organizing wisely the base design, which is by definition more complex and sophisticated, but represents a great advantage in the homologation phase.

The same thing can be applied to the R&D  phase. If there was already a very accurate design, it is obvious that the development phase will be much easier. All this takes its toll on a Company like ours: just think that for the Huayra we made six prototypes, plus others for the crash tests, making more than 800.000 Km in testing session between us, AMG, Bosh, Xtrac and Pirelli, with the cars that went to different suppliers to complete the development. All this work was done in a six years time before putting the car into production, and has its own weight on a small Company like ours.

What is the future for Pagani? Which direction is Your Company taking?

Our idea is to maintain low production volumes. We are now building a new facility that is four-five times bigger than this one, very modern and with the aim to reach 50 units per year, for a demand that is three times as much as that. So, why building a stable capable of doubling the production? Because we want to strengthen the R&D sector, i.e. making even more in-house tests in a high tech facility, with extremely high standards of technology and working environment for our workers; a very stimulating factory for the people inside it.

Just like the Ferrari Factory then.

Even more than that. The product we make is an object the customer wants to see being assembled, so everything has to let he or she see the car on the various building steps, and not just an assembly line. Ferrari today produces 7000 cars per year, so in that conditions it would be impossible to meet the customers as we do, considered the high level of personalization that our product has.

Which will be the development of the Huayra? Will it be similar to the Zonda, which had a lot of different models, and all wonderful?

We have not made many models of the Zonda. Bugatti has done plenty with the Veyron, which was produced in 50 different models. We made our first, the C12, than the S7.0 and S7.3, the "F" and further small production series like the Tricolore, the Cinque and the 760RS, all with low production volumes. The Zonda is a model we put into production in 1999 and is still being made: so the starting base is the same for all variants we made.

The Huayra is a car that has to live more than 10 years, because it is an object we have given the technology to go as far as 2021. Now we will produce 125 cupè, like the present one, and than the Roadster version, like we did with the Zonda.

So there will be variants of the production Huayra.

There will be the Roadster followed by some further variants. You have to imagine that we are tailoring a suit, so if a customer asks for a specific detail, we have to make it. We still have ten Zondas to build, all different from each other, just because our customers want a Zonda, and so is for those who ask for unique Huayras. This is our philosophy, tailoring a bespoke object for the commissioner.

Zonda R and Revolucion. What was the challenge to improve an already excellent car? With this I am referring to the record lap of the Nurburgring.

We can say that the Zonda R is a car designed with great freedom. It is not a car that follows any racing specification and it is not street legal. We wanted to make an car without compromises, even on the costs, it did not matter how much it costed, and we used only the best materials, the best technology and the best aerodynamics, for what we can do on a car that will be driven by a gentleman driver and not Shumacher, so it has to be extremely simple to drive, it must not intimidate and allows us to make a great technical validation work. For example a suspension, a component that is being tested on a Zonda R with 1500kg of downforce, lateral G forces that are two and a half time more the ones we find on a regular production car, with stickier tires, are being put to the test of high forces, even more that a Huayra. So, that suspension, once finished testing will be the one we will use on the regular production vehicle. For us, a car like this a "school", a laboratory where all these tests are made. Why making a car like the revolucion? Because we wanted to do push further with the technique to look for lighter and stronger components, also with different materials. After we have validated all components and the nuts and bolts on the R and Revolucion, we can install them on a regular production Huayra. This is the aim in making those cars.

How many Revolucion will be made? What is the typical customer of these cars?

The Zonda R project consists of 15 machines plus a prototype. 10 of them will be the regular R version , the one that made the record de Nurburgring ( German track used for racing and testing, ed), and the remaining 5 will be the R Revolucion , which is 12 seconds faster than the R on the same track. You have to understand that if the Revolucion is performing more than the R is because there is much more technology to make it faster . We will be making only five of them. Who is the  customer that buys this kind of cars? There are two kinds of customers: one is the collector, which buys the car and does not use it. This represents 70 % of those who bought a car like this as an object of art, a painting, as people who never had cars and who bought a Zonda R to have it in his living room. Then there is the sort of customer who likes to run on the track , they are usually very busy people, and rent the track for private sessions without any other cars, because they want to lap the alone. We have a team that follows the cars when they go on the track, or also our dealers, for example in Hong Kong, where there is a team that accompanies the customer when he decides to go on the track. Usually the majority of customers of the Huayra and the Zonda, are people with a wide profile , who have worked hard.

There was a car (or more) that always captured and inspired You?

