Tag Archives: Italy

…Otherwise We Get Angry!

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Or ‘…Altrimenti Ci Arrabbiamo!’ in its original Italian, is a 1974 movie – unwatched by TLCB we must confess – starring the two least Italian-sounding actors we’ve ever heard of.

Terence Hill and Bud Spencer, who were actually Italian as it turns out, compete in the film for a Puma Dune Buggy via beer and sausages. Or something like that. Our Italian’s not great.

And despite the Puma looking and sounding as un-Italian as its co-stars, it too was a product of Italy, built on the platform of the Volkswagen Beetle much like the more famous American alternatives.

This excellent Speed Champions example comes from previous bloggee Versteinert, who has captured it (and Terence and Bud in mini-figure form) brilliantly. There’s more to see at Vertsteinert’s ‘Puma Dune Buggy’ Flickr album, and you can win a dune buggy by eating Italian sausage (probably) via the link in the text above.

Work of the Devil

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Ferrari’s naming convention sucks. A collection of numbers, it’s almost Soviet in its unimagination. Which is probably because when they do pick a name, it’s properly stupid. Lamborghini on the other hand… they know how to name a car.

Fighting bulls, plague, poison, and the Spanish words for ‘Bat’, ‘Hurricane’ and – in the case of today’s car – ‘Devil’, we’re not sure why an Italian company chose Spanish words, but they sound awesome.

Produced from 1990 to 2001 and powered by a near-500bhp V12, the Diablo was the first Lamborghini to hit 200mph. Which would make it cool even without its devilish name. This brilliant brick-built version of the ’90s supercar icon is the work of previous bloggee László Torma, whose recreation is instantly recognisable in Speed Champions scale.

Instructions are available and there’s more of the Diablo to see on Flickr – click here to to jump to a devilishly good build.

Cubo Italiano

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Once known for their beauty, a bleak and resolutely right-angled 1980s meant that Alfa Romeo’s designs were looking rather un-Alfa-esque by the mid-’90s. The brand badly needed a more modern look, and more modern cars too.

Aiming to rectify this, Alfa began working a pair of new small cars in the early ’90s, hiring Chris Bangle (of later and rather more controversial BMW fame) as lead designer.

The resultant Alfa Romeo 145 and 146 were revealed in the mid-’90s, and began the brand’s return to the European automotive mainstream. Of course being Fiat-derived Alfas they weren’t exactly cutting edge, carrying over the interesting-but-ancient flat-4 engines used since the ’70s, and still wearing an element of cubism that was necessitated by the 1980s platform underneath.

Still, around half-a-million 145 and 146s were sold before being replaced by the far more successful (and much prettier) Alfa Romeo 147, and previous bloggee Fuku Saku is one of the few that remember the slightly odd mid-’90s hatchback, paying homage via this rather good Lego recreation.

The hatchback and doors open, whilst some neat techniques cleverly capture the Bangle design, and there’s more of the model to see at Fuku’s ‘Alfa Romeo 145’ album on Flickr. Click the link above to make the jump and see mid-’90s Alfa at its most mid-’90s-ish.

Rally-Bred

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This is the unmistakable shape of the Lancia Stratos, designed by Bertone and powered by a Ferrari Dino V6, it was the first car purpose-built for rallying, winning the World Rally Championship three times consecutively between 1974 and 1976.

This lovely diorama by Flickr’s alex_bricks, who appeared here recently with his stunning 1988 Monaco Grand Prix scene, depicts a works Alitalia-liveried Stratos scything through a muddy forest.

Forced-perspective foliage and an array of mini-figures – including a driver and co-driver and some hardy spectators – add to the ambiance, and you can join them trackside c1975 via the link in the text above.

400-Pieces to F40

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The Ferrari F40, even with the immense fame and riches brought in by running this site, is a long way out of reach. Thus the closest this TLCB Writer is going to get to one is in the brick, but fortunately Flickr’s Fuku Saku has it covered, with his stunning 8-wide rendition of the Maranello masterpiece. As realistic as small-scale building gets, Fuku has recreated the F40 in stunning fashion, and he’s released instructions so that you can own the iconic Ferrari too. 400 pieces is all it takes, and you can find out more at Faku’s ‘Ferrari F40’ album via the link above.

Lamenting Lancia

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As occasionally we do here at The Lego Car Blog, today’s post is a lament of Lancia.

One of the most innovative, technically advanced, and motorsport-winning car companies in history, Lancia have created some of the all-time great automobiles. Yet today they make only this. Which is probably worse than if they made nothing at all.

We’re heading back to the 1970s then, when Lancia made a whole range of wonderful (if poorly rust protected) cars, and this; the incredible Stratos HF.

Designed by Bertone (who pitched it to Lancia by just turning up and driving it underneath the security barrier), the Stratos was a mid-engined sports car designed for rallying. And rally it did, winning the World Championship three years in a row from ’74 to ’76. And unlike every other Lancia it couldn’t rust, being made from fibreglass.

Equally glorious (and rust-proof) is this spectacular replica of the Alitalia-liveried Stratos rally car, recreated brilliantly by Biczzz of Flickr. Beautifully-built bodywork, superbly accurate decals, and a replica Ferrari V6 ‘Dino’ engine underneath a removable rear clamshell make this a fine homage to Lancia’s glory years, and there more to see – including a lime green road-car version – at Biczzz’s ‘Lancia Stratos’ album.

