ItalianCar.net blog

Superfast successor to the 360 Challenge Stradale

2007-12-10T17:17:00.006+10:00

The successor to the stripped down, beefed up 360 Challenge Stradale, the new F430 Scuderia sets new standards for supercars, surprisingly not only in performance and handling, but also in environmental friendliness and fuel consumption - not an area traditionally of concern to Ferrari and its customers ...click to continue

Maserati celebrates 2007 and what looks like a great 2008 at Bologna show

2007-12-10T17:17:00.005+10:00

The Bologna Motor Show, held in what has become known as ‘Supercar Valley’ thanks to the list of legendary car companies in the local area, is being used by Maserati to celebrate what, even for Maserati, has been a remarkable year ...more in ItalianCar Club

$1M Ferrari graces Adelaide Classic Rally

2007-12-10T17:17:00.003+10:00

Sir Paul Vestey loves his unique 1959 Ferrari California Spider so much he’ll go to the end of the earth to drive it – or, to be exact, to the glorious roads of the Adelaide region ...more in ItalianCar Club

Lamborghini plans lightweight Murcielago

2007-12-10T17:17:00.001+10:00

Hot on the heels of the lightweight Gallardo Superleggera and the new Reventon come reports that the supercar manufacturer is planning a lightweight SV version of its Murcielago model ...more in ItalianCar Club

New Lamborghini races jet fighter

2007-12-10T17:16:00.002+10:00

The Ghedi (Brescia) military airport in Italy was the setting for a race between a A200-A Tornado aircraft and the new jet fighter-inspired Lamborghini Reventon recently ...more in ItalianCar Club

Italiaspeed launches its 2007 Italian Automotive Awards

2007-12-10T17:16:00.001+10:00

Fellow Italian car website Italiaspeed (www.italiaspeed.com) operated by Interfuture Media and supported by UK Alfa and Fiat dealership Mangoletsi, have just announced the 2nd Italiaspeed Italian Automotive Awards 2007 - annual awards devoted exclusively to the Italian automotive industry, voted for entirely by Italian car enthusiasts ...more in ItalianCar Club

New Fiat 500 just keeps winning prizes

2007-11-26T19:42:00.004+10:00

The new Fiat 500, due to launch in Australia in March next year, is getting the seal of approval from customers and auto competition judges alike. Here is a quick rundown of what the 500 has won so far ...click to continue

Casey Stoner is new test driver for Alfa

2007-11-26T19:42:00.003+10:00

Newly crowned Australian World Champion, Casey Stoner, has swapped his Ducati racing motor bike for an 8C Competizione at a special test session organized by Alfa Romeo, Official Sponsor of the Ducati team in 2006 and 2007, at the Italian car maker’s Balocco test track ...more in ItalianCar Club

More photos and info on the Autodelta Spider J6

2007-11-26T19:42:00.001+10:00

Here is a little more information from Autodelta in the UK on their new version of the Alfa Spider ...more in ItalianCar Club

Arnie says "I'll be back" (with a deposit we assume)

2007-11-26T19:41:00.008+10:00

The Formula One season may be over, but its been a busy weekend for Ferrari, with the Italian super car maker collecting the “Supercar of The Year” award in Dubai and in Los Angeles the ‘Govenator’ of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, taking so much interest in the 430 Spider at the LA International Motor Show, Ferrari are pretty sure ‘he’ll be back’ for a closer look ...more in ItalianCar Club

UK supercar club GROUP20 charity drive for Children in Need

2007-11-26T19:41:00.007+10:00

The UK supercar club GROUP20 recently held a 2007 Road Show in aid of Children in Need ...more in ItalianCar Club

Series 360 - special edition Pandas and Puntos in the UK

2007-11-26T19:41:00.005+10:00

Two limited edition versions of Fiat’s best-selling models have just gone on sale in the UK – with the emphasis on exceptional levels of equipment and superb value for money ...more in ItalianCar Club

It's official - a rugby player will fit in a Fiat Bravo (Ritmo)

2007-11-26T19:41:00.003+10:00

Italian rugby hero Marco Bortolami has just taken delivery of a new Fiat Bravo 1.4 T-Jet 150 Sport – and admits he’s converted ...more in ItalianCar Club

Work begins on Ferrari theme park in the Middle East

2007-11-26T19:41:00.001+10:00

Construction of the Ferrari Theme Park in Abu Dhabi has officially started with the laying of the foundation stone for one of the world’s most eagerly awaited entertainment attractions ...more in ItalianCar Club

Rare RHD Ferrari auctioned in UK

2007-11-26T19:40:00.001+10:00

Following their record price for a right hand drive Ferrari 330 GTC at the UK’s Duxford Imperial War Museum last month, auction house H&H have auctioned a number of rare classic Ferraris in their final sale of the year in Buxton held on 20 and 21 November ...more in ItalianCar Club

