The only one Italian-made Corvette

ONE-OFF As already known that the name of the Chevrolet Corvette always known as an American muscular car, with a body design that is not less muscular and always be dreamed in its homeland. However, the charm of the V8 engine's Chevrolet Corvette mainstay just seems not enough to attract consumers in Europe, where the typical European car has a more beautiful design.

1963 Pininfarina Rondine Coupe made taken base of Chevrolet Corvette C2. (Picture from: Otosia)

Then in 1963, one Chevrolet Corvette C2 had to undergo a makeover to be more pleasing to the eyes of Europeans. The result, Chevrolet in cooperation with Pininfarina, a famous Italian automotive coachbuilder that used to design a Ferrari, which later gave birth to the figure of Pininfarina Rondine Coupe.

Rear side view of 1963 Pininfarina Rondine Coupe. (Picture from: Otosia)

Unlike the Corvette C2 which has a body made of fiberglass, Pininfarina Rondinne has a metal made exterior, which makes its weight so increase, and control is also changed completely. The car's front overhangs are more longer, and the Corvette's typical pop-up lights are eliminated, and on the back there is nothing resembling to the original car, and it is more like a Fiat 124.

Inside, the car has a stock dashboard and seats, but attention to detail around the doors is exceptional. The door jams themselves are chromed and decorated panels are fitted. The greenhouse is quite bright due to the white leather upholstery and a large wraparound rear windscreen.

Because seeing the car's view which then triggered a fairly diverse responses, and finally made Chevrolet was reluctant to continue Pininfarina Rondine to the production line and now the only one ever made was sitting peacefully at the Corvette museum. *** [EKA[20092017] | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SUPERCARS.NET]

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One of the unique retro concepts made by Pininfarina

Elegant ONES One of the most interesting concept cars ever made by the famous Italian automotive design house, Pininfarina, is the one they built in early 1956, named Nash Rambler Palm Beach. It has a striking appearance, the Palm Beach is a new sports car concept and is a perfect replacement for the Nash-Healey model. And the Nash Rambler Palm Beach was introduced in early 1957, but unfortunately, it was never mass-produced.

1956 Nash Rambler Palm Beach by Pininfarina. (Picture from: OldCarConcept)

Uniquely, instead of being a mere "show car", Palm Beach turned out to be a prototype that made as a fully functional vehicle and can be driven normally, where's the car should be made its production version shortly after the car introduced to the market.

The Nash Rambler Palm Beach is built on a wheelbase of 101.5 inches, with a height of only 49.7 inches, a width of almost 68 inches and an overall length of 176 inches. The exterior of Palm Beach features a round central air intake surrounded by two unique oval-shaped air holes.

Left side view of the 1956 Nash Rambler Palm Beach by Pininfarina. (Picture from: OldCarConcept)

Its front looks were so elegant and combined with stylish plastic headlights. These lines are meticulously carved and don't use a lot of chrome, which when compared with other cars of the era, makes Palm Beach look so unique and futuristic.

Interior view of the 1956 Nash Rambler Palm Beach by Pininfarina. (Picture from: OldCarConcept)

Despite being a sports car, Palm Beach has plenty of room for two passengers and plenty of room for luggage. All major mechanical components, including the start system with the popular clutch pedal, come from Rambler with a wheelbase of 100 inches. This clutch pedal system replaces the starter button below the clutch pedal.

Engine view of the 1956 Nash Rambler Palm Beach by Pininfarina. (Picture from: OldCarConcept)

And its engine, Nash Rambler Palm Beach relies on a six-cylinder flathead engine capable of producing power of 82 hp at 3,800 rpm, with 138-ft.lbs of torque at 1,600 rpm. Because the low hood does not allow enough space to accommodate the manufacturer's size carburetor, and Weber's carburetor is used instead.

