1931 – Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Monza

Autor Piotr Wilk9 kwietnia, 202327 września, 2023

Jano joined Alfa Romeo in 1923 – and that one move kickstarted their whole racing program, but after two (quite successful) seasons, Italians quit competition. Vittorio Jano is transferred to road cars development, which results in 1927 6C 1500 launch. That platform was dedicated for the public road use, but its motorsport variants were dominating every form of circuit racing. Mille Miglia went to Alfa Romeo drivers 3 years in a row. What Jano did, was he took his old P2 creation, and having this – he attempted on development of a new racer for 1931 season. It was overcomplicated to the point it had two engines and was… well, not the most suitable for competition (mostly due to reliability issues) but hey – its road iteration was absolutely the best of the best in its field.

Jano knew quite well the technology allowed constant growth in competition. He believed in „there’s no replacement to displacement” philosophy. P2 was already an 8-cylinder, but the road car was to have a new motor: 2 forged steel blocks of 4 cylinders each – in overhead valve layout. The camshaft was right in between, and since it was shortened, it didn’t have to flex like crazy. Lower to the side was a Roots-type supercharger with Memini carburetor (that was replaced with a Weber in the later models). That’s how you do 155-165 bhp from 2.3-litre motor – in its least powerful variants.

Alfa’s competition had already reached 180 bhp level, but Alfa’s strength lies elsewhere. It had a lightweight and agile platform. Each car stood on a steel ladder frame, with semi-elliptic leaf springs and friction dampers. It was stopped by drum brakes at each wheel. The power was transferred via a 4-speed gearbox, and the whole thing C no more than a ton. Almost 200 examples left factories within 3 years, and a vast number of them was actually involved in motorsport. Mille Miglia is not an easy thing. It’s a difficult race generally speaking, and most well designed, tested and proved, proper builds – fail that event. Alfa was completely new – with two examples just completed for the 1931 edition of the race. Tazio Nuvolari behind the wheel of a 2300 model – he’s been having continuous problems with his tires… yet he was fast like a devil himself. Rudolf Carraciola was the main rival then. He had an SSK – a 7.1-litre monstrosity with an excess of power that would allow easy overtakes and building 17 minute gap. This cannot be. Nuvolari gives 100%. He does manage to shorten the distance, but the clouds of dust coming from the Mercedes in front limit visibility to near zero. As a result – Nuvolari ends his race in a crash.

Weeks go past and Nuvolari drives his 8C 2300 again. This time: Targa Florio. Not only he achieves payback on the German machine, he also begins the winning streak for Alfa Romeo. And a new era in motor history. Both Alfa competitors have a modified (shortened) wheelbase, that will later be adapted in the new Tipo A Grand Prix racer. Both cars participated in the Italy Grand Prix at Monza. The event when Arcangeli will die during a practice session in his Tipo A. Other cars didn’t finish either – but both Campari and Nuvolari swapped their Tipo As for 8C 2300s in an early phase – and they won the event! Since that time – we call those variant „Monza”, and 2300 will celebrate success after success in Grand Prix races up until Tipo B comes.

Le Mans required some more changes to the project. The body was enlarged as the rules dictated 4 seats. Alfa sent 3 vehicles, but one motor blown in practice before the race even started. The race rich in long straights and fast bends – perfect for German SSKs. And German machines were direct rivals, as they also started in Formula Libre category. I guess that’s enough said – the Circuit favored Mercedes… Another Alfa Romeo ends crashed around 100 laps into race. One 8C left in competition. Behind the wheel: Tim Birkin (ex-Bentley Boy) and Lord Howe. The English demolished their rivals so much so, the fastest Mercedes was 100km distance behind them! 8C Alfa was fastest at Le Mans 4 times a row – and little to 5 times. They took the whole podium in 1993…

