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TESTA ROSSA! FERRARI 500TRC ON TRACK
Little redracer
Story by Peter Collins Photography by Phil Ward Archive Images LAT Photogrpahic
THE LITTLE RED MACHINE REGARDED BY MANY AS THE MOST SUCCESSFUL GRAND PRIX CAR OF ALL TIME
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t’s a funny old world. In the late 1940s, the bloke who designed the car featured here was convinced of the superiority of larger-capacity atmospherically charged engines over the thendominant 1500cc twin-stage supercharged cars that were winning all the period Grands Prix. A change in the regulations allowed him to put his convictions into practice with the result that you see here. These cars became the most successful Grand Prix cars of all time. As time moved on, perhaps he became, temporarily, a victim of his own success. Eventually, the winning streak ran out and as boss Enzo Ferrari never particularly liked carrying personnel with him unless they were able to do something to advance the company name, our designer went from hero to zero. After a year or two barren of results, he was shown
the door and, with the inevitable raised voices, left. He travelled west, to Turin, and took up a post with Fiat – whereupon 25 years rolled by during which he developed into one of the most successful and prolific passenger-car engineers in the world. Then, in 1980, motorsport beckoned again. As the boss of Abarth, he realised that the way to beat the four-wheel drive Audis in the new, upcoming, Group B World Championship Rally era, was to build a light and nimble rear-wheel drive machine. Ironically, he insisted that the new car should be powered by – guess what? – a supercharged engine. In just over 30 years his design philosophy had turned full circle. The result was the World Championshipwinning Lancia 037. I wonder if Enzo later met him in that great workshop on high, to congratulate him?
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Ferrari 500 F2
The ‘bloke’ in question was Ingegnere Aurelio Lampredi. He was one of Enzo’s earliest collaborators but when Ferrari cars were first tackling the Grands Prix of Europe, they did so powered by engines designed by Ing. Giaochino Colombo. Lampredi was a consultant at the time (late 1940s) and Ferrari’s main opposition in the races were the all-conquering Alfa Romeo 158/9s. These cars had engines of 1500cc that were blown by superchargers to within a millimetre of their lives, being tuned to produce prodigious amounts of power at the cost of astronomical fuel consumption. Lampredi considered all this to be wasteful of both time and fuel. The weight the cars had to carry at the start of a Grand Prix, coupled to their need for time-wasting pit-stops to refuel and the complexity of the power units, convinced Lampredi that there was another way. His atmospheric V12 Ferrari first appeared in June 1950 at the Belgian GP in 3.3-litre form. The engine was enlarged eventually to 4.5 litres and by the early part of 1951 was proving itself to be a competitive proposition. The Alfas were still winning all the Grands Prix that mattered though,
until the British GP of that year. Ascari and Gonzalez faced up to the 158/9s at Silverstone and there was an air of showdown about the race. Gonzalez managed to take the lead but Fangio’s genius pushed the latter’s Alfa to the front only for the Ferrari to retake first place on lap 38. It kept that lead to the end to finally stem the dominance of supercharged engines in the world’s premier racing discipline. It was a momentous, pivotal occasion but Lampredi was looking ahead. The racing authorities had decided that from January 1st 1954, Grand Prix racing would be subject to a 2.5-litre engine regulation and, cutting a long story short, the designer shelved his plans for another V12 in favour of a complete reversal in concept – a four-cylinder unit. The figures generally quoted as being to this idea’s advantage are a reduction in engine weight from 180kg to 155kg, a reduction of some 65% in the number of engine parts and a theoretical increase of 15% in power-to-weight ratio. The first such unit appeared at the Bari Grand Prix on September 2nd 1951 in 2.5-litre form, in the hands of Piero Taruffi.
LEFT: Bearing chassis number 05, this beautifully restored car is part of the Donington Collection. ‘05’ has probably won more official GPs than any other racing car
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“The focus at the moment is on quality of service; it’s not about volume. We don’t plan to sell more than 10,000 cars this year and next year we’ll again aim for around 10,000. The big change will come in 2010, with the new generation of Alfas. By then, we must have established the quality of our infrastructure or we’ll be building on sand.” Nicoll has set his long-term sights on establishing a steady 20,000 UK sales per year – and eventually reaching a top five slot in the J.D. Power survey.
