Maserati's 'MMXX: Time to be Audacious' launch event for the MC20 really was a spectacle. Fortunately, you can be spared a laboured description of it from us; instead imagine being sat in a racetrack grandstand behind 50 Maseratis, from an original Ghibli to a Levante Trofeo, watching two screens the size of swimming pools playing this video. Oh yes, with dancers as well. It was quite the evening.
Beyond the launch pizzazz, though, there seems plenty to be encouraged by with the MC20 and Maserati's broader product plan. Hence this week's Italian themed Six of the Best; it isn't often that one of the country's most storied firms embarks on a rebirth, so there seemed no better time to celebrate a nation that's created some of the world's best loved automobiles.
However, there's a twist: the budget is a relatively modest £60k, which is a tough ask given Italy is best known for producing six-figure exotica. It's there to give the team a challenge, put simply, the figure just about a third of the MC20's asking price. Half would have been too easy, really. That said, this half dozen goes to prove that everything you'd hope to find in a new Italian super sports car - stunning good looks and a memorable engine, to name but two facets - are available for a lot less money. Keep an eye out for one or two curve balls, too...
Ferrari wanted to enter the 1967 Formula 2 Championship with a whole new engine. Trouble was, the pesky FIA had decided that for the 1967 season the F2 cars couldn't have more than six cylinders, and the engine must be from a road car homologated in the GT class. Needing a genuine production run of 500 - that meant no trickery, or moving the same cars to different locations come inspection time - Ferrari teamed up with Fiat to solve the problem.
Born from this partnership was the Fiat Dino, a Grand Tourer with rear-wheel-drive and a front-engined Ferrari V6. The model here is a later 2.4-litre version with almost 180hp. You could get it in a spider form too, but the editorial handcuffs wouldn't let me spend that much. The V6 was also used in the Ferrari Dino, but if you can't quite stretch to the near £400k for a Ferrari Dino 246GT, then for nearly a tenth of that you can have the same engine surrounded by Fiat coachwork.
This coupe keeps its homage to the Ferrari ancestry in Azzuro Blue and the nickname Dino on the boot lid. A recent full body and mechanical restoration means this one should provide the authentic experience of a 60s' Italian sports car without letting me down. At least not immediately, that is. Given the choice between this Fiat on the Amalfi coast or some of the other motley - and not so stallion - selections here, I don't think it's a hard choice to make... PD
Imagine if the Ferrari F355 is as good as I hope it is. After the hours (and pounds) wasted playing F355 Challenge in arcades and on a Dreamcast, the afternoons passed consuming magazine stories and the weekend mornings spent gawping at them in real life, the 355 has made quite the impression. Even if it's half as good as I've hoped, to be honest, it'll be great.
Beyond its personal significance - cars that look like this and come out when you're five will have an impact - the 355's importance to Ferrari makes me love it even more. A quarter of a century ago it began modern Ferrari, as more technology (the five-valve head, the F1 gearbox) was ushered into the package but the experience kept like nothing else on four wheels. If it's not yet clear (and I could go on), I adore a 355.
So there was only one choice this week. With the market having now realised the 355's place, values have climbed in recent years, meaning £60k only gets left-hand drive GTBs. But no bother; more excuse to use a Ferrari in Europe. And look at the rest of it: Giallo Fly, manual, tonnes of history and delicate, delightful good looks I'm not sure Ferrari have bettered since. Oh yes, and £50 left to go towards swapping that awful steering wheel... MB
My love for Italian cars almost certainly started when I was a kid watching F1 in the Schumacher Ferrari years. Then, as a teen, I saw the Seicento advert he was in and decided I absolutely needed a Fiat as my first car. I promptly bought a Mk2 Punto and stuck Ferrari stickers on the numberplates. The marketing got me good. For shame.
Thankfully, I've not slapped inappropriate badges on an Italian car since, but my affection for the country's automotive produce remains. Alfa Romeo is, somewhat predictably, the brand with the cars I tend to lust after most, particularly those equipped with its Busso V6s and or bearing a racing past. You may have seen my Buy Hard suggestion for last week was an Alfa Romeo 2000 GT Veloce, for example.
