Rolling FIA GT Thunder
A report from the FIA GT Championship 2007 by Roberto Giordanelli: “Rolling thunder is an oft-used description of these monsters but rolling earthquake reflects the ground  shaking as the 40 cars rocket from the start to the first turn...Before the race, Editor Ward and I were nosing around in the Aston Martin pit. ‘How much power?’ asks the Editor in an adult version of ‘What’ll she do mister?’ The race engineer told us that it was just short of 1000bhp before fitting the compulsory air restrictors that strangle it down to 5-600bhp.”

QTronic for the People
In its quest to road test every single newly launched Italian car available in the UK, Auto Italia takes Alfa Romeo’s sexy new automatic Brera for a spin. Adam Swift writes: “In our care the Brera V6 QTronic covered a lot of miles and transported us with the minimum of fuss and the maximum of comfort and style. Obtusely the biggest problem for this Brera is the Alfa GT V6 Coupe, which weighs 240kg less, seats four, and saves you £5k into the bargain. Oh yes, and it still has that engine.”

COVER STORY: Revival of a Legend
An exclusive preview of the latest designs to come out of the Zagato design house, with Johann Lemercier offering his insights into three new bespoke vehicles that have taken shape, including the Maserati GS Zagato, Diatto Ottovù, and Ferrari 575 GTZ. Johann writes: “Zagato designs have a rare quality: they never leave you cold or indifferent – in other words, you either love them or hate them. Fashion designers, artists or musicians will tell you that this, in itself, is never a bad thing. Billionaires out there know now that to satisfy any wish within the stretch of their imagination, they have one place to turn to: Zagato’s Atelier.”

Timing is Everything
Our man in Turin, Alessandro Sannia, dusts off another old Fiat from a private collection of rare automotive jewels. He writes: “The 514 was not really capable of fulfilling the unexpected multi roles demanded of it. It should have been a good mid-sized car, a van, a taxi and a sportscar, but the mechanical components had been designed to be made cheaply and just robust enough for a single purpose. In reality most customers bought the 514 because there were no reliable alternatives available. Other marques were generally much more expensive, while the only other Fiats available at that time were the 6-cylinder 521 with its 2.5-litre engine, and the luxury 525 with a huge 3.7 litres. It was the swan-song for the big Fiats known as the ‘kings’ cars’. The real problem in the 1930s was that the 514 alone had to carry Fiat into the modern era of compact cars.”

Power & Glory
Two-wheeled expert Alan Cathcart gives us a rare treat, an insight into how an ex-John Surtees MV Augusta 500-4 was actually like to ride: “The MV’s eight-valve engine is paradoxically revvy yet muscular, both at the same time. Indeed, with a rev limit of 11,000 rpm back then, the MV feels smooth and torquey, with relatively little vibration, but a distinctive whine from the camshaft gear drive. The urge the engine provides is very usable, it motors out of the Mallory hairpin from 4500rpm without slipping the clutch, though it’s from 6000rpm upwards that it really starts to drive hard. The six-speed gearbox makes the engine’s work easier. It has a faultless shift action with very precise selection, although fifth and sixth are close together, ideal for Monza and other high-speed circuits of the era, if not so necessary at short, tight Mallory Park.”

Dino 206P – ‘La Piccola’
Simon Park is handed the keys to a rare Dino 206P prototype on one of his favourite UK race tracks, Donington. He writes: Were you to suggest that Dino 206P, chassis number 0834 (aka La Piccola), is the most beautiful car ever built, you’d get no argument from this quarter. And its beauty goes way deeper than its skin – this is not your usual run-of-the-mill old Ferrari racer. In fact, it’s not strictly a Ferrari at all, being the first car from Maranello to be badged only ‘Dino’ while being also, ironically, perhaps the most successful individual sports-racing car the factory ever built.”

Tonka Toy
Our Maserati enthusiast Andy Heywood deviates wildly from form to give us the story of the original supercar 4x4 from Santa’Agata: “One year after the LM001 debut, Lamborghini presented the next chapter in their 4x4 story, the LMA. The ‘A’ stood for anteriore, or front, the new position of the engine. And what an engine it was – a full 4.7-litre V12 taken from the Countach LP500S and developing 330bhp. Typically of Alfieri however, it was not just an engine change but also a thorough redesign of the chassis, incorporating coil sprung independent suspension and a ZF 5-speed manual gearbox ahead of a 2-speed transfer box. Further attempts at securing army contracts were then made but still had negative results – all acknowledged that the LMA was a vast improvement over the 001 but the added complication of a ‘supercar’ engine still resulted in mixed messages. A brochure was prepared for the Middle East market but came to nothing. Yet again, the LMA remained a prototype and it would be four more years before Lamborghini finally sold their first LM to a private owner…”

Head to Head
Two highly modified Alfas running in the BRSCC Alfashop Alfa Romeo Championship are given a development shakedown by racing driver extraordinaire Tony Soper, to see if this year’s competition can turn the tables on the Alfasud Sprint of Tim Lewis, who has won the past two years running: “While the lap times may be similar, these two cars are poles apart. The Stapleton GTV relies on brute force to achieve its aims; the original 2490cc 12v V6 long gone, and in its place a 164-based 24v V6 engine stretched to almost 3800cc, fed with throttle bodies and controlled by a Motec management system. “Millar’s 33 goes about its business in a very different way. The 1712cc boxer engine is pressurised by a hybrid Garrett turbo into giving more than twice as much power as the road going car it is based on.”