An Aussie hypercar candidate named Giocattolo 'Hyperod' Marcella

SuperBEAST As the world's automotive slumped globally, it also affected to the Australia which now has no longer seen as a profitable place for the automotive industry, therefore many of the world's automotive manufacturers such as Ford, GM and Toyota were decided to end their manufacturing operations in those country. But fortunately, there are some local car manufacturers such as Brabham Automotive and another car kit manufacturers kept the car industry still alive in Australia.

The new Aussie hypercar named Giocattolo 'HypeRod' Marcella said to be ready to premiere at the 2022 Peeble Beach Concours d'Elegance. (Picture from: CarBuzz)

Soon, there'll be a newcomer to the automotive industry in the Aussie, namely Giocattolo Motori, a high-performance car company founded by Paul Halstead, the former owner of De Tomaso Australia. Reportedly, the auto company will be launching a new hypercar called the Giocattolo 'HypeRod' Marcella in the next two years which is claimed to have extraordinary power because it uses a W16 engine made by combining a pair of Chevrolet's LS7 V8 engines.

The Giocattolo 'HypeRod' Marcella is basically a mix of the hypercar and hot rod genres, with a stunning look and awesome soundtrack, a low body, high-tech powertrain, analog instruments and inputs, and a visual link to American hot rod history. (Picture from: CarBuzz)

The engine will boast Higgins race heads with a billet alloy bridge tying the two blocks into one and a plate across the back for affixing a custom transfer case. That transfer case's job is to channel the torque from both crankshafts into a single output shaft that interfaces with an Albins-supplied, six-speed sequential transaxle with a limited-slip differential. Most high-tech of all, the whole assembly will serve as a stress-bearing member of the chassis, just like in an F1 car.

The Giocattolo 'HypeRod' Marcella is powered by a W16 engine is made by combining a pair of Chevrolet's LS7 V8 engines. (Picture from: CarBuzz)

"I wanted the power of the Bugatti Veyron but I couldn’t afford to build a bespoke W16 engine, and frankly nor did I have the expertise. Chasing power, I started with an LS7 Chevrolet alloy V8. Supercharging was a possibility and which I was familiar with this tech, having just built one for my wide-bodied Monaro GTO. But the centre of gravity would have been way too high," said Halstead as qouted of Caradvic.com.au.

The Giocattolo 'HypeRod' Marcella is a wild-looking lightweight three seats speedster and claimed to have extraordinary power of 1,400 hp. (Picture from: CarBuzz)

Then he chose another way by combining two LS7 engines mounted side by side by tilting eeach at a 45-degree angle and incorporating dry-sump lubrication. The whole thing was just over one metre wide, that's includes eight central exhausts pipes, the other eight pipes (four per side) would come out flat above the carbon floor. As the result is claimed to be very amazing, because the engine is capable of spraying power up to 1,400 hp and still meets current emission regulations as well.  

The Giocattolo 'HypeRod' Marcella will be produced in America and for the time being the price is still not settled yet but obviously it will be at the rarefied end of a very exclusive market. (Picture from: CarBuzz)

It was also stated that the Marcella will be the first of the new car genre of Halstead called as the "hyperod." It's basically a mix of the hypercar and hot rod genres, with a stunning look and awesome soundtrack, a low body, high-tech powertrain, analog instruments and inputs, and a visual link to American hot rod history. Equally important, to qualify as a hyperod, a mechanical part such as a machine must be visible and exquisite to look at. The kerb weight of the car is estimated to be around 1250kg.

Halstead hopes that Giocattolo Marcella, a wild-looking lightweight three seats speedster, will be ready to premiere at the 2022 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. The plan, the hypercar will be produced in America and for the time being the price of Halstead's Hyperod is still not settled yet but obviously it will be at the rarefied end of a very exclusive market. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CARADVICE | CARBUZZ ]

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Ferrari 250 GT N.A.R.T. Spider by Fantuzzi

ONE-OFF Throughout the history of the horse prancing logoed car manufacturer in America, seems it cannot be separated from the figure of Luigi 'Coco' Chinetti, Jr. Due to he has an extraordinary understanding of what the American market wants. As in the mid-1960s, while he assumed the spyder design would become the trend in the American market.

