INSIGHTS

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THE LENS OF THE PROTAGONISTS

Design Professor

Massimo Grandi

When the shape reaches a form of “mathematical beauty", it creates something that is far from self-referential, super-structural or superfluous.

Jankovits Aerospider: The “Croatian” Alfa Romeo

Massimo Grandi

Jankovits Aerospider: The “Croatian” Alfa Romeo

At the heart of this story lies a car: the Alfa Romeo 6C 2300 Aerodinamica Spider, also known as the extraordinary Jankovits Aerospider.

Spontaneity, Confidence, and Mastery: The Imprint of Giovanni Michelotti

Edgardo Michelotti

Spontaneity, Confidence, and Mastery: The Imprint of Giovanni Michelotti

Giovanni Michelotti, my father, was one of the most influential designers in the world of automotive design.

Luigi Marmiroli

The Bull and The Sea

Ing. Marmiroli this time introduces us to a unique chapter of Lamborghini's history: the brand's adventures not on land, but at sea.

From Concept to Creation: The Birth of Carrozzeria Michelotti and its Iconic Prototypes

Edgardo Michelotti

From Concept to Creation: The Birth of Carrozzeria Michelotti and its Iconic Prototypes

In 1949, Giovanni Michelotti embarked on his freelance career, marking the beginning of a successful journey in automotive design. With...

Giovanni Michelotti’s seagull, how the Lancia Beta 1800 “Mizar” was born

Edgardo Michelotti

Giovanni Michelotti’s seagull, how the Lancia Beta 1800 “Mizar” was born

It is still the only four-door car with gull-wing doors today, and one of the most representative Michelotti's prototypes

Giuseppe Furmanik’s Maserati Siluro 4CM Carenato

Massimo Grandi

Giuseppe Furmanik’s Maserati Siluro 4CM Carenato

Massimo Grandi brings us into the fascinating history of Giuseppe Furmanik’s Maserati Siluro 4CM Carenato.

Alfa Romeo P33 Roadster: The Lost Prototype

Paolo Martin

Alfa Romeo P33 Roadster: The Lost Prototype

Designer Paolo Martin shares the story of his P33 Roadster concept. The P33 Roadster was created shortly after the famous Ferrari Dino...

Luigi Marmiroli

Tribute to Marcello Gandini

Our colleague the engineer Luigi Marmiroli has devoted a simple but fond tribute to the Master designer Marcello Gandini. Words Luigi...

Alfa Romeo B.A.T.: the Story of the “Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica”

Massimo Grandi

Alfa Romeo B.A.T.: the Story of the “Berlinetta Aerodinamica Tecnica”

Prof. Grandi looks back over the style genesis of the three prototypes that Franco Scaglione made for Bertone on the 1900C chassis. The...

Luigi Marmiroli

When I Met Giorgetto Giugiaro

This time, Luigi Marmiroli’s memoirs look back on the times when Lamborghini’s path met that of the “Designer of the Century”, leading to...

Horacio Pagani: from Bicycle to Hypercar

Luigi Marmiroli

Horacio Pagani: from Bicycle to Hypercar

This is quite the fairy tale, the story of an Argentinian businessman who came to Italy to make his dream come true. Luigi Marmiroli...

The great feat of Hanomag-Diesel-Stromlinien-Sportwagen

Massimo Grandi

The great feat of Hanomag-Diesel-Stromlinien-Sportwagen

With Audi dominating endurance races, diesel has earned the respect of motorsport only in recent times. But there is a story that dates...

Diablo SE30: in the middle of the history of Lamborghini Automobili

Luigi Marmiroli

Diablo SE30: in the middle of the history of Lamborghini Automobili

In the year in which the Bull blew out its first sixty candles, the engineer Marmiroli remembers the genesis and “behind the scenes” of...

“PM1” and “1300”: the Bugattis that never saw the light

Paolo Martin

“PM1” and “1300”: the Bugattis that never saw the light

Directly from the memories of Paolo Martin, the story of two Bugattis that never saw the light. SpeedHolics readers can judge the quality...