The most successful sportscar in the history of the most successful sports cars. People say the Type 35 Bugatti was the best, but Alfa Romeos were such a close second, that Bugattis could constantly feel their breath on their back. Alfas were best at Italian Grand Prix. They won the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio – 3 times each. Le Mans: 4 times. That – with the car designed for road use mainly. One that you could normally go and buy. All those trophies, and around 50 more – minor successes on top of it. Rudolf Caracciola (mainly – Mercedes) drove it to victory in Lvov Grand Prix and Eifelrennen. Etancelin (mainly: Bugatti) won 5 other times behind its wheel. Alfa Romeo drivers bested anyone – Bugattis, Maseratis or Mercedes drivers – in every single classification of the early ’30s racing. Quite frankly, in automotive history Alfa Romeo Monza takes second after Bugatti also because their successes stay in the shadow of a later Tipo B or 2900 models. The French focus orbits around a single model and that is why its so well remembered. Type 54 or 59 Bugattis weren’t as accomplished. Tipo B – absolutely was. And 8C was not far behind. Jano designed a perfect platform, and Alfa had great roster of talented drivers. Legends. That made the golden era of racing. Enzo Ferrari joins Alfa Romeo as a driver in 1920, at the end of the decade – in 1929 – he established his own racing program and in 1932 ends his career behind the wheel. By that time his Scuderia Ferrari is recognized as a semi-official Alfa Romeo motorsport department. He enters his, modified to 2.6-litre, Monzas until he can start using Tipo B for his racing effort – but it is Monza that starts the new racing era.

1924 – Alfa Romeo Tipo P2 8C/2000

Autor Piotr Wilk26 marca, 202327 września, 2023

The first steps in motorsport – it was a disaster. ALFA had nothing to back their efforts, so they copied FIAT’s solutions, as FIAT’s 6-cyl worked all the time, every time. Problem was, when ALFA got those engines and finished their vehicles, FIAT already had 8-cylinder in a straight layout, that demolished all the new ALFAs easily. ALFA had also seen a tragic event, when one of their drivers had to be packed in a bag. All the others withdrew from that race. Some of them never came back on the track. Young Enzo Ferrari was sent to negotiate with the head FIAT thinker – Vittorio Jano. Jano agreed to join ALFA immediately, and not longer than a week after, his family was already living in Milan.

He was first tasked with redesigning their P1 racer into a usable piece of machinery. Before he changed teams, he had a good project in his mind. It was an Inline 8-cyl twin cam. He made a lot of changes to it, to refine the motor, as the 1923 season revealed its issues. Instead of 2 4-cylinder blocks, he used 4 blocks of 2 cylinders each. Cast iron, much more simple and largely solid. The crankshaft of that thing required 10 bearings per cam – and it was a twin cam – so it wasn’t cheap to build, but its reliability was unmatched. Jano increased the valve angles, and put the downdraught carburetor in behind the supercharger. 2 valves per cyl it had in a DOHC layout. 134 bhp from a Roots supercharged unit. A 4-speed was installed within a sheet-steel frame. Semi-elliptic leaf front suspension was nothing new. The rear – the whole back was narrowing very low, and it was standing on springs linked to the body frame. The car body variants were those of a longer, aerodynamic rear end – and one shortened, which offered more stability in corners. The drivers could choose what to drive. It was that time, when the cloverleaf first appeared on the engine covers – and the ‚quadrifoglio’ will stay with Alfa Romeo forever.

Jano used old 6-cyl to juxtapose them with the new engines. He experimented on supercharging and it helped him refine his 8-cyl, 2-litre supercharged P2 racer. And it was a secret project, really. When shown to public, the opposition was shocked. Ascari dominated its first outing in 1924, and he won the race with avg. speed of almost 100 mph. Campari was in the lead when he pierced his tire. If not for that, Alfa Romeo would have had a one-two in their second race. The best that day was E. Ferrari behind the wheel of an Alfa R/L. The next event in the calendar was the French Grand Prix, so the stake was enormous…

It was a long race on the streets of Lyon – 810 km on public roads. All big figures were present: Delage, Fiat or Bugatti. None could counter Alfa Romeo. Their drivers were outrageously fast. Both Campari and Ascari – they had such a lead, that they delivered first position with no stress at all. Ascari set the tempo for the entire race, but his block cracked at the end, so he had to retire. The other P2 had no problem reaching the finish line in triumph and glory. The France trophy goes to Italy. Italian Grand Prix was next. It was a Monza race, where after 80 laps, P2 drivers landed on first 4 positions, with almost an hour lead over their closest rival.

3 Alfas show up at the start of the Spa race. It was the Grand Prix Europa and Ascari, Campari with Gastone Brilli-Peri, were behind the wheel. Ascari set the fastest lap, and he won at the end. Second place on the podium was for Campari in the other Alfa Romeo. Their luck ends though, and with the next event: the Montlhéry race, Ascari loses his life in a crash. He was 37 years old – and a 4 times Grand Prix winner. A tremendous loss. Left a 7 year old son, who would become a double F1 World Champion, before he also dies a 36 years old – and as well on the 26th day of the month. Just like his father did. After the old Ascari is out – the whole team gives up and Delage comes to finish first.

