Lancia Delta HF Integrale for sale -- In NYC!

I'm filing this baby under "objects of desire."  Whoever takes this car home is in for a lot of TLC and some degree of aggravation finding parts because the car definitely needs some work. But boy is this ever a cool car, hyper rare to see in North America. The next owner is going to have an absolute blast once this thing is sorted!  Along with the GTV6, the Delta Integrale it is the quintessential 80s Italian "Muscle Car."  Unlike the GTV6, though, the Lancia has a staggering record of Rally championships to give it ultimate cachet. The car is available here on ebay. Currrent bid is 13K with the reserve unmet. Not bad for legally titled car you can't get anywhere. These photos appear to have been taken in TriBeca.

Stratos Zero Moment of Zen

I love the Lancia Stratos Zero Prototipo. Designed by Marcello Gandini at Bertone, it's still probably one of the most futuristic cars ever designed. Here's a great abstract view of it that you don't see very often.

Lancia Fulvia HF Barchetta - Topless Heaven

I recently acquired a book about the Targa Florio, and discovered an unusual vehicle I hadnt really seen before. The Lancia Fulvia HF Barchetta is essentially a Fulvia HF with the top sawn off. Given the tall, spindly nature of the standard Fulvia's greenhouse, this probably didnt affect chassis stiffness much, and probably improved aerodynamics vastly. Supposedly 3 of these cars were made by the factory and 2 were made by privateer tuners, and were campaigned around Italy, most notably at the Targa Florio.  I am not sure if the dark red one at the bottom is a "real" one or not, but it is pretty darn sexy. Below is a descriptive exceprt from a 2008 Coys auction of one of these cars:

Perhaps the most highly developed Fulvias were developed for Lancia by Cesare Fiorio and Claudio Maglioli whose trio of F&M Specials were produced to race in the Sport category. Up until that point, the Sport class was the platform for Zagato-bodied Fulvias, but whilst these had proven fast, they were also fragile and unbearably hot with little in the way of cockpit ventilation. Thanks to the funds provided by Lancia, Fiorio and Maglioli developed three cut down Fulvia F&M Barchetta's that were bristling with advanced features. Each F&M Barchetta was very different and most notably, these hot rod prototypes took class victories at the Targa Florio and Nurburgring 1000km. No doubt inspired by the level of performance this trio of Lancia prototypes had displayed, two Sicilian Lancia tuners also manufactured their own Fulvia Barchetta's for competition use.

The Ultimate Lancisti Garage

While doing research on the Lancia Fulvia Barchetta (more to come on that topic, folks!), I came across these photos on a Belgian classic car forum. I translated the page and learned that apparently these Lancias belong to a man in Southern France who clearly has awesome taste. He pretty much has my dream Lancia collection all under one roof! Stratos? Check. Fulvia HF? Check. Fulvia HF Barchetta (one of 4 made)? Check. Fulvia Zagato? Check.  I would count myself tickled to own just one of these wonderful cars in my lifetime.  Also, in today's era of nouveau riche eat-off-the-floor garage-mahals, I love the unpretentiousness of this dream garage, complete with le bebe foot. See the whole gallery HERE!

via autoforum.be

Automobiliac turns 1 year old!

One year ago today, after fiddling with wordpress and hosting issues for 24 hellish hours, I finally switched to Squarespace and uploaded my first ever blog post.  Since then, It's been a fun and rewarding journey, as I have made a few great new friends and had some great email exchanges with folks thanks to the site. I want to thank all the regular commenters, as well as all the people who have sent this site to friends and relatives, and helped spread the word. Stay tuned for more great original content as the year progresses!