From the Earth to the Sky: Challenges beyond the Limit

Alessandro Barteletti

From the Earth to the Sky: Challenges beyond the Limit

As the Italian Air Force celebrates its hundredth anniversary, we would like to tell you about the time Gilles Villeneuve, Nelson Piquet,...

Massimo Grandi

Giotto Bizzarrini’s “Macchinetta”

Based on the Topolino, the early work of the great Tuscan designer anticipated many of the cornerstones of his vision, starting from the...

Arturo Merzario

Eighty years, what a feat!

Ready to celebrate a big birthday (he was born on 11 March 1943), the "cowboy driver" accompanies SpeedHolics readers on an extraordinary...

Tribute to Carlo Chiti and his Autodelta

Luigi Marmiroli

Tribute to Carlo Chiti and his Autodelta

In the year of the sixtieth anniversary of the foundation of Alfa Romeo’s glorious “racing department”, Luigi Marmiroli remembers to...

Massimo Grandi

The Soviet Revolution

After the historical agreement signed with the Ford Motor Company, it didn’t take long for the streets of the ex- Soviet Union to fill...

Pininfarina Sigma Grand Prix: the Safe and Stylish Formula 1

Paolo Martin

Pininfarina Sigma Grand Prix: the Safe and Stylish Formula 1

With single-seaters, the style of the car is designed entirely to suit its function. So can we talk of design for Formula 1 cars? Paolo...

Ferruccio Lamborghini dines with Enzo Ferrari

Luigi Marmiroli

Ferruccio Lamborghini dines with Enzo Ferrari

Everyone knows: the cars in Sant’Agata Bolognese would never have been born without the now-famous dispute between Ferruccio Lamborghini...

Luigi Marmiroli

Lamborghini & Gandini Trilogy

Gandini and Lamborghini are two inseparable entities, and together they have developed authentic style legends, including the Miura, the...

Intermeccanica and the Epilogue of the Work of Franco Scaglione

Massimo Grandi

Intermeccanica and the Epilogue of the Work of Franco Scaglione

The history of Intermeccanica is that of the last five years of Scaglione’s work. Professor Grandi takes a look back over the events and...

Paolo Martin

How the Ferrari Modulo Was Born

Designer Paolo Martin talks about one of the most extraordinary and innovative dream cars of all time, unveiled to the public at the 1970...

Modena, Capital of Motor Valley: the “Speedholics” Place of the Soul

Luigi Marmiroli

Modena, Capital of Motor Valley: the “Speedholics” Place of the Soul

Emilia Romagna is an ancient land of motors. Engineer Luigi Marmiroli traces back the historical and cultural reasons underlying the...

Fiat 1100 Coupé Meteor: A Small Design Gem

Massimo Grandi

Fiat 1100 Coupé Meteor: A Small Design Gem

Talking about the industrial situation after the Second World War, Prof. Grandi investigates the small workshops which, starting from...

Lamborghini and Gigliato: a Great but All-Too-Short Story

Luigi Marmiroli

Lamborghini and Gigliato: a Great but All-Too-Short Story

At the end of his career at Lamborghini, Luigi Marmiroli was invited to take part in a supercar project being launched in Japan. It could...

2002 Brera Concept Car, As Seen From Inside Of Centro Stile Alfa Romeo

Zbigniew Maurer

2002 Brera Concept Car, As Seen From Inside Of Centro Stile Alfa Romeo

Early years 2000 was a busy period at Alfa Romeo's Centro Stile, its in-house design department. Not so much for the work load which was...

"The Shape of the Wind" according to Franco Scaglione

Massimo Grandi

"The Shape of the Wind" according to Franco Scaglione

Experimentation is the distinguishing feature of the visionary Tuscan designer’s career. Among all his works, two particular projects...

Luigi Marmiroli

… Saved by the Moon!