Alfa has noticed that its most successful dealers tend to be those where the principal has a strong emotional attachment to the brand: “You can’t write down a list of rules on how to sell an Alfa Romeo – it comes from the heart as well as the head.” It’s also significant that while the motor industry traditionally rewards dealers for selling higher volumes of cars, 60% of Alfa’s dealer bonus is now based not on sales – but on the quality of customer care. Residual values are another area where Alfa traditionally
It’s a long, long journey and we’ve only just started.” The Changes It’s the dealer network that has so far seen the biggest changes. Alfa UK has already split from 42 dealerships. “This has left temporary ‘holes’ across the country and I’m sorry for that, but we don’t want to compromise – we have to take the long-term approach,” says Nicoll. Most gaps should be filled by the end of the year, when there’ll be a greater division between Alfa and Fiat, with six Alfa-only dealerships already open or planned. “When Lancia arrives in the UK, there will be some Alfa and Lancia dealerships because it’s a logical fit. But each of the brands – Fiat, Lancia and Alfa – has its own personality, and will be reflected in the layout of any multi-franchise dealerships.”
THE RETURN TO AMERICA Alfa has pledged to return to the American market but, says Christopher Nicoll, it all depends on the success in the UK. “The UK is the most demanding market in Europe; America is even more so. Not to mention the huge legal protection given to American consumers. [He adds quietly: “If the ashtray rattles, you probably have to give them a new car.”] If we can’t succeed here, we’ll never succeed in the States.”
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receives heavy criticism. But Nicoll is adamant that these opinions are out-dated: “There is a belief that we have poor residual values. That belief is absolutely incorrect. The reality is totally different – take the 159. Residual values might not match its German rivals but are at least as good as other European competitors. The GT is one of the best in class, while the Brera V6 is independently quoted as having one of the best residual values around. Why the change? We no longer artificially inflate sales figures by selling cheaply to the rental market, offering large discounts or pre-registering cars. There can only be one consequence of such actions – the depression of residual values. Now, it’s very difficult to get a cheap Alfa at a high discount and the effects can already be seen.”
Industry Profile NEW CARS; NEW TECHNOLOGIES A new generation of Alfa Romeos is on the way. A compact city car, codenamed the ‘Junior’, is due by the end of 2008, followed by a successor to the 147 – currently dubbed the 149. The name, however, is in doubt, since there’s an internal debate on whether to plump for numbers or names. Late 2009 or 2010 will see a crossover SUV; and finally a large saloon – a latter-day 166 – with the probable name of 169. The new generation of cars will benefit from technologies currently under development: lighter materials, advanced handling technology, and – something not traditionally associated with Alfa – comfort. Most exciting of all, there’s the new turbo technology which should enable petrol engines to achieve the fuel efficiency of diesels. So expect turbo petrol engines in the next generation of Alfas.
Other changes include the customer care team, which in the past was a shared Fiat/Alfa function. Now there’s a dedicated Alfa team of six people. “Can you believe that the average time, last year, to close a customer complaint was 45 days? Forty-five days! I’m embarrassed to talk about it… it’s such an obvious area to address, isn’t it? In any industry – if your washing machine breaks down – you don’t expect to wait 45 days. Now, we’ve cut it down to four days which is still not good enough. This is what I mean by our ‘master plan’ being very simple.” There’s also a new, rigorous mechanical check, including a test-drive, for every car coming into the UK. “In the past the check was purely cosmetic,” explains Nicoll, “which missed those niggling problems that cause huge irritation. Yet 80% can be sorted before delivery.” And don’t forget the Alfa warranty – and the familiar problem of failing cambelts. Says Nicoll, “Yes, there was a problem with cambelts snapping too early and Alfa’s warranty policy being highly restrictive. Now we give a 3year unlimited-mileage warranty, plus we’re far more generous with goodwill payments.” But doesn’t this mean a great deal of cost for Italy? A lot of investment? “Yes, indeed, until 2010 it’s all cost… but in one sense we had no choice. We asked ourselves, did we want to remain in the UK? The answer was yes, so then it was simply a matter of agreeing what had to be done. If we can combine the emotion of Alfa Romeo with the rational – if we can have both, then we will sell… a lot. But we will always play to our own strengths: exceptional design, sporting heritage, outstanding technology. We must be ourselves. A simple picture of this was at the Geneva Show this year. The cars weren’t silver: they were red and black.” Alfa Romeo’s range of cars has never looked stronger, from the beautiful Brera to the 147 hatchback, soft top Spider and the popular GT
Tell Us What You Think We’d like to know what our readers think… have you already noticed a difference at Alfa Romeo? Let us know your thoughts – or tell us about your own recent experiences with the marque. Email: alfa@trmg.co.uk.