The Palm Beach's interior is laid out nicely, featuring individually adjustable bucket seats, covered with cowhide with large cushions placed between them. Large map bags are placed at each door, while a long, thin gearshift lever is mounted on the floor, operating a three-speed manual transmission.

The Nash Rambler Palm Beach is actually a very interesting luxury sports car concept, unfortunately, when the car finishes its debut, the American Motors Company (AMC) which has acquired Rambler is no longer interested in showing sports cars in their vehicle lineup. Palm Beach eventually became a show car that AMC brought to various auto shows as an additional attraction, but it never put it into the production line. *** [EKA[26112021] | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | OLDCONCEPTCARS]

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Here's the almost forgotten Iso's unique GT car

Nice Blends Before the 2nd World War, Renzo Rivolta already had a successful fridge manufacturing business named Isothermos. And in the 1940s, the company's business sector turned to the production of scooters under the Iso brand. In the motorized vehicles production then developed into the production of the small-engined bubble car called Isetta in between 1953 and 1955 (although the production under licensed in other countries continued until 1964).

The Iso Grifo 90 was appeared with a sleek body lines and intended to mark the Iso's brand reviving in the 1991. (Picture from: OldCarConcept)

Although there is a delay in the production of the next car. It seems that the company has been steady in a four-wheeled vehicle production sector which at that time was producing very different cars named Iso Rivolta, which appeared as a rear-wheel drive salon, two-doors, four seats, is powered by the Chevrolet-owned V8 OHV engine with a capacity of 5,359 cc. The car was designed by Giotto Bizzarrini with a bodywork carried out by Carrozzeria Bertone and had been set to be a trend for the future of the ISO brand.

The Iso Grifo 90 is designed by Marcello Gandini with the chassis and powertrain developed by Gian Paolo Dellara. (Picture from: OldCarConcept)

Not long after, the company's factory based in Milan made the Grifo model, then the Fidia appeared in 1967. The last production car from Iso was the Lele. In 1966 Renzo Rivolta, the man behind the company passed away and his son Piero took the company's control.😭

The Iso Grifo 90 has certain changes to the interior so that the potential customers would feel like they were sitting in a very special car. (Picture from: OldCarConcept)

Entering the 1970s, the company made a bad move, when deciding to race in the Formula One with Frank Williams, it was an improper decision because carried out when the company's financial condition was not good due to the global situation at the time was in the middle of the oil crisis. The combination of these events caused the fall of the Iso brand in 1975.

The Iso Grifo 90 prototype is based on the Corvette C5 Z06 with the aluminium body was fitted to a tubular steel chassis frame, so it weighs only 1,200 kg. (Picture from: OldCarConcept)

In the late 80s, Piero Rivolta and Piero Sala thought the time was right to introduce the brand back into the market with a new GT. He contacted Gian Paolo Dallara to develop its chassis and powertrain and Marcello Gandini to design its outline, which clearly showed all the styling cues of the 90s. The model was named Iso Grifo 90. The prototype was presented to the press in 1991 and it was meant to be produced in a limited series starting from 1994.

The Iso Grifo 90 prototype is powered by a front mounted turbocharged 5.7-litre Chevrolet V8 engine (tuned by Callaway). (Picture from: OldCarConcept)

What was actually presented, though, only just a prototype, with neither an engine nor a normal interior. Not even the wheels on the car could spin. However, a lack of funds forced the automaker to suspend project development. 

Since then the car model hasn't been seen the daylight until in 2007, when the mock-up for the original model is found by Federico Bonomelli, the owner of the "Mako-Shark" multi material producer which also known as the Iso Rivolta collector and decided to produce the car. Together with his brother, he redesigned the car and got approval from Piero Rivolta to produce 12 units of the Iso Grifo 90.