1962 Ferrari 250 GT N.A.R.T. Spider by Fantuzzi built based of the 1960 Ferrari 250 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 model. (Picture from: Supercars)

Previously, we had discussed about the Ferrari 275 P2 Speciale, a unique American styled sports car created by the design of Giovanni Michelotti under commissioned of Ferrari for Coco Chinetti Jr. based on the Bob Peak-made sketches. The car mentioned above was built on the basis of a spyder race car which made specifically for the Chinetti's racing team, the North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.)

1962 Ferrari 250 GT N.A.R.T. Spider by Fantuzzi powered by a rebuilding engine according to Testa Rossa's specifications and done on by Alberto Pedretti and Alfredo Caiti. (Picture from: Supercars)

Well, those donor car was what we will discuss on this occasion, and the Ferrari 250 GT N.A.R.T. Spider by Fantuzzi is the car's name. The car began its day as the standard version of the 1960 Ferrari 250 GTE 2+2 model with the chassis number of #2235GT with the bodywork was built by Pininfarina. In the mid-sixties, its Pininfarina bodywork was considered too plain which was later replaced by Coco Chinetti with a new bodywork made by Carrozeria Fantuzzi was inspired the Ferrari's mid-engine sports prototype.

It is known that the car was built before the famous Ferrari 275 GTB variants were born, and was intended as its prototype model. As the result is a more dramatic appearance with an extended front nose and a 275 GTB-like profile car. Many of the race car features borrowed from the 250P such as the Kamm tail at the rear and the integrated roll hoop attached directly behind the interior.

1962 Ferrari 250 GT N.A.R.T. Spider by Fantuzzi has many features borrowed from the 250P such as the Kamm tail at the rear and the integrated roll hoop attached directly behind the interior. (Picture from: Supercars)

Once the aluminum-made bodywork was mounted on the 250 GTE chassis, then installed a rebuilding engine according to Testa Rossa's specifications and done on by former Ferrari technicians who worked for Modenna Motors named Alberto Pedretti and Alfredo Caiti. On those engine, they fitted the Testarossa camshafts, a new intake manifold with six twin-choke Weber carburetors and coupled with a 5-speed manual transmission system.

After completion the car was shown at several major auto show events in America, among others, the 1965 San Francisco Show and the 1966 NY Auto Show. To emphasize his credibility, Chinetti put the North American Racing Team (N.A.R.T.) logo on the back of the car.

After its show duties was over, the car was sold and since then changed owners many times before being owned by someone for more than 33 years. And in 1990, the car returned to the Fantuzzi coachbuilder for a fully restoration process until the mid-1990s. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | SUPERCARS | ADRIANFLUX ]

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All-new ferocious V10-engined Italian supercars features an AI-tech driving assistance

Unique ONES If we talk about the Italian supercar manufacturer, chances are that the name of the FV Frangivento will never come out of Your lips. That's no surprised due to many of the automotive enthusiasts may not know the company as one of the Italian supercar makers. However, that didn't stop the Turin-based carmaker to introducing their latest supercar model named the FV Frangivento Sorpasso.

Frangivento Surpasso Stradale was one of two new supercar variants released by the FV Frangivento, a Turin based automotive manufacturer. (Picture from: Autoblog)

In the 2019, the Italian manufacturer had launched a unique supercar with 1,000 horsepower called the Asfane DieciDieci, and two years before, in 2017 the Charlotte electric roadster debuted and offered for the price of $ 1.6 million (Rp.23.2 billion). Now in 2021, the Turin-based automotive manufacturer is launching a new supercar called the Sorpasso is mentioned to have a series of uniqueness and also as the continuation of the previous car models.

Frangivento Surpasso is available in two variants namely, the Stradale and the GTXX. And the consumers who bought the second variant have the right to change the "XX" mark into the specific numbers according to the choice of them.

Frangivento Surpasso Stradale appears in the hermes gray body color with a clean and elegant appeal. (Picture from: Autoblog)

Besides that the buyers of Sorpasso Stradale and GTXX have a special priority to participate in two personal programs called 'Programma Sviluppo' and 'Programma Ego' for 30 days. In which, they can work side by side with the FV Frangivento designers in designing the Surpasso cars according to their own styles and individual tastes.

In appearance, the Sorpasso Stradale is very different through its clean and elegant appeal. This is a show car that was chosen to the presented images on the company press releases, and appears in the hermes gray body color. While the Sorpasso GTXX, on the other hand, features a two-tones body and carries a more aggressive styling due to inspired by the GT3 Group's racing cars.