Monza was the last race that year and Italians sent 3 drivers again. Pete DePaolo takes Ascari’s place. The American had just managed to come first at the Indy500, driving a Duesenberg. It was a good asset, but no match for the Alfa Romeo of Brilli-Peri. Well, he was the best that time, alright… He came first – 20 minutes before Campari in the second Alfa – who was 10 minutes in front of the third Bugatti. Alfa was higher in ranks than Duesenberg and won the series in the end. It was the first edition of the World Championships – which later would evolve into what we know now as F1 racing. Starting that year – all road going Alfa models will have their logo embraced in laurels. But the season ends with huge changes in race regulations. Even those didn’t end Alfa Corse domination. P2s would win 14 times in that decade – 14 times Great Grand Prix wins, and other major events like Targa Florio. And Jano didn’t really make any revolutionary change to their setup. The P1 failed race car lost good 100 kg, and in the guise of P2, it became a rival not to be treated lightly. One only Bugatti Type 35 could match in any way.

The P2 was the first Jano project – first of all his successful Alfa racers. Not only Grand Prix contenders, but also road-going sports cars. It was the best race car of its times. Alfa would be the fastest on every European race track, and its domination would end only in the ’50s – after they’ve managed to win F1 twice. P2 is the beginning of that beautiful story, and it sets the underpinnings for their future wins. A milestone in the world of motorsport. Jano Alfas were like art – and so was the P2. Just look at the engines of his architecture. They could rev to 6.5k RPM without a single problem ONE HUNDRED YEARS AGO! The engineers made them have specially designed valve springs, to limit the engine revolutions – without them, they could easily reach 9k.

One of the oldest car manufacturers Alfa is, but its legend starts with the P2 in the ’20s. 6 examples of that car will we built in that period, and at least two are running today. One sits in the Alfa Romeo museum – fully functional, race ready and in the Grand Prix winning configuration. Every inch is identical to original. The F1 World Champion, the 3 times Le Mans triumphant, Phil Hill had a chance to drive it in 1981, and he was impressed with the quality of the vehicle he’s been given. The other known example was the one Achille Varzi took to a Targa Florio win – flat grille variant. It had a spare tire mounted at the rear – and it has it now. You can witness it in Torino museum.

1920 – Alfa Romeo G1 Spider Corsa

Autor Piotr Wilk12 marca, 202327 września, 2023

A.L.F.A. – since when it came to exist in 1910 as Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili – had one 4-cylinder project, highly successful before and after the war. Such as Giuseppe Campari drove for A.L.F.A. – and later also Achille Varzi or Tazio Nuvolari. But before that – Nicola Romeo would take over a substantial part of the company’s stakes. It was an agressive takeover, BTW. Alfa guys took it to court, well… anyway. The company name was then changed to ‚Alfa-Romeo’ (hyphenated – later it wasn’t), and the old 4-cyl was swapped for 6-cylinder carburated pushrod motors.

New engines had a longer stroke and displaced well over 6-litres, good for 70 bhp then. Such config dominated Coppa del Garda before it was even properly tested as a prototype. Italians quickly executed 50 examples of this machine in many variants – Spider Corsas, Torpedoes and Limousines. They were somewhat based on the old ALFA models, but they elevated current technology to a higher level. G1 stood on an enlarged platform, much more stiff and offering more stability. In the times when Model T Ford was the car to buy, Alfa could into 86 mph and – the Limousine – rivalled Rolls-Royce directly. Or even Hispano-Suiza. Largely, due to engine displacement.

6.3 litres. 386 cu in – most they had then. Or ever – never before or again would such a beast sit under the hood of an Alfa Romeo (not counting Viper derived TZs – I’m not saying it’s bad, Viper itself is tremendous piece of machinery, but it’s not a true Alfa in the essence). People say ‚you know who’ himself took part in the project development (Enzo F.). It had two blocks – 3 cylinders each – in a sidevalve layout. Good old times… Alfa G1 was a RWD with a 4-speed transmission. Front suspension was of semielliptic springs, with quarter elliptic in the back. It had a system of mechanical brakes for the rear of the car, and an emergency hand operated brake locking its gearbox. All in all – it was a smart, well thought design. An engineer named Merosi was hugely responsible for it, and you can’t say he did a bad job. The man had talent. He refreshed their old blueprints so that they really rocked on the road… but everything has a price…