Federico Bonomelli posed along with one of the classic and rare cars of his owned, the Iso Grifo 7Litri. (Picture from: AutoClassMagazine)

The new prototype is based on the Corvette C5 Z06 with the aluminium body was fitted to a tubular steel chassis frame, so it weighs only 1,200 kg. It powered by a front mounted turbocharged 5.7-litre Chevrolet V8 engine (tuned by Callaway) with 490 hp driving the rear wheels through a six-speed gearbox coupled with the Brembo's brake system and differential locking. The car was predicted to exceed 300 kph and need a mere 4.5 seconds to reach 100 kph.

The rolling prototype of the Iso Grifo 90 was completed in 2010. However, the economic crisis hit at the time, made the initial enthusiasm for the project had waned, so Federico Bonomelli decided not to build 12 cars of the rest. It seems that the Iso's modern GT car model is very unlucky, and had biggest problem is the unsuitable time.😐 *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CARTYPE | OLDCONCEPTCARS | AUTOCLASSMAGAZINE | CURVES-MAGAZIN | CALLAWAY | DYLER ]

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The car result of the Zagato's collaboration with Lamborghini of the 1960s

Stand ground In the global automotive industry, if the collaboration between brand owners and coachbuilder companies is commonplace and frequently happened. As we all know, the Italian car manufacturer Automobili Lamborghini Spa. launched its first production car called the Lamborghini 350 GT whose bodywork was done by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera di Milano in 1964.

1965 Lamborghini 3500 GTZ was a solution which originated from the philosophy at that time for racing cars with a Zagato body and transferred with success to a more comfortable and well refined GranTurismo (GT) car. (Picture from: LamboCars)

In order to show its existence as an automotive company in an atmosphere of intense competition with its compatriot rival Ferrari, Lamborghini then tried out another Milan based coachbulder company designs namely Carrozzeria Zagato. And in 1965, known as the beginning of the collaboration between the coachbuilder company Zagato and Lamborghini to design and build the new cars based on the Lamborghini 350 GT, later named the Lamborghini 3500 GTZ.

1965 Lamborghini 3500 GTZ is made on a 10 cm shortened chassis of the 350 GT and debuted at the 1965 London Auto Show. (Picture from: Zagato-Cars)

In an official meeting between the two companies in the Lamborghini HQ in Sant’Agata Bolognese which was attended by Paolo Stanzani (body division), Gian Paolo Dallara (technical division), and Elio Zagato, the first son of the coachbuilder company's founder Ugo Zagato. Well, both companies were finally agreed that the mentioned new car was built with a special 350 GT-based bodywork.

1965 Lamborghini 3500 GTZ has a lightweight aluminum-made bodywork with the surfaces and volumes is adopting the Zagato's typical cut-tail design of the era designed by Ercole Spada. (Picture from: LamboCars)

Shortly thereafter, the Milanese Carrozzeria Zagato received a 10 cm shortened 350 GT chassis from Lamborghini, and then 'dressed' it in a lightweight aluminum-made body with the surfaces and volumes is adopting the Zagato's typical cut-tail design of the era designed by Ercole Spada. 

And it was also mentioned that the design was a solution which originated from the philosophy at that time for racing cars with a Zagato body and transferred with success to a more comfortable and well refined GranTurismo (GT) car.

The Lamborghini 3500 GTZ is powered by a V12 engine with a capacity of 3,939 cc, which is capable of producing the power of 320 bhp (238 kW) at 6,500 rpm, with a peak torque of 375 Nm (276-ft.lbs) at 4,500 rpm. The engine is mated to a five-speed ZF manual transmission, and capable of making the 3500 GTZ racing up to a top speed of 161 mph or 260 kph.

1965 Lamborghini 3500 GTZ has an interior somewhat resembles an evolution of the 350 GT is featured with the quintessentially Italian bespoke dials, steering wheel and switchgear remained stock, the dashboard was fitted with a wooden panel framing a 3500 GTZ badge in front of the passenger. (Picture from: OtoBlitz)

As quoted of Lambocars, the finished car looked rather awkward with the front lacked personality (showed some resemblance with a Ferrari 25O GTO, and the structure line of the car’s was shared with the Alfa Romeo TZ2), noted only two cars were ever built, a white over black one (nr. 0310) and a silver over black one (nr. 0322). 