Frangivento Surpasso Stradale powered by a naturally aspirated V10 Lamborghini's engine to spew the power of 610 horsepower. (Picture from: Autoblog)

Furthermore, although not revealed in the images for the company press releases, both of the Sorpasso supercar cabins are said to be covered in Alcantara, as well as leather made by Turin-based Mario Levi Group  atelier.

The car will also be equipped with an optional Avatar Driving Assistant, which can be used as an intelligent co-driver with human features that can be adjusted by the driver. Those AI's technology system was developed by the Sistemevo which is claimed to have the ability to communicate by using natural language like a personal travel companion.

Those two Sorpasso supercars run on a four-wheel-drive system and are powered by a V10 Lamborghini's engine. The Stradale variant does not use forced induction to produce 610 naturally aspirated horsepower. Meanwhile, the Sorpasso GTXX is supercharged to produce 850 horsepower (634 kilowatts).

Such the power output allows it to accelerate from 0-62 mph (100 kph) in 2.9 seconds, with a top speed recorded at 214 mph (345 kph). However, until now the selling price has not been stated in the company's press releases. However, FV Frangivento said that the fans and collectors have placed their orders and will receive their cars by the end of July 2021. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | FV FRANGIVENTO | AUTOBLOG | MOTOR1 ]

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The streamlined T-bird Mexico concept never been grew up

Concept ONLY In a motorized vehicle design process, sometimes it has to be stopped by non-technical matters. This also happened to a beautiful car design made by Alex Tremulis in 1956. At the time, as it is well known that Alex Tremulis' design philosophy had always been to strike a happy marriage between aircraft and automotive styling.

The Ford Thunderbird Mexico concept developed to be the reply to the Chevy's racing Corvettes. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

Because since teenager, he already inherently understood smooth flowing lines would not only look better but would be more efficient at slicing through the air. This might be achieved by him when he spent much of his time during the 2nd World War in the process of designing an aircraft to fly faster than had ever been achieved through the use of wind tunnels.

Alex Tremulis posed alongside the finished Ford Thunderbird Mexico model as it appeared in numerous PR photo shoots. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

This was later applied by him while working at the Ford Motor Company, when the American automotive company was in the midst of developing an equal contender model for the Corvette that was successfully made by Chevrolet, its rival compatriot subsidiary brand of GM. As it is well known, in the time the Chevrolet was already exploring design improvements to their 1956 Corvette that would eventually lead to the 1957 Sebring SS.

The Ford Thunderbird Mexico concept alongside a turbine concept illustrates how low and sleek it appeared compared to its contemporaries. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

By those reasons followed by Ford to develop the concept models through its R&D department. As the result, several car models managed to develop and one of them was the Ford Thunderbird Mexico Concept designed by Alex Tremulis with his automotive design philosophy, later it proven to be able to make the car speeding more than 200 miles per hour.

Another view of the 3/8 scale street scene provides different perspectives when evaluating various designs from all angles. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

In short, Tremulis managed to help Ford made the highly modified supercharged 1956 Thunderbird Mexico to be the answer to the Chevy's racing Corvettes, through the car's design refinement resulting of the large number of model test carried out in the wind tunnel including with the ground effects.

Initially, Mexico was made to race  in La Carrera Panamericana. The idea is that with less horsepower, the Thunderbird chassis can still win by using aerodynamics to gain a top speed advantage over other race cars especially Mercedes.

The 3/8 scale models of La Tosca and Mexico in the Rotunda with the model makers. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

It's a shame Mexico never made it to the full-scale model, plus a series of tragic racing events took place in the mid-50s, leading the Automobile Manufacturers Association placed a ban on the auto manufacturer supports for racing teams.

The Ford Thunderbord Mexico concept with an added-on rounded nose, similar to the late 1960's Chrysler Superbirds. (Picture from: Carstyling.ru)

This brought the development of the Mexico's design stopped, with only a few 3/8 scaled models previously ever been made and used for the wind tunnel experimental data collection process. The sheer size of these 3/8ths scale models made for better data in the wind tunnel than smaller sized models, but they took up a lot of room. It's unknown how many of these models were crushed after their useful days were complete. 