Absolutely. First of all, I am in love with the automobile, I have a great passion for it. So, as a young child I was attracted by the design of many cars. The Carabo of Bertone has inspired me a lot, then the Lamborghini Miura, the Jaguar E-type roadster, the Mercedes 196 that was raced by Fangio, some Ferraris, Maseratis, always had a passion for them, Porsche, I love them, I am a keen admirer of the 917 that won Le Mans and Monza, I love the Porsche Carrera GT, which I own; the Ford GT, that I have. I love cars and I've always liked them: I cannot wait to see new models coming out to be amazed by them and to buy the scale model.

If it is not too much indiscreet, what cars compose Your collection?

In my collection there is a Zonda for almost every version we made, a '63 Jaguar E-type, a Ford GT Gulf Limited Edition and a Porsche Carrera GT. This here in Italy. In Argentina I have a collection of vintage American cars, from Model T and A Ford, to Chevrolets, I have about twenty in total, just because they were the cars I saw as a child and it is a collection I made prior to my arrival in Italy. It is not an expensive collection, but it represents what I liked and what was on the streets as I was a young boy.

The Alfa Romeo 4C: adding lightness the Alfa way

An event held by the Lopresto Collection always exceeds your own expectations. As a matter of fact, aside from the stunning cars of the Collection, there was an entire grid of brand new Alfa Romeo and Abarth cars for the participants to drive. Imagine being handed over the keys to the 4c with no restrictions to driving on the track. What a joy! Despite the numerous drivers at the event, I mostly had a free fire zone in front of me, so I could make the tires scream in protest and not hurt anybody else.
The fog and the wet track were not to a restraining factor to test those machines properly so I got a chance to drive like a hoonigan and not to pay the legal consequences (car wrecks not included).
The 4C in real life steals the show like no other. On the grid, it was the second lowest car after a tiny Lotus 23. Its sleek white body looks much better in reality than in photographs. It has its own presence, and it does not compare to any other car on the road. The car has such harmonious volumes and it promises a great fun. To me plays the "serious driver's car package" role.

Lotus Elise be warned! The 4C spartan finishing, you can even touch the carbon fiber frame and it has minimal seats. But it definitely has lots of character, and that's what Italians want!

The model I tested was a "Launch Edition", so it had the controversial carbon headlights that nobody has ever liked. As I saw the car moving and appearing out of the fog with the lights on, it made a perfect sense to me and felt it had a unique touch. I also recognize I would probably be the very first to say this. Enough with this pornographic automotive sightseeing, let's get in and head out for a drive.

Getting into a car like this is a challenge per se. The light, composite door opens and to reach the low seat (you're sitting right on the floor) I have to fight my way in between the steering wheel and the thick layers of carbon fiber that compose the chassis. Once I let my body slide in the cocooned seat, I have a look around and everything seems to be a stylish spartan design that has written "performance" all over it. The steering wheel is thick and unassisted, and the pedals are properly angled and feel grat. No fancy huge brake pedal here, just proper racing stuff. The seat has no height adjustment, as it only slides back and forward, and it is ultra thin. What's surprising is that it wasn't that uncomfortable as many journalists pointed out before. It is a lightweight shell that supports the driver's body very well. Also there is no storage space in the back, just a plain black light panel divides me from the engine compartment. When you rev the engine, the whole cockpit resonates beautifully.

 I am also impressed by the visibility I have in front of me. Certainly it is not the best visibility on the market, but in sports car terms, they are exceptional. As I turn on the key, a typical 4 cylinder rumble erupts behind the black panel behind my shoulder, awaiting my command. It is not a beastly sound, but a nice straight 4 rumble tells you the car is ready. So, off we go, 1st gear in and we ease off to the track.

I decide to familiarize with the 4c and leave it in Normal mode on the DNA switch for a whole lap. Driving this car is for me a relief from modern cars. In many ways, it seems that I have a car that behaves like an analogical model from the late 80ies. It's all about the chassis, the engine and the handling. It's essential, and the unassisted steering wheel helps me figure out exactly what the car is doing. Opposite to common belief, it doesn't drain all of your stamina in seconds. It's heavy but not impossible to steer. Driving the car in Normal mode, the ride is not too harsh, and you can still feel the properly balanced chassis. Transmission is not super quick, but it's smooth and acts precisely as we go down the road. I complete the lap of the twisty Castelletto di Branduzzo circuit, and I decide to increase the pace and try to reach the car limits. Power delivery is smooth and consistent through the rev range, and the 237 hp of the 1750cc turbo definitely feel like more and they are easily manageable. Flooring the throttle pedal in such a car is a joy and puts a smile on your face: the acceleration squeezes you in the seats and there is little jaw of the nose in the air. Traction is superb even on a wet surface and the car allows to play a bit with its natural oversteer. Such an exhilarating package! The sound is fantastic: the turbine hisses in anger and the tiny interior resonate with the loud intake noise. Simply orgasmic. The chassis is very well balanced and the car is neutral during cornering and allows you to drive precisely and take advantage of the great balanced chassis. In a track like Castelletto di Branduzzo with tight corners, the car transfers its weight smoothly and you never feel like being thrown around. 