1965 Lamborghini 3500 GTZ has the structure line was shared with the Alfa Romeo TZ2. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

Then the Zagato bodied Lamborghini 3500 GTZ (finished in white exterior with a black plastic vinyl interior) made its official debut at the 1965 London Motor Show. Unfortunately, this car was built only as the prototype, and was never got into the production lines of the Italian raging bull plants in San'tAgata Bolognese.

1965 Lamborghini 3500 GTZ is powered by a V12 engine with a capacity of 3,939 cc, which is capable of producing the power of 320 bhp at 6,500 rpm, with a peak torque of 375 Nm at 4,500 rpm. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

After the London's auto expo is over, the first car (nr. 0310) sold to Marchese Gerino Gerini, a former F1 driver who was also Lamborghini’s official agent in Milan during that period, later he sold to car to a fortunate customer in Australia who had it converted to right-hand drive and repainted in red. Later, this scarce Lamborghini 3500 GTZ was bought by a German collector who shipped it to The Netherlands for a fully restoration, which converted back to left hand drive and repainted in a fresh red paint.

1965 Lamborghini 3500 GTZ has also some resemblance with a Ferrari 25O GTO as you can see it at rear. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

Meanwhile, the second one did really exist with the chassis number 0320 and had engine number 0228 installed, it was driven by Paolo Stanzani himself at first, later this one was sold to an American enthusiast, unfortunately its current whereabouts are unknown. Rumours were this car was later destroyed in a rather big accident and was damaged beyond repair (but this statement was never officially confirmed).😭

And that was the end of the collaboration between the two companies in the 1960s, reportedly at that time Ferrucio Lamborghini as the founder and owner of the company preferred to the designs made by other coachbuilders such Bertone and almost all Lamborghini designs that were born after the 350/400 GT were done by Nuccio Bertone and his designing team.

But in the 1996, Zagato was seen came back to make some designs for the Lamborghinis through the Lamborghini Zagato Raptor and continued with the Lamborghini 5-95 Zagato in the 2014. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOSU SOURCES | LAMBOCARS | ZAGATO-CARS | CARIOS | CARSTYLING.RU | ]

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The missing link in between the Alfa Romeo SZ and RZ

Missing LINK Nowadays it may be commonplace to talk about the "coupé cabriolet," because many automotive manufacturers have produced the such styled vehicles. It could be seen on several famous examples such as the Mercedes Benz SLK, Ferrari California, Portofino to Peugeot 206 CC, and others. All of these models are philosophically connected by a common thread that leads to the Alfa Romeo 164 Protèo Concept. 

Alfa Romeo 164 Protèo is an innovative 2-seater sports car concept of Alfa Romeo which has a very special features glass roof could be folded and stored behind the seats. (Picture from: NewsBeezer)

The Alfa Romeo Protèo appeared surprisingly in the automotive world in the early 1990s with its unique solid roof folding features. Although it never arrived at the production line, but the technique, arc appearance and color was applied in other production cars.

Alfa Romeo 164 Protèo is an innovative 2-seater sports car concept of Alfa Romeo which has a very special features glass roof could be folded and stored behind the seats. (Picture from: NewsBeezer)

Well, it's an innovative 2-seater sports car made by Alfa Romeo with many special features. As quoted from NewsBeezer, after the Alfetta GTV's era is ended in 1986, the Italian car manufacturer tried to create a new sports coupe for years, through its centro stile which at that time was still manned by one of the famous designers, Walter de Silva.

Alfa Romeo 164 Protèo is an innovative 2-seater sports car concept of Alfa Romeo which has a very special features glass roof could be folded and stored behind the seats. (Picture from: OldCarConcepts)

In short, Walter de Silva designed the Protèo with a technical base of its bodywork built on the Alfa Romeo 164 chassis, which has been 20 centimeters shortened to 2.46 meters in totall, that's intended to give the new sports car a higher structural rigidity. Meanwhile under its hood mounted a three-liter V6 engine capable of bursting power up to 260 hp.