Despite this, the development of many future record-setting race cars and their drivers would benefit directly from the lessons learned by Tremulis a decade earlier. So the efforts weren't all for nothing. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | CARSTYLING.RU | ]

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A Russian's workshop changed the BMW 3 Series looks into a vintage styled car

UNique ONES Indeed, so far we know that most of the world's exotic car works are produced by automotive companies from Europe (especially the western European region) and North America. Yes, that's the thing we cannot be denied, but that doesn't mean that companies from other regions can't produce masterpiece exotic cars such those.

2015 Bilenken Vintage Coupé built based on a modern BMW platform and debuted at the 2015 Dubai Motor Show. (Picture from: Russian Ambience)

That's we can be seen on the exotic car made by the Bilenkin Classic Car, a Russian automotive company. Turn out, the company can produce an exotic car model equivalent to those made by automotive companies from western Europe and America. Let's take a look, those exotic car works named Bilenkin Vintage Coupé made by them could be said cool and stand out.

2015 Bilenken Vintage Coupé describes the car as a “charming, old-fashioned, yet easy-to-use” vehicle by combining a classic design style but with a brand new engine performances. (Picture from: Russian Ambience)

The Bilenkin Classic Car describes the car as a “charming, old-fashioned, yet easy-to-use” vehicle by combining a classic design style but with a brand new engine performances. The car carries the retro granturismo model is also said to have combined the most advanced features in terms of safety and comfort that were adopted from the BMW 3 Series.

The car was built by the Russian company based on a modern BMW platform that is made in such a way as to appear in a luxurious, elegance retro style. It can be seen from the lines and curves of the exterior which said are inspired by the Volvo P1800 nor the Volga M21, while the interior is thick influenced by the BMW's rear-drive E92 platform.

2015 Bilenken Vintage Coupé's interior puts forward a retro theme but also has a modern premium class, which provides an almost similar atmosphere to the Rolls-Royce's hand made interior styles. (Picture from: Russian Ambience)

The interior puts forward a retro theme but also has a modern premium class, which provides an almost similar atmosphere to the Rolls-Royce's hand made interior styles. There are the carvings that run along the dashboard and doortrim using wood material, it looks so perfect like the interior of a super luxury vehicle with a special personalization touches.

Furthermore inside the cabin, as You could be seen a nice cross-breeding in between the classic and modern styles by the existances of the Volvo P1900's classic styled instruments cluster coupled with the modern infotainment features. Unmitigated, the Bilenkin Vintage uses a high-end audio system, even embedding the BMW iDrive features on its center console.

Yoe even could be seen a nice cross-breeding in between the classic and modern styles by the existances of the Volvo P1900's classic styled instruments cluster coupled with the modern infotainment features on the 2015 Bilenken Vintage Coupé cabin. (Picture from: TopSpeed)

"You will be surprised by the looks and strong, clear sound of the high-end audio we rigorously selected for the Vintage. This car offers a brilliant combination of modern safety and comfort standards, along with the style and quality of iconic old creations," said the Russian company in its press release to media.

Then for its drivetrain, the Russian company pinned a V8 4.0-liter Twinpower Turbo engine was the same as used by the 2007 BMW M3, coupled with the 7-speed automatic transmission system. So it's claimed to be able to produce up to 418 hp and 400 Nm of torque to move its rear wheels and make the car run up to top speed of 249 kph.

2015 Bilenken Vintage Coupé offers a brilliant combination of modern safety and comfort standards, along with the style and quality of iconic old creations. (Picture from: Autoevolution)

As the results of the retro styled car then became one of major topics amongst the world's car enthusiasts when the car debuted at the 2015 Dubai Auto Show. By looking at all those about the car above, we think it deserves to be aligned with the Roll-Royce in terms of luxury and comfort.