The car feels very tight and there's a lot of communication between front and rear suspension. 

Braking power is really good and allows for proper modulation and do not seem to fade away after many laps. They are precise and do not bite violently after you lightly touch them. The feel is superb and inspires confidence right away.

Gear shifts are handled smoothly and the transmission responds quickly to the inputs on the paddles. On the DNA, different settings do not lead to a drastic change in the car's behavior. The only difference I noticed in Dynamic mode is a more aggressive power delivery.

the 4C has a high mounted engine in a very stiff chassis: this accentuates the natural tendency to oversteer when you exit the corner.  A bit too much throttle can make the tail snap out of your control, but with some experience on your back and a few laps in the car, you can predict it and control it easily as it would return into its place easily.
In the end, it does not bother me: you could use the throttle to come out a corner and have plenty of fun by swinging its tail.
The car is not too nervous and allows you to explore its limits without taking too many risks. The unassisted steering wheel is the icing on the cake that will make any driving enthusiast smile: so connected, you feel the road like in a proper sports car. Just what we driving junkies like. 

The 4C is a car that stands on its own. Despite being designed a sports car made to be competing against the Lotus Elise and the Porsche Cayman, it's a properly balanced product: not as spartan as the Elise, but not as practical as a Porsche Cayman. The 4C has a seductive interior with an unassisted steering rack, a carbon frame which you see trough the interior, yet the thin seats are made of leather, and the voluptuous shape of the exterior adds to the elegance and sportiness of this car. In my opinion, it feels at home on the racetrack but its elegance won't look too bad in the gardens of Villa d'Este.

It feels like a track day car but is not as extreme. Yes, it has a tiny boot, and poor rear visibility, but has air con, good front visibility and is not too big. I felt special driving it, as I got all eyes on me.
Everyone was looking at it when it was moving through the pit lane, everyone waited their turn to take the test drive and I've never seen so many eyes gazing at the bright white composite bodywork. It was the star of the show and it deserves to be so.
Allow me to make two wishes: with the new Cayman GT4 lapping the 'Ring at 7:40, I really want to see a GTA version of the 4C. Just imagine how cool would it be! And second, would you make a racing version, Alfa Romeo?
Driving this famed 4C makes me positive about the future that is ahead of us: for the first time in 20 years, it happens to be brighter. It's definitely a first-step forward to what it'll be the rebirth of the great Alfa Romeo history.

Two seats and and loads of fun: test driving the new Abarth 695 Biposto

I must admit I quite love the new Abarth two seater hot hatch. It's a properly fun little car that puts a big smile on your face and promises to turn your daily commute to the grocery store into something more...well more entertaining. 

Having recently driven mostly automatic gearboxes with paddles, the manual Biposto is something of a relief. Sadly it was not the dog ring 'box I wanted that I have tested, the one with the proper alluminum Ferrari like grill and inverted selection movements (to engage first, which is in the hi left position you need to pull the stick towards you) but a regular manual. 

The interior design is something you would expect from any 595 Abarth out there, but Abarth have kicked things up a notch: the rear seats are gone missing, replaced by a titanium roll bar, plenty of carbon fiber and no arm rests: a tiny red piece of cloth is all you need to close the doors. The dials are condensed into a single round cluster of new design and graphics. It  also shows you the turbo boost in bars . A touch of "performance awareness" if you want and it is now in front of you and not concealed by the thick steering wheel like on current Abarth cars.

Seats are quite comfortable too and I find them to be decently supportive during high cornering.

Carpets and sound isolation is not an option, so we rest our feer on the elegantly worked alluminium floors.

The sound of the Akrapovic exhaust is properly loud in the limits of sreet legality, and they offer a pleasing tone, never to mention the slovenian two stage piping which offers a good amount of high flux efficiency. 

As you would expect, inside the car the is a sound that is considerably louder than most cars and to me is a good thing, as I can finally properly listen what the engine is doing without constantly looking at the rev counter.