For this selection, however, my heartstrings have been tugged by an absolutely gorgeous Alfa Romeo Giulia 101 Spider Veloce 160, a 1965 car that was kitted out for racing in the mid-nineties. The car's definitely earned its stripes (or spots), with race entries all over Europe including Spa, Zolder, and the Nordschleife, no less. It's no longer competing but said to be only an FIA HTP renewal away from being eligible once again. I'd be in two minds about it; it'd no doubt be a riot, but those panels look so lovely and straight.
No, I think I'd be quite happy keeping this one for proper B-road blasts and, at the very most, time trial events out in the country. And thankfully, someone's already put stickers on it, so the job as far as I'm concerned is half done. SS
Not all red Italian hero cars have to wear a Ferrari badge, especially when they're famed for their success in rallying. Growing up as a rally addict, the Lancia Delta Integrale is an obvious choice for me. As is the choice between the Delta Integrale and Celica GT-Four, back in the days when we used to go to PH HQ and play on the SEGA rally machine that I bought from eBay on a whim last year.
The Evo 2 was the last and most powerful Integrale made, mustering up 215hp. Which may not sound like a lot these days, but I bet that would be more than enough for an absolute riot on a wet road in Wales. My pick this week looks stunning in Monza Red and contrasts well with its beige Alcantara seats.
Those of us who've been around on PH for long enough will remember when we gave away £15k to spend in the classifieds in partnership with Adrian Flux, and winner John put his winnings towards his dream Delta. A man after my own heart, for sure; if I was handed the cash to splurge on an Italian stallion, this would be it. BL
It seems that any good car to come out of Italy has to be the result of some drama rather than slow-moving committee. The Maserati GranTurismo was originally designed as the Ferrari California but, because of Maserati's sale from Ferrari to Fiat at that time, Ferrari kept the designs and left Maserati to come up with a replacement. They promptly took the Quattroporte, shortened the wheelbase, got a new body from Pininfarina and gave us the GranTurismo; all in a record-breaking nine months. It was also on sale an extraordinarily long time, from 2008 to 2019 making it one of the longest-running car generations of all time.
This MC Stradale version is the most powerful GranTurismo, with 460 horsepower coming from a 4.7-litre V8, a louder and more overt prospect than the standard GranTurismo. In typical Italian fashion, the exhaust note was tuned by a composer from La Scala Opera House in Milan. Eccentricities such as this are probably the main reason why, at circa £110,000, this car never made sense when buying new.
But with £60,000 at our disposal this week I would happily part with £58,950 for this example at just a few years old. If you can do without an MC Stradale version, there are even more budget-friendly options in our classifieds. For a pure Italian V8 experience, one brimming with class and style that doesn't entirely the bank, consider the elegant Maserati. MD
Let's get one thing out of the way immediately: at 32hp, this is the least powerful entrant to any Six of the Best yet. And despite its wider wheels, lowered suspension and tiny kerbweight, it will likely still struggle keeping up with the rest of the pack. However, I still think it's more than worthy of inclusion.
On a trip to Florence and Pisa 10 years ago, we stumbled across a Fiat 500 members meet with a handful of Abarths lined up next to each other. The propped open boots looked fantastic against a crumbling backdrop and the scene made for some lovely photography. The cacophony of distinctly Italian two-cylinder engines echoing around the square on departure was brilliant, perhaps the highlight of the trip for me, besides who really wants to see herds of tourists taking photos where they appear prop up an old poorly built tower with their hands? I may have one of those as well, but definitely more of the Abarths...
This SS version at Joe Macari looks to be in excellent condition, only one of twenty SS 595s ever made. So, as well as being the least powerful cars we've featured, it's likely one of the rarest. I love the design of these; from the iconic side stripes and scorpion decals, to the simplicity of the analogue Jaeger gauges alongside the twin mounted stopwatches - it's full of lovely details. I couldn't think of something more fun to pootle around in, even if attempting to eke out all of the power to reach its heady 80mph top speed may be a little hairy! SL
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