Alfa had wished for a second generation of their car – a G2 – but the engine such big was bound to be taxed beyond reason. That’s one thing. Secondly: the fuel prices were like WTF. All this resulted in poor sales and the project died like a dog. It was replaced with an Alfa RL of not even close to half the size this engine. G1 was a new generation Alfa Romeo. 52 of these ever existed (inc. proto) and – I’m not 100% sure, but all them went to Australia. And what’s more – ONLY ONE EXISTS THIS DAY. It has its home in New Zealand – the oldest car of this Italian manufacturer, surviving in the lone single example, fully functional and worth at least half a million of American money. That one is interesting also for that it was purchased by a businessman from Australia, and 3 years in his possession. When he died, car was forgotten for 25 years, when discovered by some farmers who used it for chasing kangaroos. True story. At some point the car was damaged – it hit a tree, and it took a role of a power generator for water pump. Only in the year ’64 it caught an eye of an Alfa enthusiast who saw it for what it was, and restored it to the condition it was shown a black flag during the Mille Miglia Memorial race, because the car was too fast.

1940 – Auto Avio Costruzioni Tipo 815

Autor Piotr Wilk26 lutego, 202327 września, 2023

Rok 1939, to jeden z najbardziej znamiennych momentów w historii motoryzacyjnego świata. Alfa Romeo wspiera najpotężniejszy dział wyścigowy ich czasów – można powiedzieć, że w tamtym momencie: niepokonany – Scuderia Ferrari – ale jego dyrektor i założyciel, legendarny Enzo Ferrari, odchodzi. Gloria, jaką było owiane jego nazwisko, gwarantowała sukces kolejnej marki z jaką zdecydowałby się on związać. Wieść, że ma on zajmować się autami samodzielnie, rozeszła się w oka mgnieniu. Odchodząc z Alfy Romeo, Enzo dostał bana na aktywność w motorsporcie. Wiadomo – nie chcieli, aby odpalił Scuderia Ferrari u jakiegoś innego producenta. Umowa zabraniała mu m.in. umieszczać nazwisko Ferrari na karoseriach pojazdów na conajmniej cztery lata… Dlatego Enzo nie założył Ferrari. Dlatego założył Auto Avio Costruzioni. Choć wszyscy wiemy, że to jest Ferrari.

Dlaczego do tego doszło? Scuderia Ferrari było wielkie. Niedosilone Alfy potrafiły miażdżyć przepotężne Mercedesy i Auto Uniony. Ferrari było oficjalnym fabrycznym teamem Alfy Romeo… ale pod koniec lat ‘30-tych Alfie brakowało inicjatywy w kwestii nowych pojazdów, przez co Scuderia nie miała na czym pracować – i Enzo oczywiście się wkurwiał. Oficjalnie – odszedł, aby założyć własny biznes… choć prawda jest taka, że go wyjebano, Scuderia zamknięto a dział sportowy przeszedł w ręce Alfa Corse – do czego Ferrari sam się przyznał, a co spowodowało kilka innych odejść z Alfa Corse. Jego projekt był policzkiem tak w stronę Alfy, jak i Maserati. Był początkiem walki na włoskim terytorium, ale wkrótce i o globalną dominację w świecie aut sportowych. Ferrari sam zawsze twierdził, że nigdy nie był projektantem, ani nawet inżynierem. Był za to liderem. Właśnie dlatego jedni uważali go za boga – a inni za wroga. Potrafił zebrać odpowiednich ludzi, aby stworzyć coś pięknego. W cztery miesiące powstało auto.

Pierwsi klienci AAC to Alberto Ascari, kierowca wyścigowy z pierwszej ligi, syn Antonio Ascariego, który był przecież mentorem pana Enzo; i Lotario Rangoni Machiavelli – Markiz Modeny. Nad projektem ich auta pracowali najlepsi ludzie z działu sportowego Alfy Romeo, tacy jak Alberto Massimino, Vittorio Bellentani i Enrico Nardi. Silnik mocno bazował na czterech cylindrach z Fiata 508. Motor Fiata był oczywiście za mały, więc praktycznie dwie takie jednostki ustawiono w rzędzie, jedna po drugiej, i połączono we wspólnym bloku. To była robota Fonderia Calzoni – na zamówienie. Bardzo lekka i wytrzymała. Miała korbę na pięciu łożyskach i rozrząd AAC, specjalny do rzędowej ósemki. Tłokom skrócono suw, motor odpowiednio zbalansowano, i oczywiście zwiększono współczynnik kompresji. Generalnie – możnaby powiedzieć, że Fiat, no nie… ale po prawdzie, Fiat był tani i nowoczesny, a to była bardzo zaawansowana technologia jak na tamte czasy. Do tego, Turyn płacił hajs ludziom za wyniki osiągane sportowo przy użyciu ich komponentów. Problemem był tylko silnik, ale architektura Fiata została wypruta, i wszystko wstawiono nowe – bo osprzęt do 4 cylindrów nie nadawał się do ośmiu. Pojedynczy rozdząd z zaworami nad głowicą – 2 zawory na cylinder – i pół-suchą misą olejową, zdolny do mocy rzędu 75 koni mechanicznych. Dobre bydło. Szybkie, ale pospieszone i przez to – mało solidne.