The car I tested was not loaded with options tough: the central racing dial was not installed, as were the Sabelt carbon seats and belts and the windows were not policarbonate. Nevertheless, it looked pretty good with the simple carbon fiber door panels: no switches and just a red cloth handle to close the door. Let's hope to have a go in the future in a fully loaded one, just for the fun of the alluminium racing shifter being used on the street!

On a twisty track like Castelletto di Branduzzo, the Abarth Biposto feels like a rollercoaster ride. I am impressed with the smooth and consistent power delivery wich remind me of the 4c acceleration: a brilliant 1.4 liter straight 4 with 190 hp that definitely feels to deliver just above 200. Low rev torque is a great ally in torque steering the car in slower corners. Definitely the Biposto is not as fast as the mighty 4C, as we propel the little hot hatch to 80 mph at the end of the short straight (the 4C went 95 mph) but you have the sensation that the car is definitely faster than it really is, even if a quick look at the dial won't leave you disappointed.

Fast turns show the perfect combination of the short wheelbase, Macpherson strut suspension, and the self-locking differential: these elements are so cleverly put together that make the car composed and acting almost as it was wheel drive. As a matter of fact, it does not have the tendency to swing the nose when accelerating trough corners as most front wheel cars do. During high-speed cornering the car is agile and precise: you just point an angle when entering a turn and it allows you to follow the ideal racing line with ease and make an excellent use of the accelerator pedal. It is also a light car, weighing a little over 2000 pounds (997kg) and this factor definitely increases its track capabilities. 

The rear end has a tendency to lighten when provoked, but it does not become overly unstable to affect the good handling. Steering is light and responds quickly to any input and guarantees precision in the fast direction changes. 

The weight distribution is good too and despite we sit high in the car, the Biposto always maintains all 4 wheels firmly on the ground and you have a good feeling of what the car is doing.

The gearbox lacks a bit in mechanical feel, but gear changes are smooth and easy even during fast shifting. I truly enjoyed the buttery feel of the shifter and gear ratios are, in my opinion, perfectly matched for some fun driving in the hills or any narrow twisty road. What I did not like is the close position of the second and fourth gears: in downshift you can easily engage the fourth when it is the second you need. They're placed so close together you need to push the stick with conviction, clearly telling the mechanism that is second that you want. This feature can be frustrating at times and I wish Abarth would correct it, but, a precise movement will guarantee second with almost no mistake.

The pedals feel great too, and they're the perfect match for heel and toe. When braking, just flick the right foot to the accelerator pedal and the rev-happy engine will power up to the rpms you need for the downshift. Clutch is light as you would expect from a modern day manual, and the brake pedal feels great and allows you to control the amount of braking power you need.

What I did not like is the high mounted position of the pedalboard, another typical Fiat feature, and I have some problems in taking my foot away from the clutch when I am not shifting. In some way, I am forced to drive with the foot on the clutch which is not a great driving tip. But other than that, the angle of the pedals is just about right and perfectly matched with the brilliant spirit of the Biposto.

In the end, my opinion of the 695 Biposto is very positive. It is a funny little hatch offering serious driving dynamics to the driver. Getting out of it you feel like you've driven a proper modern car and you just wish you would drive more, maybe on a long trip, just for an excuse to have more fun in it. On the market the Biposto is something unique and special: no other manufacturer offers such an extreme package. Price is not a cheap one, but if you'd like to have a perfect complement for the daily routine that would sit happily next to your 458 speciale, well, you won't be disappointed by this little fun car. Well done Abarth!

The Alfa Romeo V10 continuation: the stillborn SE048 Sport e Prototipo

If you have been following this Blog for a while, you may have noticed that the guy writing has quite a love affair Alfa Romeo. Despite I would not call myself an Alfista just because the Alfetta GTV6 2.5 of my dreams is sitting in someone else's garage right now, and I still had not the chance to rev its beautiful Busso V6 properly, I cannot resist the temptation to talk about them I love to write about the marvels that came out the factory in Arese every time I have the occasion, better if the car we are talking about is something unique and not known by many. Why talk about Alfa Romeo? Because it is a great story and deserves to be told.

If you take a look at the story of Alfa Romeo, you always come around great models that were stillborn and never got the chance to be enjoyed by enthusiast: take the Alfa-Abarth 1000GT or the 162 Grand Prix or the 750 Competizione and also the 147 WRC. Last time we talked about the awesome 164 V10 ProCar and we discussed the great features of its 10 cylinder F1 engine. This story is actually a continuation of the great Procar, and back in its time the car you see pictured here represented an evolution of the 1985 V1035 project and was meant to be raced in the Group C Championship.