The Lamborghini men had some amazing adventures during the first, top-secret tests on the Diablo prototype. Years later, Luigi Marmiroli...

“C’était un rendez-vous”: Claude Lelouch's crazy race

Alessandro Barteletti

“C’était un rendez-vous”: Claude Lelouch's crazy race

At dawn on an August day, forty-six years ago – 1976 – the French film director Claude Lelouch (author of “A Man and a Woman”) grappled...

Luigi Marmiroli

Best Wishes to All the "Speedholics"

In the year celebrating the 50th anniversary of the legendary Countach, I would like to send the traditional Happy New Year wishes to the...

The Lotus “Four Doors”, Colin Chapman’s Broken Dream

Paolo Martin

The Lotus “Four Doors”, Colin Chapman’s Broken Dream

In the early Eighties, the sports sedan world was dominated by Maserati, and seen with significant interest by Ferrari. But in those...

Luigi Marmiroli

When I Met Clay Regazzoni

When I heard that the Clay Regazzoni Memorial Room was being moved from Lugano to Romanshorn, my mind automatically opened the drawer of...

The "Speedholics man" and the ecological transition

Luigi Marmiroli

The "Speedholics man" and the ecological transition

The passage from fossil fuel to electric for all cars of the future - including supercars and hypercars - is a given fact. Thinking back...

Against all odds, the Alfa Romeo new Spider “Duetto” project 938

Zbigniew Maurer

Against all odds, the Alfa Romeo new Spider “Duetto” project 938

Duetto is a magic word for Alfisti. It was chosen via an international contest to find a name for a very important car, the successor of...

From the Countach to the Diablo: Courage and Emotions

Luigi Marmiroli

From the Countach to the Diablo: Courage and Emotions

On the 50th anniversary of the Countach, engineer Luigi Marmiroli remembers when he was called in to design the heir to the "Icon". In...

Arturo Merzario

How I Became a Driver - Pt. 2

1964 began with a heavy blow: in the first race in Monza I was behind the fierce new Simca Abarths by almost a lap. My Giulietta SZ had...

Diva, a White Sheet of Paper Alfa Romeo Sports Car

Zbigniew Maurer

Diva, a White Sheet of Paper Alfa Romeo Sports Car

It happens very rarely if ever, that a designer gets a chance to freely express himself. Free from the Marketing people with their...

Luigi Marmiroli

When I Met Ferruccio Lamborghini

Called to manage the design of the Lamborghini, I felt the need to meet Ferruccio. That was the only way I could absorb that authentic...

Arturo Merzario

How I Became a Driver - Pt. 1

I never thought I would be a driver. I loved speed and mechanics, but I never imagined that I would have a career in racing. My family...

Zbigniew Maurer

Speed Through Design

There are many ways in which speed can be considered in automotive design. The first and the most obvious one that comes to mind...

Luigi Marmiroli

When I met Enzo Ferrari

Today marks the start of a series of articles telling of the many famous names of the car world that I have had the honour and pleasure ...

Paolo Martin

Paolo Martin: My First Car, Fifty Years On

The first lockdown forced him to stay at home, in his villa in the hills of Turin. But Paolo Martin, the creator of some of the most...

Lartigue: The Photographer Obsessed with Speed

Alessandro Barteletti

Lartigue: The Photographer Obsessed with Speed

Stop the moment, capture the movement, freeze and yet illustrate the speed. If you think about it, photography is a great paradox.

Arturo Merzario

Yes, I am a Speedholic!

Hi there, fellow SpeedHolics. Speed is my stimulus, my challenge, my way to get outside of and away from the box. For me, speed is...

Supercars, Gastronomy & The Death of Individuality

Luigi Marmiroli

Supercars, Gastronomy & The Death of Individuality

If it were in the English dictionary, the term "speedholic" would be defined as a person with a very strong passion for, nay - an...

Zbigniew Maurer

Speed and Cars

Speed and cars have always been strictly connected for me. When we were small kids, the first and most important parameter with which we...