Czterobiegowa skrzynia biegów róznież pochodziła od Fiata, ale wyjebano z niej wszystko i wstawiono swoje. Wszystkie biegi były nowe. Zintegrowano ją razem z blokiem silnika i całość osadzono na zawieszeniu ze zintegrowanymi amortyzatorami z przodu (tzw. układ Dubonneta) i tylnym mostem na piórach. Jeśli chodzi o nadwozie, to regulaminy wyścigów zobowiązywały producentów do bazowania ich pojazdów na istniejących drogowych odpowiednikach – więc buda nowego Ferrari była mocną wariacją Fiata 508. Wykonana przez Carrozzeria Touring, przy użyciu lekkiego stopu magnezu z aluminium. Komplet ważył 54 kilo, a jeżdżące auto nie przekraczało w ten sposób 625kg. Dzięki temu można było się rozpędzać do 170 km/h. Auto nosiło oznaczenie Model 815, co odnosiło się do układu silnika z 1,5-litra w 8 cylindrach… i tradycja tego nazewnictwa jest kontynuowana do dziś.

Auta miały być gotowe na Grand Prix Brescia, co było odpowiednikiem Mille Miglia. 1000Miglia tego roku było właśnie zastąpione przez GPB, i Gran Premio Brescia della Mille Miglia była jakby kontynuatorem tej tradycji w duchu wyścigu o dystansie 1000-mil. Trasa przebiegała przez 166 km dróg publicznych, i zmagania trwały całe 9 okrążeń. Oba auta musiały się wycofać po tym, jak ich podzespoły uległy uszkodzeniu. Ascari prowadził na pierwszym okrążeniu, ale uszkodził ramię wahacza, przez co musiał zakończyć zabawę. Inne źródła podają, że Ascari miał problemy z zaworami. Drugie Ferrari objęło po nim prowadzenie i ustanowiło rekord okrążenia dla tej klasy pojazdu, ale po siedmiu kółkach auto zawiodło i jego – prawdopodobnie skrzynia biegów. Przez pewien czas dwa Ferrari prowadziły w swojej kategorii, a auto potrafiło zbudować 30 minut przewagi nad rywalami.

To była wojna, a Enzo potrafił się mścić. Został zwolniony z firmy, którą zbudował. Po 20 latach pracy, zabroniono mu pracować na autach. Zakazano mu się ścigać przeciwko Alfie Romeo. Zabrano prawa do użycia własnego nazwiska. Enzo założył Ferrari – tylko nazwał je inaczej… więc technicznie, nie złamał umowy. Wystawiał auta w największym wyścigu na włoskiej ziemi – tylko, że Alfy były w grupie dla 2,5 litra… więc technicznie – z nimi nie rywalizował. A na koniec – nazwał swój model 815, co było również anagramem Alfy Romeo Tipo 158 – ichniego auta z 1,5-litrowym ośmiocylindrowym silnikiem. Oto pierwszy pojazd skonstruowany w pełni przez pana Enzo, i początek marki Ferrari. Zaczyna się od wyścigu Mille Miglia, który – w jego 30-letniej tradycji – auta Ferrari będą wygrywać nawet 6 razy z rzędu, a gdy z Enzo schodzi ban od Alfy, Auto Avio Costruzione szybko przekształca się w Auto Costruzione Ferrari. AAC 815 powstało w dwóch egzemplarzach: Coda Lunga i Coda Corta, z których jednego nie dało się uratować, ale drugi na szczęście można podziwiać do dziś. Miał powstać również wariant z materiałowym dachem, ale wojna przerwała prace nad projektem.