As a matter of fact, the role of the ProCar after the demonstration laps at Monza in 1988 was that of a test bed for the new Group C racing car for endurance competition. It was a decision based on the strategy that FIAT Ceo Antonio Ghidella had planned to promote the Alfa Romeo as a brand. In fact, his attention was beginning to be drawn from the successful Lancia Rally team in favor of new projects with the Biscione. Racing is expensive, and there was the need to promote Alfa new Fiat-based products, like the 155: this idea led to an investment made for competing in Group C and further on, in the DTM and ITC championship, with great success (and anger from BMW and Audi as well). To favor this project, the Squadra Corse Lancia was killed in 1991, still at the peak of its competitiveness.

The interest showed by Alfa Romeo in such a car was determined by the fact that the rules of Group C of 1990 had changed and demanded the use of 3.5 liter engines. Hence the interest of Alfa Romeo in using 1988 V1035 units  for a new sports prototype car to build a good reputation for the newer models. This strategy was also used with the 155 GTA of the DTM: a good advocate for the change of the humble successor of the legendary 75, the 155, which was built on a the same chassis of the less sporty Fiat Tipo 2.

Developed on the 164, the d'Agostino 10 cylinder was retuned to deliver its power further down the rev range, in order to increase the durability of the engine and make it suitable for endurance.

The Abarth headquarters in Corso Marche in Turin proved to be the ideal ground for the development of the new car: essentially, the facility was destined for this project, as Lancia cars were slowly finishing their competition life, and Abarth engineers, like Sergio Limone were also employed alongside Alfa technicians  to build the car. 

 The ground effect chassis was designed by ex Osella man Giuseppe Perrotta and it was all carbon fiber, the gearbox was an Abarth design and the aerodynamic was perfected in Fiat's own wind tunnel.  Also, engineer Sergio Limone, the man who designed the Delta S4 also took part in the project. It was a state of the art, purebred Alfa Romeo hybrid, developed in Turin by a mixed team of Abarth and Alfa Corse. Despite the good development made by the engineering team, The whole project began in 1988 but died in 1990, due to the lack of funds and to the general progressive loss of interest in Group C racing. In fact, the teams that showed real interest in the series were Alfa Romeo and Peugeot, so by 1993, it was all over.

As we said above, the legendary V1035 engine developed  for the SE048 was the ideal choice to be the power unit of the car. But, here we come to the controversial part. It's true that the V10 of Pino d'Agostino was the initial choice for the propulsion of the SE048, but it was later dropped in favour an Abarth tuned Ferrari V12, mainly due to reliability issues with the timing belt. But it is unclear whether the V10 was developing problems or it was dropped to internal reasons, as Eng.d'Agostino pointed out. But this fact is just a small shadow of a project that could have launched Alfa Romeo into a new wave of success, as it did in the DTM and WTCC racing. 

Sadly, the lost interest in Group C racing (only Peugeot and Alfa Romeo were really committed to it) and the decision to invest more in more durable championships made the SE048 project end by September 1990, leaving it not fully developed.

It's another Alfa Romeo that joins the club of the models who never made into the Company live history. Despite this, they remain true to Alfa Romeo and are in Arese for us to enjoy. 

Alfa Romeo Sleeper: the 164 v10 procar

If you like American Hot Rods, you are probably familiar with the name "sleeper". If you're not, well, just think about your grandfather's car, add some rust, fancy brown tartan interiors, wheels remain of course stock but imagine it capable of speeds that annihilate any other vehicle on the road in a straight line. If you have never seen one or find hard to picture your grandad humiliating every Ferrari he meets, just take a look at this 1972 Chevy Nova with 1,160 hp: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96Hv_jRQMv8

Or even at David Letterman own Ford 302 powered Volvo 960: http://jalopnik.com/5540957/the-ford-powered-volvo-wagon-paul-newman-built. Not that an Alfa Romeo would look slow or even pathetic, but imagine seeing a peaceful 164 that apparently has no modifications to the bodywork and almost no improved aerodynamics that is capable of 210 mph. To me are sounds like a totally cool "sleeper", the Italian way, of course.

But enough with the traditional sleepers from overseas. Time to talk about Alfa Romeo sleepers: the 164 Pro Car from 1988.

Looking exactly like a stock 164 sedan from 1988, the v10 Pro Car is a concealed high-tech racing car complete with all Alfa Romeo stillborn innovations like the very first 10 cylinder engine ever to be built for a Formula 1 car.

As a matter of fact, the first ever F1 V10, model name "V1035", nominally 10 Cyl., 3.5 liter displacement, was an Alfa Romeo project born in November 1985, by the great Italian engineer Pino d'Agostino, at the time one of the best motorists available in the World.