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BUYERS GUIDE An in-depth review of a future classic
MASERATI3200GT With prices for this stylish GT currently at a very tempting level, Maserati specialist Andy Heywood offers some essential advice…
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aserati’s comeback kid, the 3200GT, was the first new product of the amalgamation of Maserati and Ferrari. It debuted in 1998 with right-hand drive UK deliveries beginning in the middle of 1999 and stayed in production until 2002 when replaced by the outwardly similar but inwardly very different ‘Coupe’, unofficially known as 4200GT. All 3200s used the same 3.2litre 32-valve all-aluminium V8 engine with twin turbochargers and produced 370bhp. Transmissions were either 6-speed Getrag manual gearbox or the more popular BTR 4-speed automatic. The two-door coupe bodyshell was designed by Giugiaro, built entirely of steel and most memorable for its ‘boomerang’-shaped rear lights. You know when you’ve been passed by a 3200GT in the dark. The only special edition of the car was known as the Assetto
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Corsa, of which 75 examples were imported in 2001/2002, again in a mixture of manual and automatic. These were track-day focused cars, distinguishable by their lowered stance, darkened wheels, improved steering and brakes and Pirelli P Zero Corsa sticky tyres. The most popular colours were safe silvers and blues but almost any external colour and interior leather combinations were available by special order. In all there were 877 cars imported to the UK, selling through Maserati’s revitalised dealer network. To give you an idea of how important this car was, that’s more cars than they had sold in the UK in the preceding two decades. On the whole, the car was wellreceived by the press at the time. The only real criticisms raised were the difficulty in modulating the flyby-wire throttle in town with manual gearbox versions and a general view that compared with
the outgoing Ghibli, this was a much heavier, less sporting car to drive. All, however, agreed that the 3200GT took Maserati into a different league in terms of build quality. Eight years later, and with used examples now commanding only a third of their original price, let’s see if they were right. As with any exotic car, service history is crucial. On a 3200GT there are many different types of service dependent on age and mileage. For instance, there should be annual engine oil and antifreeze changes carried out regardless of mileage. The anti-corrosion properties of fresh antifreeze in delicate aluminium engines should not be underestimated. A separate schedule exists in the service book to record these. It is worth noting that the engines do use oil and therefore must be checked and topped up between services. Like the V6 engine that preceded it, this engine uses a mixture of
cambelt and timing chains to drive the four camshafts. The main schedule suggests a cambelt change at 31,000 miles, though the common understanding is to renew every four years anyway on low-mileage cars. Breakage, however, is unusual. Unlike the V6, changing the timing chains at the rear of both cylinder heads (nominally at 68,000 miles) does not require engine removal but this service is still expensive and checking that it has been done on a potential purchase which is close to this mileage would be wise. Other engine-related issues are surprisingly few but include some instances of poor quality casehardening on valve clearance adjusting shims, meaning excessive clearance and noise and labour-intensive renewal of the shims. Occasionally, there is some coolant leakage into the ‘V’ of the engine (usually through aluminium corrosion having ruptured hoses).
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The anti-corrosion properties of fresh antifreeze in delicate aluminium engines should not be underestimated...”