Alfa Romeo 164 Protèo is an innovative 2-seater sports car concept of Alfa Romeo which has a very special features glass roof could be folded and stored behind the seats. (Picture from: NewsBeezer)

The design is also attractive, which the Alfa's classic grille has been minimized and the logo moved on the top of the hood. Well, for the first time, Alfa Romeo had applied two pairs of headlights at the front, each composed of three round elements. Furthermore, its very long snout is combined with an upright stern as the place for the Protèo stored its novelty, ie the roof (or rather the dome) can be divided into three parts and disappear mechanically under the luggage compartment.

Alfa Romeo 164 Protèo is an innovative 2-seater sports car concept of Alfa Romeo which has a very special features glass roof could be folded and stored behind the seats. (Picture from: NewsBeezer)

The personal style and unique technical solutions for the roof are just one of the new elements accompany the Alfa Romeo 164 Protèo. There are many other excellent features, such as the "Viscomatic" all-wheel drive system developed by Alfa Romeo in collaboration with specialist Steyr-Puch.

Alfa Romeo 164 Protèo is an innovative 2-seater sports car concept of Alfa Romeo which has a very special features glass roof could be folded and stored behind the seats. (Picture from: NewsBeezer)

Then, it was flanked by an electronic control unit that can communicate systematically with other parts of the vehicle (Motronic control unit and ABS) to control various parameters: total torque required, speed of rotation, steering angle and slip difference between the two axes. Depending on the conditions, the system has ensured that torque is optimally distributed across the front and rear axles.

Alfa Romeo 164 Protèo is an innovative 2-seater sports car concept of Alfa Romeo which has a very special features glass roof could be folded and stored behind the seats. (Picture from: NewsBeezer)

The system is equipped with a front differential and a Torsen auto-lock type at the rear, which is responsible for distributing the transmission on both sides of the wheel and ensuring the best traction. Another key feature of the 164 Protèo is the four-wheel steering, thanks to which this research ensures excellent maneuverability and speed between turns.

Initially, Alfa Romeo planned to produce the 164 Protèo at its Portello's plants with a total of 2,000 copies as a limited edition model. But in the end, no more than 3 units were ever made. One of them never knew what the feel while running on the road at all because once it was finished to build, it was taken directly to the Museo Storico Alfa Romeo in Arese, Milan for display, while the other two were given the role of the 'muletto' (test vehicles) during the tests (especially) at the Alfa Romeo's proving ground in Balocco.

A few days after its official launch, Alfa Romeo's board of management stopped the project, fearing the car would not be profitable.💔 And now the original and futuristic Italian cabriolet coupe may have been forgotten, but its mechanical legacy goes a long way in today's cars. In addition, its color, a special red, which looks different from the classic Alfa colors in general has remained and lasted for several years under the name 'Protèo Red'. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | NEWSBEEZER | JALOPNIK ]

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The Carlo Abarth thought exuviate in a unique design interpretation of Lutz Colani

Back to Normal Now we are back to discussing one of the legendary cars ever made for the Italian brand, Abarth and what's even more great this car gets a unique design touch from a German industrial designer named Luigi 'Lutz' Colani. The car design is also said to be the way the designer puts into practice a combination of his own style ethos and the great thoughts of Carlo Abarth.

1959 Colani-Abarth Alfa Romeo 1300 Berlinetta is said to be the way of Luigi 'Lutz' Colani as a designer puts into practice a combination of his own style ethos and the great thoughts of Carlo Abarth. (Picture from: Bonham)

As we all know, that Abarth has successful tested its aerodynamic design theory consistently in various serious efforts to break the world's speed records with small capacity cars. With the actual obsession is to increase straight line penetration and minimize their aerodynamic obstacles, due to the cars always runs by using a very small engine (usually ranging from 350 to 1300cc and rarely up to 2 liters).