GranTurismo stars at Classic Adelaide

2007-11-26T19:39:00.000+10:00

The Maserati GranTurismo, the legendary Italian car maker’s latest model, made only its second Australian public appearance as part of the celebrations surrounding the 2007 Classic Adelaide when it was unveiled in the Gouger Street party on the evening of Friday 23 November ...more in ItalianCar Club

Alfa, Fiat no show at Sydney show

2007-11-02T20:03:00.003+10:00

Where were Alfa and Fiat? We assumed that it was because neither of them have any new cars to show and current sales - since both marques are pretty specialised - didn't justify the huge price tag of turning up ...click to continue

Lamborghini announces record year at Tokyo show

2007-11-02T20:03:00.001+10:00

After strong sales and profit growth during the previous years, Automobili Lamborghini is heading for another record year in 2007 ...more in ItalianCar Club

New boss at Fiat UK

2007-11-02T20:02:00.012+10:00

Andrew Humberstone has been appointed managing director of Fiat Group Automobiles UK Ltd and will take up his new role on Thursday 1 November ...more in ItalianCar Club

Zonda now officially quickest at Nurburgring

2007-11-02T20:02:00.011+10:00

The Pagani Zonda F has just taken out the record at the Nürburgring with a time of 7:27.82 ...more in ItalianCar Club

Alfa registers for 2008 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour and will provide safety vehicles

2007-11-02T20:02:00.009+10:00

Alfa Romeo have submitted the first entry for the 2008 WPS Bathurst 12 Hour, to be held in conjunction with the WPS Bathurst Motor Festival on February 8-10 next year ...more in ItalianCar Club

Alfa overhauls service in Australia

2007-11-02T20:02:00.007+10:00

Alfa Romeo is overhauling the way that it deal with customers in Australia ...more in ItalianCar Club

Autodelta Spider J6 3.2 C unveiled at UK MPH07 motor show

2007-11-02T20:02:00.005+10:00

Autodelta unveils its new Spider J6 3.2 C today at the MPH07 Motor Show at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, London (1-4 November) and then at the National Exhibition Centre, Birmingham (8-11 November) ...more in ItalianCar Club

Fiat confirms pricing on new Fiat 500 - $96,000

2007-11-02T20:02:00.003+10:00

The first Fiat 500 has been sold in the UK for a staggering AUD$96,000, but it’s not a case of the Italian car maker capitalizing on intense worldwide demand for its cute new small car, as the car in question was the first of four Fiat 500s illustrated by renowned English artist, Tracey Emin ...more in ItalianCar Club

Maserati wins everything

2007-11-02T20:02:00.001+10:00

Maserati has won everything - the FIA GT World Championship titles with Maserati MC 12 driver, Thomas Biagi, taking the FIA GT World Championship Drivers’ title at the weekend (21 October) has given Maserati all four world titles in the championship ...more in ItalianCar Club

Fiat 500 wins another award - this time in the UK

2007-11-02T20:01:00.005+10:00

This time it's from Fifth Gear, the UK weekly motoring show (on cable TV in Australia) which has just crowned the 500 its Best Small Car of the Year – even though its UK launch is months away ...more in ItalianCar Club

Ferrari claim women like their cars too

2007-11-02T20:01:00.003+10:00

A straw poll by ItalianCar, conducted over many years, seems to indicate to us that Ferrari don't have too many female fans ...more in ItalianCar Club

Fiat 500 wins obscure award

2007-11-02T20:01:00.001+10:00

The new Fiat 500, which is due to arrive in Australia in March next year, has won the EuroCarBody 2007 award ...more in ItalianCar Club

8C Competizione deliveries start

2007-11-02T20:00:00.000+10:00

Alfa Romeo has started deliveries of the stunning Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione, but if you live in the Southern Hemisphere don’t expect to see one on a road near you anytime soon ...more in ItalianCar Club

FXX power upgrade and program gets 2 year extension

2007-11-02T19:59:00.000+10:00

Ferrari’s innovative FXX programme, in which owners participate in the development of the next generation of Ferrari supercars by testing and development programmes with their own Ferrari FXX, has been extended two years ...more in ItalianCar Club

'Ferrari World Finals' tops out great year for Ferrari

2007-11-02T17:49:00.000+10:00

Ferrari recently staged its ‘Ferrari World Finals’ to celebrate its season’s successes ...more in ItalianCar Club

Fiat and Microsoft now telling you how to drive

2007-10-04T22:50:00.000+10:00

Fiat and software giant Microsoft have joined forces to help teach motorists to drive their cars more economically and to reduce emissions in the real world and under the conditions faced by drivers every day.