This is very difficult to see and is usually only noticed when the knock sensors become waterlogged and the engine misfires. An engine that doesn’t start first time but always starts eventually will more than likely have a failing crankshaft sensor (cheap to replace) and highermileage engines that hunt at idle will more than likely require a new throttle potentiometer (not cheap to replace). And that is almost it for the engine, except for one small item, which is where it starts to get scary. A pattern has emerged of wear in the crankshaft thrust washers on manual gearbox cars. The thrust action on the end of the crankshaft from use of the clutch can cause the thrust washers to fail, leading to accelerated wear of the crankshaft itself. This manifests itself externally as a larger-thantolerance reading for the measurement of crankshaft end
BUYERS GUIDE
ABOVE: Luxury leather interior with accommodation for four LEFT: Engines are generally reliable but check the service history
float. Therefore, during the inspection of any potential purchase, this must be checked because the worst-case scenario is the need to replace the crankshaft and rebuild the entire engine, and that is a five-figure repair bill. The possibility of this happening can be reduced by not starting the engine with your foot on the clutch, in other words wait for the oil pressure to get round. The clutch itself can also wear quite quickly. The aforementioned difficulty in town driving because of the tricky fly-by-wire throttle makes slipping the clutch inevitable. This causes wear which initially manifests itself as heaviness in operation, in turn exacerbating the original problem to the point where the car is almost undriveable. Cars driven mainly in town can require a new clutch in as little as 20,000 miles. Needless to say, neither of the above problems afflicts the automatic version. auto italia
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BUYERS GUIDE Another less common problem is caused by badly placed hoseclips on the front brake ducting actually wearing through the aluminium body of the damper, allowing the fluid to escape. Yes, really! The power-assisted steering rack can also wear on higher mileage cars but more replacements will be made through fluid leakage. It is worth noting that the Assetto Corsa rack offered a huge improvement in steering feel, so if the rack has been or needs replacing, it is well worth specifying this. It is a direct replacement and the cost is similar. Tyre wear is high due to the 3200’s performance but also the vulnerability of the sidewalls to kerb damage. The standard wheel design means that the tyre sidewall and the spokes actually make contact first but any
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“
Braking is by large discs all round which suffer more from corrosion than wear...”
problems here are easy to spot. Any car fitted with less than the highest quality tyres should be considered a potential death trap. Many cars have upgraded to the Assetto Corsa wheels, which in turn were fitted on the 4200 (albeit with a different paint finish), although this also requires changing the wheel bolts. Braking is by large Brembo discs all round which suffer more from corrosion than wear. In order to aid cooling there are no backplates, which means they are exposed to the worst of the weather. Handbrakes are by shoe inside the rear disc and are subject to the usual seizing up. It is also worth noting that even Maserati offered three different compounds for the brake pads, so there are options to suit individual driving styles. To complete the ‘underneath’ bits, mention should be made of the
vulnerability of the front undertray, which in itself only offers mild protection to the various radiators behind. The bodywork fares better, with no major issues. Check of course for accident damage but it seems that the majority of crashed cars are immediately written off and so, for the most part, repaired damage will be minor. The fit of the front bumper is difficult to get right again if it has ever been removed, so much so that the front end of the car was redesigned for the 4200, partly to get over this issue. Both headlamps and rear light units (one of the first LED systems) are expensive to replace so attention should be paid to their condition. Inside the car the build quality is very good, with only failing seat motors and the odd rattle being likely.
BUYERS GUIDE
BOTTOM LEFT: The 3200GT is a very fast car and it does it all with superb composure. Choose carefully and you will be rewarded with a great driving experience
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Timing is
Everything Story by Alessandro Sannia
Photography by Michael Ward
A CAR THAT HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO BE LAUNCHED IN THE MIDDLE OF A WORLD CRISIS
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ome industrial products become successful simply because they are the right thing at the right time. Unfortunately the Fiat 514 was the right car at the wrong time. The 514 was developed in the late 1930s and intended to replace the little 509. In theory its most significant attribute was that Fiat engineers had designed a 1.5litre engine, recognising that better performance could be achieved from it than that of the 990cc unit in the 509. The 514 should have been a good compact car, modern and very reliable compared with other cars that were available at the time. It might not have been as quick, but it was less expensive then the majority of its competitors.
