Category Archives: Pininfarina

Ferrari, Pininfarina

Price Reduction: 2005 FERRARI 612 SCAGLIETTI MANUAL

We are running this post again now that the seller has dropped the asking price by $77,000! The price is still pretty high for a high-mileage 612 Scaglietti, but the rarity of the gated manual makes for a competitive market. Original post from when car was priced at $224,977 can be found here.

You almost have to pity Ferrari when it comes to development and manufacturing costs. A niche automaker such as Ferrari cannot spread the development and tooling costs for each new model over a large production run like GM can with the Corvette, for example. When GM decided to move the Corvette to a completely new mid-engine chassis, it did so with the prospect of 25-30,000 sales annually, a luxury not available to Ferrari.

Ferrari manages development costs by sharing powertrains and vehicle platforms. The 612 lead the way in aluminum front-ship V12 chassis development for the 599 GTB Fiorano (sadly, it didn't pass on its styling grace). And, the 575 Superamerica, a limited-production model, shared its similar tipo F 133 V12 with the Scaglietti, spreading out the development costs over the two models.

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Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina

1978 Alfa Romeo Spider Niki Lauda Edition

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We are highly entertained by the impetus for the Niki Lauda Edition Alfa Romeo Spider. It isn't the result of a Constructers' Championship win or a Drivers' Championship win from Alfa or Lauda, which would be pretty reasonable. No, it's just a nod to Lauda, who joined the Brabham Alfa Romeo F1 team in 1978. A nice gesture, and a pretty comically low bar for slapping a name on a car.

According to the internet, 350 Niki Lauda Spiders were sold. Sure, that's pretty rare, but when Ferrari wins a Constructors' Championship, they just tack a plaque on the dash of all of their cars that year. We fail to see the significance of the Niki Lauda Edition to Alfa Romeo's brand history, and it seems to us that collectors are running out of special edition cars to prop up.

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Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina

1991 Alfa Romeo 164L

All of the 164 hounds out there know that 164s are cheap and easy to come by if you know where to look. Sub-$1000 transactions aren't uncommon, and we've heard of 164s simply given away to their new owners. And, while we understand the realities of market value - the potential market for a used 164 is really quite small - limited appeal doesn't mean that the 164 lacks for redeeming qualities.

In a 1991 Alfa 164L, you will find automatic climate control, heated seats, fog lights, 15" wheels, a 3.0L Busso V6, cruise control, power mirrors, power windows, power locks, and a power moonroof. In its time, that was a really generous list of options; if you want some interesting and Italian to drive in relative comfort, you can buy a new Giulia, sure, but a clean 164 will check many of the same boxes (off the track at least) and do so in excellent 90s Pininfarina style.

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Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina

1995 Alfa Romeo 164 Super 2.5L Turbodiesel

We've always found diesel engines to be a great way to desecrate the Alfa Romeo experience. Take away the music, the power, and the high-strung tension of moving the needle up to redline, and you've subdued the spirit of an Alfa.

But, a 164 is not a typical Alfa in the way that it moves down the road. It has a large footprint, a considerable curb weight, and FWD, for one thing. And though the 164 screams with the 24V Busso, it does have a Germanic heftiness to it - a solid feeling that would benefit from the drama-free torque of a diesel powertrain. We think the 164 driver would especially enjoy the diesel on the autobahn, where low engine speed at high vehicle speeds makes for a calmer experience.

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Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina

1991 Alfa Romeo 164L

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How about a 164 to follow up yesterday's Milano Platinum? We're on a roll with clean, cared-for examples this weekend, and today's 164 is even better than the Milano listed yesterday.

The 164 is what followed the Milano as the North American sedan offering from Alfa Romeo, but it's not really an honest successor to the Milano. The 164 rides on an appreciably larger platform than the Milano does, and coupled with features like automatic climate control and leather seating surfaces - some of the best on any car, if you ask us - really feels upmarket to the Milano. Row through its five gears, though, and you won't be let down in the driving dynamics department. We'd recommend withholding judgment of the FWD platform until you drive one - you won't be let down.

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Ferrari, Pininfarina

1981 Ferrari 308 GTSi

This thing won its spot on the site because of the yellow/tan color combination. We saw our first of these in these colors a couple of falls ago when we were visiting the local Alfa shop, where an old friend of the shop was borrowing some time on the lift to check over his 308. Having spotted the yellow paint through the glass in the garage doors, we were relieved to see the tan interior when we walked into the garage; the yellow on black look has too much of a bumblebee feel for our taste.