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Fiat 500 debuts in UK at Viva Italia exhibition

2007-10-04T22:47:00.000+10:00

Fiat’s new 500 will be making its UK public debut at this week’s Viva Italia exhibition in London....more in ItalianCar Club

GranTurismo gets time in the sun in Sydney

2007-10-04T22:46:00.000+10:00

Visitors to Sydney’s Darling Harbour have had a sneak preview of the Maserati GranTurismo, set to star at the Sydney motor show, when the doors open next week (11 October 2007) ...more in ItalianCar Club

Ferrari claim the environmental high ground

2007-10-04T22:44:00.000+10:00

Most people would assume that a Ferrari is about as environmentally friendly as a Boeing 747. Not so say the guys from Maranello ...more in ItalianCar Club

Punto to get turbo

2007-10-04T22:43:00.000+10:00

Fiat will add a new turbo model to the Punto line-up in early 2008 with the Punto Sport 1.4 T-Jet model, which Fiat claim will do 0-100 kmh in 8.9 seconds and a top speed of 195 kmh.. ...more in ItalianCar Club

8C Competizione gets popular vote in UK poll

2007-10-04T22:42:00.001+10:00

Film star Scarlett Johansson and Alfa's 8C Competizione supercar have both come top of a poll carried out by the UK prestige and performance motor show MPH ’07 to find the perfect car and passenger of people’s dreams. ...more in ItalianCar Club

Fiat Punto Abarth coming to Oz in 2008

2007-09-25T13:09:00.000+10:00

Fiat have released more details on the Fiat Punto Abarth (see our previous item about the Punto Abarth at Frankfurt in the ItalianCar Club section), a car that marks the return of Abarth - one of the industry’s most respected performance badges (see our section on Abarth) and is on sale in Italy this month, with Australian arrival due in mid-2008.

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430 Scuderia announced for Sydney show

2007-09-24T16:41:00.003+10:00

The Ferrari 430 Scuderia will make only its second appearance in the world after its unveiling in Frankfurt this month at the Sydney motor show on 11th October. The 430 Scuderia will join the rest of the current Ferrari line-up which includes the 599GTB Fiorano, the standard 430 (hard top and Spider convertible) and the 612 Scaglietti ...more in ItalianCar Club

Maserati win 2007 FIA GT

2007-09-24T16:41:00.001+10:00

Here is the race report from Maserati in Brno in the Czech Republic, where Maserati have secured the series with two rounds to spare ...more in ItalianCar Club

GranTurismo puts on a show at Sydney Opera House

2007-09-22T12:28:00.005+10:00

The Sydney Opera House was the venue for an exclusive invitation-only preview of the new Maserati GranTurismo (ed - our invitation must have got lost in the post) ...more in ItalianCar Club

New Fiat 500 at London Design Festival

2007-09-22T12:28:00.003+10:00

As we know all Italian car manufacturers see their models as works of art, but this has been taken a step further by the inclusion of the new Fiat 500 in the line up at the London Design Festival ...more in ItalianCar Club

Musical chairs at Fiat Group in Italy

2007-09-22T12:28:00.001+10:00

Luca De Meo has recently been replaced as Head of the Fiat Brand by Lorenzo Sistino, who in less than a year at sister company CNH has overseen a significant improvement in the performance of the New Holland Agricultural Equipment business ...more in ItalianCar Club

GranTurismo booked for Sydney car show 2007

2007-09-22T12:27:00.001+10:00

Maserati have announced that the GranTurismo will be at the Australian International Motor Show this year (11-21 October 2007) ...more in ItalianCar Club

Lamborghini launch a €1M supercar at Frankfurt

2007-09-16T01:39:00.000+10:00

Lamborghini have launched the Reventón at the Frankfurt motor show this week - a €1M (AUD$1.65M) supercar inspired by the very latest aeronautics with a production run of just 20 cars.

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Giant 500 dominates Fiat stand at Frankfurt show

2007-09-16T01:38:00.000+10:00

Creativity is clearly not lacking at Fiat at the moment with the Frankfurt motor show stand taken over with a huge model of the new car five times the size of the regular version ...more in ItalianCar Club

Michael Schumacher takes the wraps off the car he helped design - the Ferrari 430 Scuderia

2007-09-16T01:37:00.001+10:00

Michael Schumacher revealed his role in the development of the 430 Scuderia as he launched Ferrari’s newest model at the Frankfurt motor show earlier this week ...more in ItalianCar Club

Forget the cars - Maserati's making money again!