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LEFT: This nicely restored 514 Spider, built from a standard body at Lingotto, is mechanically identical to the saloon
ABOVE: The Fiat 514 4-door saloon was conceived to provide customers with competitively priced cars in the early 1930s
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Alfa Romeo 1750 GT prototipo
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One that
got away Alfa Romeo 1750 GT prototipo
DISCARDED BY ALFA ROMEO IN 1985 THIS MYSTERIOUS CAR HAS RESURFACED AFTER 17 YEARS IN HIBERNATION Story by Johann Lemercier Photography by Michael Ward
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utomotive archaeology never gets more exciting than when an ancient, totally unknown car (re)surfaces from out of nowhere, virtually intact and with no missing parts. A true enthusiast’s dream, which is exactly what the elegant, if slightly cumbersome, coupe gracing these pages turns out to be. The older the mystery car, the more likely it is to tell an interesting story and reveal previously unknown developments in a manufacturer’s heritage. The 40 years that have intervened since this Alfa Romeo first saw the light are sufficient to endow it with a certain enigma, and it bears witness to a number of enlightening insights into the era it belongs to. When we first spotted it at the low-key Salvarola Terme Concours d’Elegance two years ago, we couldn’t help but conjure up theories about its origins. At first sight it was evident we were looking at an Alfa Romeo from the late ‘60s or early ‘70s which had never been seen before, yet at the same time it looked every bit the proper production car. The Alfa then made its debut in front of a wider and more discerning public at the Villa d’Este Concours a few weeks later, puzzling even marque historians. This was not a motor show prototype, yet it was undoubtedly the work of – or a commission by – the Milan car maker itself.
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Amore! Words by John Simister. Photography by Phil Ward and Fiat
THE NUOVA 500 IS HERALDED AS THE LATEST GREAT SMALL FIAT. WE FIND OUT IF IT MANAGES TO MEET THE PHENOMENAL WEIGHT OF EXPECTATION
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’ve just had my second encounter with the new Fiat 500. Not at the megalaunch in Turin (see Mr Editor Ward’s words at the start of this Issue and photography on these pages for a sense of the enormity and glamour of that occasion), nor at Fiat’s Balocco test track (that was the venue for my first encounter). As I write this I am sitting on the terrace of the ristorante Malga Panna, in the mountains above Moena in the South Tyrol. Opposite me is the 500 that I have just driven up the hill. It’s dark metallic blue with ivory
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interior accessorisation, very 1960s-looking seat trim and the vital chrome pack. Along each flank is written ‘Tender to Maserati’. Confused? You’ll have to wait for a future issue to learn what it was the Fiat was attending, but it also was dark metallic blue. And I’m going to share with you a little guilty secret. The Maserati GranTurismo was, and is, a wonderful thing in the right context, but there’s a part of me which would rather have a 500. Its appeal is that strong, the sense of being the right car for the moment even stronger.
Industry Profile
Metamorphosis ALFA UK IS CHANGING – AND THIS TIME IT’S SERIOUS
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lfa Romeo’s market share in the UK is lower than anywhere else in Europe. In 2005, UK sales fell to just 6,000 – but it wasn’t due to a problem with the cars. You can have the greatest product in the world but once you get a poor reputation for customer service, a poor reputation for reliability, sales will slump.” Startlingly honest words from Christopher Nicoll, Managing Director of Alfa Romeo UK. But when he promises “radical changes to the UK network and the way we operate”, I can’t help feeling we’ve heard it all before. Why should things be different this time? Well, for a start, there’s Christopher Nicoll himself, the ‘new’ MD who joined Alfa UK last year. To tell the truth, he didn’t want to do this interview. Not yet. We asked him to tell us exactly how he intends to turn around the marque’s ailing UK fortunes and it was clear he’d prefer to wait until he’d produced some solid results. But, we argued, this is a magazine for Italophiles. We love the cars; we just want to know, we said, what you’re going to do to keep Alfa Romeo off the bottom of the J.D. Power customer satisfaction survey – and put it near the top, perhaps? So he agreed.