Starting from the idea that the best F1 engines have always been V8's for the 3 liter formula, he was convinced that balancing a 72 degree 3.5 liter v10 for the new F1 regulations would have made the best powerplant for a top class single seater.

Having Alfa Romeo an interest to return F1 racing, it made a deal with French Team Ligier to provide the new engines to equip their new cars. Working with a top team of engineers composed by Bodini, Bordoni, Flor, Giani, Mazzoleni, Rossetti, Teruzzi and Turina, head Eng. d'Agostino began designing the V1035 in November 1985. It was at the time, the most advanced project in F1, and a first ever: in fact, Honda and Renault introduced their own v10 a month and a year after respectively after the AR V1035. Thanks to the characteristics, it featured the new AR engine eventually became the reference point for other manufacturers in the years to come.

The V1035 was started up for the first time on 1st July 1986 and peaked 583hp, 9 months after the beginning of the project.

The Alfa Romeo V1035 was a 72° V10 with two banks of 5 cylinders, aluminium-silicon alloy block, titanium connecting rods, molded pistons with high-density silicon with two ring segments and oil jet cooling. There were 15 built in total and two versions of the engine exist: the first one, featuring 5 valves per cylinder and the second with 4 valves. All valves are made out of titanium, activated by spring in tappets, and they are commanded by four camshafts with phase variations. A titanium flywheel was connected to the crankshaft. Power output was recorded as 583 bhp at the time of the firsts bench tests while the definitive version of the engine peaked at 620bhp at 13.300 rpm with a max torque of 39kgm at 9500rpm.

Alfa Romeo would have definitely beaten the nail on its head with this unit in the F1 Championship. But, despite the general optimism, the V1035 never made it into the engine bay of an F1 car, nor was able to turn a wheel in anger on the track. In fact, the project was abandoned as Fiat took over Alfa in 1986, as Vittorio Ghidella the then Fiat CEO, closed the relationship with Ligier and the whole idea was abandoned.

Despite this sad fact, FIA was considering opening a new championship based entirely on cars looking exactly like production cars, but featuring F1 technology underneath the lightweight bodywork. Rules were set and the car that were admitted to the series had to be produced at least at 25.000 units per year. It was an interesting idea as let Manufacturers almost complete freedom to operate underside the pinnings of the "faked" vehicle. It was 1988.

Alfa Romeo showed great interest as it saw the Pro Car Championship (literally Production Car) a good way to promote the new flagship 164 sedan, a big, luxurious and sporty front wheel drive car that was representing the successor of the great Alfa 90. Looking completely stock, hence my definition "sleeper".

The idea was taken seriously and a new mid-engine chassis, was built by Brabham with a Nomex and aluminum honeycomb structure, featuring the V1035 as a stressing unit in the back. The car was then finished with composite body shells resembling the line of a standard 164. A tiny rear spoiler was added to increase the downforce at
the rear, the only exterior detail that set this car apart from the road-going counterpart.

Two cars were made both sharing the same characteristics and were completed by September 1988. Prior to the public debut at the 1988 Italian Gran Prix at Monza, the car was tested both on closed public roads and Alfa Romeo Balocco test track. The engine performance was tested by team manager and test driver Giorgio Pianta on a closed section of the Turin-Savona Autostrada during Sunday. This was carried out to test how the engine behaved at high rpms. After covering twice the closed section, the Polizia told Pianta to stop testing the car, as the authorities were not able to contain the huge crowd gathered to see the car passing at high speeds. Good times back then uh?

One of the two cars was given to Giorgio Francia to do a testing session on the Balocco track. During those tests  the 164 Pro Car achieved  a top speed of 211 mph and recorded 9.7 seconds in the quarter mile straight runs. The car also registered 17.5 seconds to cover 1 km standing start.

The car was officially presented to the public at the Italian Gran Prix in 1988, and it was driven by Riccardo Patrese. It was timed at 329 km/h (205 mph) a much higher value than those registered by the F1 cars of the era. Such speed was obtained thanks also to the lesser CX value than those from a typical single seater.

What was thought to be the Birth of a legendary vehicle, it was, sadly the end as well. After the only appeareance at Monza, the FIA cancelled the Pro Car Program due to a lack of partecipants.

The 164 remained within the ownership of Alfa Romeo and the two cars were used as a test bed for the following years, like another great car: le Group C Alfa Romeo Sport e Prototipo featuring the same V1035. We'll feature this one in the future for sure.

