AutoItalia Magazine Issue 338 Zurück Ausgabe

What was the world’s first ever hot hatchback? Well, Italy invented the genre in 1971 with the fabulous Autobianchi A112 Abarth – and we’ve driven two of these pocket rockets to find out just how fabulous. And talk about handsome: we feature two of Bertone’s finest coupes of all time: a unique Aston Martin DB2/4 and a restored Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint Speciale – almost certainly the best in the world. Surely one of the best saloon cars of the 1950s was Lancia’s Aurelia B12 – that’s our verdict after driving a superbly preserved original. We get under the skin of the spectacular Fiat S76 (the infamous ‘Beast of Turin’) and investigate how Ferrari’s ‘Palace Coup’ of 1961 kick-started Modena’s vaunted Motor Valley. We also have a new team car (a super-rare Abarth Punto Scorpione) and a report on Alfa Romeos in New Zealand. Finally, we line you up perfectly for Italian Car Day on 4 May 2024 with a celebration of 30 years of our very own show at the Brooklands site. Don’t miss it!
CONTENTS
AUTOBIANCHI A112 ABARTH – Pocket Rocket twin test
ALFA ROMEO GIULIA SPRINT SPECIALE – Road test of probably the world’s best SS
ALFA ROMEO 156 – Revisiting the 1998 launches of Alfa’s saloon in Lisbon and UK
LANCIA AURELIA B12 – Superior 1950s saloon driven
FERRARI: AFTER THE REVOLUTION – The fallout from the infamous 1961 ‘Palace Coup’
FIAT ‘BEAST OF TURIN’ – Full story of Fiat’s fire-breathing 28-litre S76
BERTONE ASTON MARTIN DB2/4 – Glorious coupe from the pen of Franco Scaglione
ABARTH PUNTO SCORPIONE – Ultra-rare hot hatch on the Team Cars roster
LANCIA YPSILON & ABARTH 600e – News of the latest Italian car launches
AUTO ITALIA AT BROOKLANDS – 30 years of Italian Car Day at Brooklands
NEC CLASSIC SHOW REPORT – Classic Car Show highlights from Birmingham NEC
ALFAS IN NEW ZEALAND – AROC’s 49th Fest Annuale
OBSCURATI – Barison BRM H16: a mysterious F1-powered 1960s supercar