Ultimatecarpage.com update (05-01-06)

[Wouter Melissen]

At last week's Villa d'Este concours d'elegance, the striking Bizzarrini GTS 4.1 V Ghepardo Concept was not recognized as very special by most. Had we not heard it pull up on the Villa Erba lawn, we would have also assumed it was unchanged since the car's launch in Geneva last year. Closer inspection revealed that the Bizzarrini was now fitted with a screaming Mecachrome derived engine that develops 550 bhp at 10,000 rpm. Although production is still not certain, the changes definitely warrant a closer look. The French V8 looks and sounds more at home in the back of a racing car like the Paul Belmondo Racing Courage C65 Mecachrome.
Another reason for the Bizzarrini not getting a lot of attention was the quality of the cars officially entered in the concours. Picking the best of shows was not easy, but the choice of the Ferrari 410 SuperAmerica by the jury and the Isotta Fraschini 8A SS Castagna Torpedo by the public is not too difficult to explain. One of our personal favourites was the Maserati A6G/54 Zagato Coupe, which spent most of its life hidden away in a garage in Corleone, Italy, before being retrieved by its current owner. With the interestingly styled Russo-Baltique Impression Concept we have added the first Russian car to our database.
While getting ready for the 'Concorso', we spent some time in the nearby Alfa Romeo Museo Storico to shoot some of the gems on display there. In this week's update we would like to take a closer look at the Alfa Romeo 159 'Alfetta', the last of a long line of very successful Alfa Romeo Grand Prix racers.
It is the low season for new releases, but we have found two light weight supercars from England to add; the 550 bhp Caparo T1 and the Caterham Superlight R400. BMW showed the first pictures of the 335i Coupe, which is powered by the all new twin-turbo six cylinder engine.

Enjoy the links:

Alfa Romeo 159 'Alfetta'
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...hp&carnum=1106

Bizzarrini GTS 4.1 V Ghepardo Concept
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...hp&carnum=2777

BMW E92 335i Coupe
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...hp&carnum=2772

Caparo T1
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...hp&carnum=2774

Caterham Superlight R400
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...hp&carnum=2773

Courage C65 Mecachrome
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...hp&carnum=2779

Ferrari 410 SuperAmerica Series III
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...hp&carnum=2152

Isotta Fraschini 8A SS Castagna Torpedo Sport
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...hp&carnum=2781

Maserati A6G/54 2000 Zagato Coupe
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...hp&carnum=2776

Russo-Baltique Impression Concept
http://www.ultimatecarpage.com/frame...hp&carnum=2778

[derekthetree]

the ferrari 410 and the maser zagato coupe are just stunning.

great pictures of some great cars in another great update

[henk4]

the arrival of the two Bizzarrinis at Villa Erba was spectacular, with the blue one on front followed by the old one, of which I thought that it was rather noisy, until I found out that the BMW V8 had been replaced by something very special...

[d-quik]

squeezing 550 hp from 4100 cc is always nice