The two wonderful Alfa Romeo 164 Pro Cars can now be admired in the Museo Alfa Romeo in Arese, despite it being...closed to the public.  

The Isotta Fraschini #1: an unique gem from the Lopresto Collection.

Photo courtesy of Lopresto Collection

In an interview I did in November 2013 to Horacio Pagani about his Automotive philosophy, he pointed out that "we can say that a brand has to maintain its own character, and it has to be this way (...) they all have their characteristics, their philosophy which were imposed at the beginning by the manufacturer". Meaning, the beginning of a car manufacturer is always a personal statement. When a car is born, a new idea goes right with it and contributes to making it the object of desire, admiration, need and lust for years to come.

True to this fact, finding the #1 model of a Car Company, best if a legendary one like Isotta Fraschini, is an event deserving a respectful attention by the enthusiast Community.

As a matter of fact, not many companies have still their original #001 car still around: most of the times it was lost somewhere, crushed, rusted beyond restoration or simply waiting in a barn somewhere just to be found. It is like this for Rolls Royce, where the first prototypes of the 10HP were lost, for Porsche, where the 356 Gmund 001 is said to have been crushed. Remeber the first car ever, a Mercedes Benz? A replica sits in their Museum and the original is nowhere to be found. It is a sad destiny for many #1 vehicles of most Manufacturers, let alone pre-war Legends like Isotta Fraschini.

Much to my surprise and joy in a hot day of July, I had the pleasure to discover on the Facebook page of  Italian Collector Corrado Lopresto a short video of this old, tiny motorcar starting up in a remote street of Milan.
As much as I love Isotta Fraschini, this was an event that defined my 2014 of motoring enthusiasm. Despite, not having seen this little car yet, I think it's about time to write a couple of lines to make this beautiful array of steel and wood, justice.

Photo Courtesy of Lopresto Collection

Not known by many Italians, the Isotta Fraschini name is a very important one. If you ever boarded a boat, chances are that you came to your destination thanks to a big diesel engine bearing this name. Or if you ever saw an old Italian truck which was not an Iveco or an OM, well, that may have been an Isotta Fraschini as well.

Back in its time, the IF factory of Milan was building among the finest, most powerful, expensive and beautiful cars to ever come out from Italy. Rich leather, wood, tasteful color combination and an unmistakable elegance and traveling comfort, they were the right competitors for Roll Royce, Hispano-Suiza, and Bugatti. If you know the 2006 Villa d'Este winner, the IF 8ASS Castagna, (also from the Lopresto Collection) which was also exhibited at the Mulhouse Museum taking the place of a Bugatti Royale, you know what I am talking about

The first one made by IF of Milan is the car pictured above. It never had a bodywork fitted to it, and this makes the car look like a steel rectangle with some wheels at the sides and engine placed on top. But it was just more than this. It was the beginning.

Photo Courtesy of Lopresto Collection

Completed in 1901 and labeled Tipo 1902, the first Isotta Fraschini was inspired by the Renault D-Type, a Brand of which Cesare Isotta and Vincenzo Fraschini were official importers. In fact, it is similar in the technic: a single cylinder De Dion-Bouton engine #1246 and identical front bonnet and chassis. As I pointed out before, it is the only model never to receive a bodywork, in opposite to the next models produced, which were "dressed" by the Carrozzeria Belloni of Milan.

In 1931, 30 years after the foundation of Isotta Fraschini, the car was donated to the Ford Museum in Dearborn, where it remained for the next 50 years. As awkward this my seem, it is possible that behind this donation was the Italian Fascist Government seeking a symbolic act to increase the good relations with the United States. As a matter of fact, the Isotta Fraschini of the time was a symbol of great Italian engineering, let alone a well accepted foreign representative of Italy as a Country by donating the very first car made by the Factory to an important Nation like the U.S.A. was an act of great generosity.

After remaining in the Dearborn Museum until the mid eighties, it was put on sale and it has been in private hands ever since.

The car has never been restored and it has its original patina. It was recently put on sale and acquired by Corrado Lopresto this Summer. It has appeared at the Chantilly Concours of Elegance and it is now a cherished and much-loved piece of motoring history 

Photo courtesy of Lopresto Collection

The Kawasaki H2R at EICMA 2014: a chat with Sergio Vicarelli.

When you think the 205 HP of the new 1299 Panigale are more than enough to cover long sections of tarmac as quickly as possible, you were wrong.  The new Kawasaki H2R will destroy all you know about power limits in a motorcycle engine.