2007-09-16T01:35:00.000+10:00

If you are a fan of Maserati you will be please to know that the historic Italian car-maker - which has had more than its share of ups and downs over the years - is firmly back in the black - largely due to the success of its luxury limo the Quattroporte and more specifically the recent fully automatic version, which has allowed the car to join the 'mainstream' particularly in the US, where manual or 'stick shift' cars are in the minority ...more in ItalianCar Club

New Zealand gets Bravo (Ritmo in Oz) first

2007-09-16T01:34:00.000+10:00

The all-new Fiat Bravo has already touched down in New Zealand this week (10 September 2007), a full 5 months ahead of its scheduled launch in Australia in February 2008, where it will go under the name of Ritmo ...more in ItalianCar Club

Maserati in the lead on all fronts

2007-09-16T01:31:00.000+10:00

Here is the latest report from Maserati on the FIA GT Championship along with some great photos ...more in ItalianCar Club

Panda Aria concept shows off Fiat green technologies

2007-09-07T14:52:00.000+10:00

Fiat have chosen the 2007 Frankfurt car show to unveil their latest green technology vehicle - the Aria concept car ...more in ItalianCar Club

Millionth Panda rolls off the line

2007-09-07T14:49:00.000+10:00

The one millionth Fiat Panda rolled off the production lines of Fiat Auto Poland in Tychy (Poland) yesterday, a 1.2 litre red 4x4 built for the Italian market ...more in ItalianCar Club

Maserati gets top billing at 2007 Goodwood Revival

2007-09-07T14:47:00.000+10:00

Maserati were out in force at this year's Goodwood Revival. 116,000 spectators came to gawk at 23 classic Maseratis, Nick Mason and his 1959 Maserati Birdcage Tipo 61 and Sir Stirling Moss reunited with the Maserati 300S he raced in the 50s ...more in ItalianCar Club

Abarth returns to Frankfurt motor show

2007-09-05T16:09:00.000+10:00

Fiat is relaunching the Abarth name - and all that name stands for in the world of motorsport - at the Frankfurt show with a display of the Grande Punto Abarth S2000 on a large steel scorpion-shaped platform and with the announcement of a new Grande Punto Abarth 'essesse' (Super Sport) model (pictured) ...more in ItalianCar Club

Fiat to flaunt green credentials at Frankfurt show

2007-09-05T16:06:00.000+10:00

Fiat rightfully lays claim to being king of the small car - reclaimed this year with the launch of the new 500 ...more in ItalianCar Club

Preview of Alfa at Frankfurt

2007-09-05T16:03:00.000+10:00

Alfa will be showing off their new models clustered around Alfa's limited edition 8C Competizione as the centrepiece of the stand - only 500 8Cs will be made. ...more in ItalianCar Club

Lancia set to expand its horizons

2007-09-05T15:56:00.000+10:00

Right at the bottom of the latest media release from Lancia (mainly about the forthcoming Frankfurt motor show) a little comment gives us some hope that the brand will return to markets it left many years ago ...more in ItalianCar Club

Bravo - a badge we won't see in Oz anytime soon

2007-08-31T23:02:00.000+10:00

Bravo will be Bravo in NZ - Fiat’s newest model will arrive in New Zealand in September and, unlike Australia, it will be wearing its European name, the Fiat Bravo. ...more in ItalianCar Club

New Fiat 500 scores 5 star EuroNCAP rating

2007-08-31T23:00:00.001+10:00

The new Fiat 500 has been awarded a EuroNCAP five star rating and the European safety standards body has praised Fiat for providing safety features that enable diminutive Fiat to beat bigger cars when it comes to accident protection. ...more in ItalianCar Club

Maserati to launch Quattroporte GT S at Frankfurt

2007-08-31T22:57:00.000+10:00

Maserati will launch a souped-up version of the four door Quattroporte at the Frankfurt motorshow in September, the Quattroporte GT S. ...more in ItalianCar Club

Alfa announces the 159 Ti

2007-08-31T22:52:00.000+10:00

For more than 50 years the ‘Ti’* badge on an Alfa has stood for a sportier beast than the standard model. Alfa have now announced that the Ti badge will grace the 159 with a model with more features and equipment than ever before. ...more in ItalianCar Club

Ferrari releases details of new 430 Scuderia

2007-08-31T22:47:00.000+10:00

Ferrari has taken the wraps off the 430 Scuderia, a new lightweight variant of its V8-engined coupe model that brings even more of Ferrari’s Formula One technology into its road-going range. ...more on ItalianCar

Maseratis win out at supercar show

2007-08-31T22:43:00.000+10:00

Maserati stole the show at the Salon Privé, the private, invitation-only luxury supercar motor show held at the exclusive Hurlingham Club in London. ...more in ItalianCar Club

Maserati FIA GT Race Report

2007-08-31T22:10:00.000+10:00

Here is an update from Maserati on the MC12s competing in the FIA GT series. ...more in ItalianCar Club

Maserati celebrates 50th anniversary of "Greatest Grand Prix Of All Time"

2007-08-30T22:38:00.000+10:00

Maserati is celebrating the 50th anniversary of what is still called the greatest race of all time, when Juan Manuel Fangio won the 1957 German Grand Prix on 4 August en route to securing his fifth world championship title in a season in which he won ten of the 16 races he contested ...more in ItalianCar Club