At the front hood of the Colani-Abarth Alfa Romeo 1300 Berlinetta is pinned by the 3 emblems of Abarth, Alfa Romeo and Colani. (Picture from: Bonham)

Meanwhile the brilliant Austrian-born designer is obsessed with the influence of aerodynamics on the car performance. In 1958 Lutz Colani is commissioned to build an experimental aerodynamic car based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta Spider platform. As the result, it appears directly recognizable as a Colani's body shape, and also shows an evidence of external influence on many of the Abarth's recently experiences. If You curious about another Luigi Colani's car creation just click here.

The remains of the Abarth Alfa Romeo 1000 (Bertone) is rebuilt by Luigi 'Lutz' Colani into the new-Colani-Abarth Alfa Romeo 1300 Berlinetta. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

And the finished Colani-Abarth Alfa Romeo 1300 Berlinetta is appeared for the first time in the 1959 with long and pointed snout at glance seems to be a derivative of the Pinin Farina's practice, while the 'double bubble' roof line is a typical characteristic of the Abarth's motives. What's more interesting is the back of the car that might be unique at that time, and the attention was clearly given to air flow management under the car which in the period was said very sophisticated.

1959 Colani-Abarth Alfa Romeo 1300 Berlinetta is appeared with long and pointed snout at glance seems to be a derivative of the Pinin Farina's practice. (Picture from: Bonham)

Initially, this Colani-Abarth Alfa Romeo car is started its life as the 'prototype' of the Abarth 1000 GT Coupé or Alfa Romeo 1000 Abarth GT Bertone Coupé designed by Franco Scaglione and built on the Mario Colucci-designed tubular chassis for rigidity (the intention was for the car to be homologated for the GT category). It also powered by the Alfa Romeo Giulietta (998 cc) engine was originally modified by Abarth with the gearbox mounted into the central backbone.

1959 Colani-Abarth Alfa Romeo 1300 Berlinetta is developed as the 'prototype' with the Colucci-designed tubular chassis for rigidity (the intention was for the car to be homologated for the GT category). (Picture from: Bonham)

At the time, only three cars were built and once completed, the cars were tested at Monza before being taken to Avus near Berlin for speed runs where all of the cars destroyed during the tests, and at the end, the project was abandoned.

1959 Colani-Abarth Alfa Romeo 1300 Berlinetta is powered by an Alfa Romeo's 1300 cc engine which capable spewed out power of 110 bhp. (Picture from: Bonham)

In short, the car remains were bought by Herbert Schulze who asked Luigi Colani to build a new body which took inspiration from a number of sources such the 'double bubble' roof line which is very Abarth. Not only that, the car appeared with a weight of only 780 kg and powered of 110 bhp from its 1300 cc engine. The car is claimed to reach 210 kph (130 mph) and was also recognized as the first GT car that passed to run a lap at Nürburgring Nordschleife in less than 10 minutes.

1959 Colani-Abarth Alfa Romeo 1300 Berlinetta's back was clearly given to air flow management under the car which in the period was said very sophisticated. (Picture from: Bonham)

After that the car's ownership status shifted to Peter Kaus (for the first time) before disappearing for some time, it ever had sold to Christophe Pund, then he sold it to another collector. The tangled history of the car ownership doesn't stop there; finally this unique car back again to Peter Kaus who fully restored the car to go into the Rosso Bianco Collection.

The Colani-Abarth Alfa Romeo 1300 had been on display in public for years and since the end of 2007 the unique-shaped car was on the Bonham auction list with the prices ranging from £65,000 to £75,000. Even so, this is the aerodyne of the 1950s, one of the rarest Abarth's car ever built, that's said also can be used on the road.  *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | BONHAM | AUTOSITAL | WIKIPEDIA ]

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