Day: Mar 5, 2016

Parallel Universe Levante – 2

Once you cross a Rubicon, there’s no going back. Maserati probably had little choice but to go crossover, but they weren’t without options. Last week we looked at one. Here’s another.

50% of Bellagio production right there. Image:automotive.com
50% of Bellagio production right there. Image:automotive.com

I think it’s universally agreed most things sound better in Italian. In fact I’d be prepared to wager even the Italian for enema sounds vaguely appealing. A personal favourite however is the Italian term for coachbuilder – carrozzeria. For me it conjures faded monochrome images of artisans hand beating aluminium sheet into something far lovelier than was strictly necessary. Most carrozzerie’s created memorable work, but Touring Superleggera’s back-catalogue of innovative design, spanned from the 1930’s and some of the most significant body shapes created for manufacturers like Bristol, Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Jensen, Aston Martin and Maserati. Continue reading “Parallel Universe Levante – 2”

Geneva 2016 Posted Missing – Lancia

Obituaries are probably premature, but has Lancia’s traditional Geneva presence been bulldozed in the Giulia frenzy?

Lancia IAA Photo autovia-media
2016 Lancia Ypsilon at Geneva

Lancia was not on the Geneva exhibitors list, but I fully expected a few Ypsilons to show their fresh new face on a small, but rather stylish, stand in some enclave of Sergio’s Palexpo empire. It happened at Frankfurt, but not in Geneva – the traditional Lancia space was occupied by Abarth instead, with a rather jolly display of 124 Spiders and a 695 Biposto. Continue reading “Geneva 2016 Posted Missing – Lancia”