Although inspired by two iconic cars, you will not find a BMW nor Volvo emblems on the car made by the Russian company. Because this Russian manufacturer has a high level of pride and self-confidence to pin the Bilenkin Classic Cars brand emblem in the middle of its Vintage grilles.😉

As quoted from Wikipedia, the Bilenkin Vintage has sold more than two dozen units and each sold at the price ranging of €142,000. Until now, the car is still the center of attention of the world's automotive fans. A number of media have repeatedly made reported the Bilenkin Vintage since it was first appeared in 2015 and always received a positive response. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | BILENKIN VINTAGE | TOPSPEED | THE DRIVE | WIKIPEDIA | AUTOEVOLUTION | RUSSIAN AMBIENCE ]

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Meet the first Corvette retractable hardtop version

ONE-OFF The Corvette is one of the iconic American muscle cars have its own uniqueness so that it will never outdate when it's becomes a discussion subject. No exception to this muscle and beautiful Corvette of the 1958. Actually, those car mentioned above, later known as the Corvette 'Scotty' Retractable Hardtop is not a factory prototype issued by the Chevrolet, but is said to be the creation of an inside job as a private project. How could this be happened? Here's the story behind it;

1958 Corvette 'Scotty' has special feature with the hardtop able to retract into the trunk. (Picture from: Macsmotorcitygarage)

For years, there were the stories have circulated amongst the Corvette collectors of the existence of an unusual version of the Vette with retractable hardtop. One of theose stories mentioned that there was an unusual Chevy production on one of the Corvette models in the 1958, ie a special version featured with the hardtop able to retract into its trunk like the Ford Skyliner has.

1958 Corvette 'Scotty' Retractable Hardtop once painted in white before repainted in 1989 into its current black color. (Picture from: Corvetteactioncentre)

Many Vette enthutiasts even automotive experts mentioned ever have seen those eccentric shape. Some of them said that the unusual Vette was seen around Detroit, then Florida. Then said, its color is white. No, black. No, it was white with red coves. Some versions of the legend claimed there was not only one, but three Corvettes with retractable hardtop. Furthermore they construed that's a genuine factory product of a kind of the rare prototype that somehow managed to escape into the wild.

As it turns out, there really are such cars, and only one has ever been built. Though it wasn't a factory project, the unique Vette was made by Francis H. Scott, a General Motors stylist, uniquely that the entire work process was not done inside the GM's studio. Then where? He created and built the Vette with retractable hardtop in his living room. So that at this point, we can understand why there're many have been fooled before.

1958 Corvette 'Scotty' was not a GM's factory project, but rebuilt by Francis H. Scott, a General Motor stylist in his living room. (Picture from: Macsmotorcitygarage)

As quoted of Macsmotorcitygarage, that Francis H. Scott really wanted to have a Corvette. And of course, he would not be able to buy the dream car he wanted, if only relied on the salary obtained from GM (considering the Corvette base price at the time was around $3,600). However he has expertise in clay modeling and fiberglass lay-up where he was working as a sculptor in the GM Styling Section.

In short, in the late of 1958 he purchased a wrecked and and written-off 1958 Corvette from an insurance company for $ 900. The car is loaded into his living room through the front door by removing the windshield and shattered body shells fit sideways. 

Then he set to work rebuilding it, with the original plan just wanted to repair it. The idea for a retractable roof came spontaneous when he started working on it, pure serendipity, due to his cramped work area. Coincidentally, the entire rear of the car was opened for repair, then he found a way that the Corvette able to lift-off its hardtop and stowed neatly in the trunk.

The idea for a retractable roof came spontaneous when he started working on it, pure serendipity, due to his cramped work area. (Picture from: Macsmotorcitygarage)

For his retracting mechanism, Scoot borrowed from the Skyliner which is much more complicated, but was later made to be simpler by him. The entire fabrication work, including the rear window frames, is done from fiberglass, from clay patterns and molds. Then he filed a patent on the design of the hinged track mechanism in 1962 and was granted in 1965 by a patent No. 3,180,677. Those mechanism has ever been offered to the GM management, but unfortunately they expressed no interest in Scott’s concept whatsoever.

After completion, this car was used by Scoot as its daily vehicle for nearly 6 years, before being swapped for another Chevrolet. This car had disappeared at a momment and only appeared occasionally which then made the rumors mentioned above. The unique car nicknamed Scotty (in honor of its creator) was known to have been in Florida for some time, repainted at least once, from black to two-tone white-and-red, then disappeared until 1989. When Terry Michaelis bought it, kept it and then restored back in 1994.

In 2005, the Corvette retractable hardtop was auctioned off in Barrett-Jackson, where it was sold for $ 340,200. The car is currently in the collections of car mega-dealer, NASCAR team owner and collector Rick Hendrick. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | MACSMOTORCITYGARAGE | PROTEAMCORVETTE | BARRETT-JACKSON ]

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