At EICMA 2014 I was able to confirm that Superbike horsepower wars are far from over. Is it right to think that Motorcycle Companies are diminishing their interest in building lighter and more powerful bikes in favor of smaller products? Sure. But for someone, there is still room to add more numbers to the "HP" name. Fighting my way through the crowd, I was able to see the black beast and even have a friendly chat with the Commercial and Marketing Director of Kawasaki Italia, Sergio Vicarelli.

Sergio is a friendly, passion driven individual, who does not mind talking about Kawasaki's new track only monster with a completely random guy like me.

I met him while he was explaining to Group of younger riders the wonders of the new centrifugal supercharger used to squeeze every drop of power from the 1000cc 4 cylinder engine: "It's better than a conventional Roots one" he was saying, "as the new turbine compresses air without generating too much heat. The turbine is also designed also to run at 9000 rpm when the engine is revving at only 1000. This gives a consistent increase in power.". As a matter of fact, the engine cutaway shows a Turbo-style compressor, driven by a long carbon fiber intake running from the nose of the bike, right down to the engine compartment.

As he finishes with those guys, I immediately approach him and start firing questions at him like a maniac. The first question I pose is "Why the need for a supercharger on a superbike? Why 300 hp?", he smiles and answers my question without esitation:"the centrifugal supercharger allows to have extra power without needing an increase of displacement therefore letting us use the same engine size of a 1000cc but having a completely new dynamicity of the power delivery. The bike could not have obtained the same results with a conventional normally aspirated unit as the engine would have been impossible to manage. It also would have been necessary to change the frame size, compromising the feeling the rider gets from the motorcycle itself". It's definitely a different concept that the one Ducati has done by increasing the displacement of the 1199 Panigale to 1299. This sort of "tricks", supercharging, gives a more fluid and constant power delivery.  What is also interesting, is that all bike dynamics depend on the aerodynamics, designed with Kawasaki Aerospace department:"As you probably know" he said "Kawasaki is a Company present in many sectors of engineering. Motorcycles are just a part of what this Reality is all about, as we build everything from sports bikes to heavy machinery and Aerospace, so the Intellectual force behind our Company is really immense. When our engineers designed the bike, they needed the knowledge to make it stable and neutral at very high speeds. As you can see the nose is not pointing down as all sports bikes on the market right now: it's higher because it provides better results at high speeds and also because it contains the airbox that feeds the supercharger".

"Also, the new aerodynamics are visible through the two wings placed where usually we find the rearview mirrors and are complemented by two additional winglets placed on the lower carbon fiber bodywork. Again, another solution to have the bike neutral at speeds", "and this also justifies the shorter hulls?" i ask "yes, the fact that the bike features less bodywork is not just to improve the aero but also to help it dissipate the heat coming from the engine and keep it at the optimal operating temperature during the ride. As the bike was designed by the Aerospace guys it is not just "another" wind tunnel only design. Here we are talking about something groundbreaking and completely new in the design of a motorcycle.  This idea is also expressed by the chassis of the H2R".  Knowing all the work Kawasaki has done to improve the Handling of its bikes to stay competitive in the Superbike World Championship, I ask him more about the structure where all that technological goodness is housed "Is it a completely new design or it benefits from Kawasaki proven racing experience?","No, it does not share any resemblance to our ZX-10R Motorcycle. As the H2R will never compete in International events, we wanted to design something completely new, just for this bike. It is a frame made to accommodate the new powerplant and to help it merge with the bodywork and help the cooling". "We designed the bike as a new performance benchmark in the segment" goes on Sergio "but we had to make it easy enough to let the customer use it to its full potential even if he/she is not Valentino Rossi". Well done, Kawasaki!



Knowing EICMA quite well, and still having lots to see, I decide to quit my thirst of knowledge of the brilliant H2R and greet Sergio and finish off my tour of the event and of the beautiful array of vintage Kawasaki superbikes on display.

My first encounter with this engineering Tour de Force, the Green Deamon as I will call this bike from now on, as left me completely amazed and eager to learn more. 300 bhp on a track bike sounds like a no-brainer: no one will ever need a bike with such a power for a couple of track days per year. But what it emerges is something completely different, a bike that is made to accommodate a new concept of competitive riding. It does not seem to be the new all-horsepower machine with no real dynamics added to it. It may be the dawn of a new concept of superbike, the Hyperbike. Usually I see supercharging and state of the art aerodynamics on supercars rather than motorcycles, but during my brief chat with Sergio, it almost sounded like we were talking about some supercar.

A new idea which finds itself also in the new road-going variant of this amazing bike, the 200 hp H2, also on display at EICMA. This is just the beginning of what it seems to be a not so distant future.