As far as the Ferrari 308 series goes, this is the least desirable to us. Bosch K-jet is fine on a Volkswagen (where it actually sounds great and provides a nice, natural crackle and pop exhaust), but a Ferrari deserves to breathe. The earlier carb'd cars make significantly more power than the injected cars, and the later quattrovalvole cars made up for the restrictive emissions equipment on fuel-injected cars by using 4 valves per cylinder. Add to that the TRX metric tires from the factory, and you have what we would say is the least desirable of the 308 series - and yet, we would be perfectly happy with one if that's what we ended up with. It's only relative - these probably drive great.

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Alfa Romeo, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina

1995 Alfa Romeo GTV

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We first saw a modern Alfa Romeo GTV in 2006, which was right at the conclusion of a period of daring designs from many of the European brands. Citroen was offering the wild C6 sedan, Fiat had offered the Barchetta and Multipla, and the Smart Roadsters were common on European streets.

In the mid-2000s, designers got around to taming these more radical designs, slicing creases into the smooth bodywork to bring them up to date. The GTV became the Brera, and though that car has a number of satisfying details, we have to award the GTV the prize for chutzpah. A favorite detail of ours is the fact that when the hood is lifted, the headlamps are revealed to be contained within a single housing that the hood had previously separated. The Kamm tail with a 164-style light strip and the sharp body line from front to rear are equally strong styling statements.

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Fiat, Pininfarina

1972 Fiat 130 Coupé

We had the big coupe out last evening, driving up and down Telegraph in Detroit in search of American iron to pick on. Our Maserati Coupe GT seats four pretty comfortably, and doesn't have much trouble getting out of its own way, much less keeping up with American muscle. We like to think of the Coupe GT as a newer take on the Fiat 130 format - large, comfortable, quick, and sleek.

Former Fiat chairman Giovanni Agnelli had a 130 in his collection, though his was converted to a shooting brake for added style and convenience. Today, a Fiat Chairperson might be seen in a Maserati Levante Trofeo, or a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8, or if we're very lucky, a Maserati Quattroporte GTS. The crisp lines of the 130 Coupé are the essence of style, and make an appearance on the Ferrari 400i as well as on the Bitter SC. But, low-slung coupes are no longer the norm among the business elite in the day and age of the luxury crossover.

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Alfa Romeo, Pininfarina, Uncategorized

1995 Alfa Romeo 164Q

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The typical eBay hunt for Alfas starts by sorting from old to new, and often, sorting by manual transmissions only as well. Automatics are acceptable in two circumstances - with Milanos, because an automatic rear transaxle is too weird to ignore, and on 164s, because according to many, they fit the character of the car very well. Not our first choice, but we can how some might enjoy it. Now, when scrolling through the prospects, there is a distinctive split between 1995 and 2016 where Alfa pulled away from the North American market. It's right at that split that we find the most special 164, the 164 Q.

The 164 platform makes no case for itself on paper - FWD, mid-size, shared with Fiat, Saab, and Lancia - and yet on the road it is one of the most engaging sedans we've driven. Power is available early in all models, the steering is direct and responsive, and the ride is firm but capable of handling potholes. The 164Q improves on the basis of the 164 with a 232bhp 24V version of the Busso V6 and electronically controlled dampers. The dampers we could do without - they're getting difficult to source these days - but the extra maintenance requirements of the 24V V6 are justified by the impressive acceleration. Merging onto the interstate in a 24V 164, you will be tempted to wring out 3rd, if not 4th gear.

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Lancia, Pininfarina

1961 Lancia Flaminia Coupé

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Say you've got $40k desire to own and drive a Lancia. That buys a lot of Fulvia Coupe, not to mention 4-5 Fulvia Berlinas. It's also enough to get you into the Delta HF Integrale scene - even a later 16V car if we are not mistaken. And if you want something with direct ties to one of the most impressive innovations in powertrain engineering in the 1900s? You could find a very decent example of a Flaminia.

The Aurelia introduced the world to the V6 engine, and the Flaminia brought the technology into the next decade. The sliding pillar suspension found in the Aurelia was replaced with a double wishbone setup, while the braking system was upgraded to discs front and rear. And, for those who love idiosyncratic layouts, the rear discs were mounted on the rear-mounted transaxle, just like the drums in the Aurelia.

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