1988 – Cizeta-Moroder V16T

Autor Piotr Wilk27 grudnia, 202227 września, 2023

Before starting his own company, Claudio Zampolli gained working experience in team Lamborghini. He was their research engineer and test driver for their supercar production, but a moment came to start a business of his own. From his initials pronounced – Ci Zeta – in Italian, was formed a company with amazing dreams and with backing from a legendary music producer and composer (“My name is Giovanni Giorgio, but everybody calls me… Giorgio” – get it?).

The very first example was named after its main investor and that’s why this exact one is a Moroder V16T variant (Giorgio Moroder, V configuration with 16 cylinders transversely). Later the companions split their ways and the latter models will technically be just V16T Cizetas – non-Moroders. Unfortunately Giorgio Moroder left the project before production ever started, with only one prototype built. Cizeta was a hand built car coming off the factory near Modena – in the heart of Italian supercars, and in Ferrari and Lamborghini neighborhood.

Cizeta was technologically superior to anything on the market. The golden rule of supercar design states: the car has to be low and wide – and this one was powered by, what essentially was two Lamborghini V8s joined together in one. Its a gross simplification, as the engine was bespoke, but it had Lamborghini-derived architecture. Zampolli was their engineer after all, and he likely took part in Lamborghini V8s research process. No wonder he would adapt similar solutions. Even the driveshafts with engine blocks came straight from Urraco. A high rev V16 laid transversely behind the driver, and through the 5-speed manual transmission, it sent 540 horsepower on the asphalt. It was a 64-valve motor – figure that out! It required 8 cam shafts and 2 radiators to run. And 540 BHP is much more than Diablo had. Do you understand the magnitude of this situation? You had to fit that shit under the hood, as well. One of the reasons why the car has such a sleek low profile and wide body. Never before had a 16-cylinder been put in a car transversely. Zampolli did it first.

Cizeta was standing on a very conventional tubular spaceframe and every wheel had double wishbones. The body was a work of art, and responsible was no other than Marcelo Gandini – the man behind Countach, Miura, known for Stratos, De Tomaso and later Bugatti EB110. There were no worries about his part, ok – he knew what he was doing. The car’s body was sorted. And exactly Miura/Countach platform he did use for the car. He was – in the past – supposed to introduce a project to replace the latter, but when Chrysler realized how crazy it was, they said ‘you’re drunk, go home’ to him. They didn’t even let the man fix the thing the way they wanted – they did it for him… and the Diablo came to be. Gandini then told them to go fuck themselves and he called Zampolli – Cizeta is a Diablo how it’s supposed to be! No corporate leash on the project. Untamed. The development stage engaged more people related to Mr. Ferruccio than work now in the whole Lamborghini company – now or 20 years ago. Olivero Pedrazzi was the head of the design, and the powertrain architect. Its suspension was Achille Bevini’s work, and Ianose Bronzatti took care of the chassis. All: Lamborghini. The true Lamborghini.

So complex the project was, that even though everyone working on it was top class, a legend of automobile architecture – NONE would dare to execute a running prototype. Only when Giancarlo Guerra gave green light – the first example was made. Guerra was the god of auto industry. 40 years experience on the highest level. He gave shape to the first 250 GTO Ferrari, he shown the guys at the Lamborghini how to craft their complicated Countach chassis and the bodies for it. Before the man entered Zampolli’s garage, nobody touched the thing – nobody even dared to look at it the wrong way. That’s how big this project was.

V16T was a perfect car, but sadly – unlucky. It was offered for sale at the time the supercar boom was gone, the whole market collapsed – and it never got its chance. The initial plan was to make 1 car every month, but in the end… only 9 examples were finished. They managed to craft a few more – including at least one TTJ Spider variant – after they moved to the USA. Funny thing – the car is still available. New. It was at least – till not long ago. Sure, no new cars really left the factory since 2003, but Zampolli himself – said in his 2018 interview that officially – he never closed the project and technically you could still buy a brand new ’80s supercar, coming straight from the factory in the 2020’s. At least you could, because sadly – Zampolli dies in 2021. Imagine that: a supercar from the late ’80s. Brand new. In every shape and form exceptional. A unique motor with astonishing power. No turbos, no antilock brakes, no all-wheel drive. 199mph (320 km/h) top speed and it wasn’t even tested in a wind tunnel. ‘Lamborghini never really cared for aero tests’ Zampoli said, and I believe him. It is the car that never really rivalled any other. Not per se. It paved its own path in the supercar world. And the original first example – the only with ‘Moroder’ badge – is in a great running condition, not long ago available for sale on an auction in Phoenix January 26th 2022.