Words by Charis Whitcombe Photography by Michael Ward
The Problems
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“I’d been out of the country for 18 years when I returned in 2006, from Alfa Romeo in Switzerland. What I found was a short-term attitude that focused on numbers, instead of quality. Back in 2001, Alfa sales were good, the 156 was doing extremely well – but the figures were misleading. There was an underlying problem and since 2001 the sales have consistently dropped. I don’t think our Italian headquarters were aware of the depth of the problem in the UK; or that the reason for the decline was a fundamental issue of service, reliability, quality and customer care. “Here in the UK, customers are unusually demanding. They are highly educated in terms of the car market and the standards they expect. When the 159 was launched, there was massive expectation from Italy because it was such a good product – a serious grown-up car which deserves to succeed – but a product without the infrastructure will not bring success. If the internal problems had been addressed three or four years ago, we wouldn’t have been in the position we’re in today. We’ve started to change, but we can’t eradicate the problems of the past 10 years in 10 months. It’s a case of sticking rigidly and consistently to a path we’re convinced is going to work, ignoring short-term difficulties and focusing on where we want to be in three years’ time. It’s a long, long journey and we’ve only just started.”
The Solution So what is Nicoll’s master plan? “It’s very simple. We took the J.D. Power survey where we were consistently near the bottom, and invited J.D. Power to analyse the problem areas – such as parts delivery and warranty policy. The customer service side. We wanted to know how to change our behaviour and we now have a 15-point plan, covering quality, service, the dealer network and so on.
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ARIZONA
gold JOHN SIMISTER TEST DRIVES A LIGHTER, FASTER, LIVELIER, LAMBO
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Lambo Gallardo
Superleggera
Photography courtesy of Lamborghini SpA
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his global-warming business is biting hard. Even Lamborghini is battening down the hatches against the onslaught of hot air. But the maker of colourful supercars from Sant’Agata Bolognese hits back with fighting talk. “There will be no Lamborghini turbos,” says German-born, Italian-nurtured CEO Stephan Winkelmann, “no diesels, no hybrids.” Thank the Lord for that. Did you watch that Channel Four exposé, The Great Global Warming Swindle? I almost feel like some sort of infidel heretic for saying this, but I found it compelling in the way it showed how changes in CO2 levels lagged far behind changes in global temperature, following them with remarkable accuracy rather than triggering them. The fact that a former editor of the New Scientist and a co-founder of Greenpeace were also convinced pretty much did it for me. CO2 might not be a problem after all, even though those who seek to control us would like it to be for all sorts of political reasons. Herr (or more appropriately Signor) Winkelmann will be delighted. We still need to find new fuel sources, of course, because the oil will run out eventually, but meanwhile we maybe don’t need to beat ourselves up so much over our fast-cars habit. So it was with light heart that I boarded a 747 and flew to the land of very conspicuous consumption (the US) to try the new Gallardo Superleggera. Why the US? I wondered that, too, given the nearimpossibility of exercising such a car on the road without ending up in the slammer (never were good cars more wasted on a nation), but Lamborghini sells lots of cars there. So Phoenix, Arizona it is, with the chance to let rip on the Phoenix International Speedway to satisfy the speed lust that this car is designed to feed. Being 100kg lighter than the regular Gallardo, despite costing £27,990 more (making £150,990, ouch) it should even emit less of the oxidised-carbon gas that plants crave. Not that there are many plants in the Arizona desert. The Superleggera made its debut at this year’s Geneva show. It took centre stage on the black Lamborghini stand, moody and menacing in grey to add to the monochrome air. Kind of military grey with the faintest metallic fleck . . . it looked fabulous, and desire welled up in me. I love that stealthy look, so efficient, so functional, so un-showy. Enjoy me for what I am and what I do, it seems to be saying, not for how much I impress onlookers. Grey – Grigio Telesto – doesn’t make a magical magazine image, though, so not surprisingly orange or yellow Superleggeras outnumber the grey or black ones at Phoenix. All bar one are E-gear versions with sequential paddleshifters; I choose the manual, because driving a manual is a better way to get to know a car.
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