Click the link above to go rallying in the mid-’70s, when Lancia were on top of the world.

Viva la Revolución

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Pagani somehow seem to have made more ultra-limited special editions than they have cars. And that’s mathematically impossible.

This one is the Zonda Cinque Revolucion, a track-based ultra-limited special edition based on the ultra-limited Zonda Cincque, which is a road-going version of the ultra-limited Zonda R, which was an ultra-limited track version of the Zonda. No, we don’t understand either.

Still, we’re not exactly the target demographic for Zonda ownership here at TLCB, and this Model Team recreation of the ultra-limited version of an ultra-limited version of another ultra-limited version of an ultra-limited hypercar is stunning.

Built by 3D supercarBricks, this incredible replica of the Pagani Zonda Cinque Revolucion captures the insanity of the real deal in jaw-dropping detail, with an engine bay, chassis and interior just as life-like as the wild bodywork.

There’s more to see – including the spectacular under-bodywork detail – at 3D’s photostream; join the revolution (for a very select few) via the link in the text above.

*Today’s punky title song.

Flight of the Fascists

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This beautiful aircraft is a CANT Z.506 Airone floatplane, one of the fastest, most-advanced, and highest flying aircraft of the 1930s. Powered by three Alfa Romeo radial engines, the Z.506 was first developed as a luxury airliner, wherein it set numerous aeronautical world records.

Such success inevitably led to the development of military versions, with the design used by the Italian Airforce for maritime patrol, bombing and torpedo operations, first in the Spanish Civil War (leading to the Franco dictatorship) and then by Italy’s own dictator Mussolini in the Second World War, where it played a significant role in Italy’s invasion of Greece, and bombing French North Africa. Yay fascisim.

Anyway, 1930s and ’40s Dictator willy-waving wasn’t really the CANT Z.506’s fault, and the aircraft continued to fly long after Mussolini was deposed and Italy switched sides, operating in search and rescue until 1959, which is far more noble.

This one is isn’t a search and rescue aircraft though, instead being an early example from the Spanish Civil War, thusly equipped with four machine guns and a 1200kg bomb payload. Flickr’s Eínon is the builder behind it, and there’s more to see of their brilliant Lego version of the CANT Z.506 Airone at their photostream. Click the link above to join the 1930s fight for fascism…

Build-an-F40

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Ferrari may have built a surprisingly large number of F40s, but even with our big-time Lego Blogging Money, owning one is considerably out of reach. However this stunning Technic version is rather more attainable, and it features a working V8 engine, 5+R gearbox, independent suspension, opening clamshells, and pop-up headlights just like the real thing.

Eurobricks’ sebulba56 is the designer, and they’ve made building instructions available so you can create your own brick-built replica of Ferrari’s legendary 40th-birthday-present-to-itself too.

Full details can be found at the Eurobricks forum via the link above, where images of mechanical break-downs, a complete description, and a link to building instructions can all be found.

Life-Size Lego Kia EV6

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LEGO bricks have been used to create all manner of life-size real-world replicas, from Volkswagen Campers to Ferrari Formula 1 cars, via motorcycles, pick-up trucks, supercars, and classics. Korean electric crossovers haven’t featured though. Until now.

Of course until recently, creating a life-size Kia from LEGO bricks would’ve been like making the world’s largest rice cracker; impressive and yet also immensely dull. However with Hyundai/Kia now making some of the most interesting cars on the market, recreating one from hundreds of thousands of LEGO pieces is no longer a pointless endeavour. Cue certified LEGO Professional Riccardo Zangelmi’s company BrickVision and Kia Italia, who have turned 350,000 LEGO bricks into a 1:1 replica of Kia’s EV6 electric crossover.

Riccardo’s team took over 800 hours to create the life-size EV6, plus a further four months to develop the illumination system used to recreate the real EV6’s lighting signature.

It seems that Kia Italia used that time to write some of the most nonsensical marketing guff that we’ve ever read to accompany the build, with phrases like “strongly characterising luminous personality in every circumstance”, and “particular surfaces with accentuated inclinations, an expression of refined design” two of our highlights.

You can read more automotive marketing gibberish like that via Auto&Design by clicking here, or you can watch Kia Italia’s video on the project – which is mercifully free from the thoughts of their marketing department – by clicking play below.

YouTube Video

Porco Rosso

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This ace looking aircraft is a Savoia S.21 racing floatplane, as featured in the Japanese animated movie ‘Porco Rosso’. Like most things from Japanese cartoons (fighting robots, ball-stored transforming creatures, giant lizards, and improbably-proportioned schoolgirls to name a few), the Savoia S.21 not real, but it is titled after (and vaguely inspired by) an actual 1910s Italian floatplane.

Flown by a cigarette smoking, wine drinking, moustachioed pig, the S.21 is used to hunt air pirates, who are like regular pirates, only in the air. Look, it doesn’t have to make any sense, the plane’s still cool, and there’s more to see of this Lego version courtesy of LEGO7 on Flickr via the link.

Life Begins at Forty

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Or so people in their 40s like to say. For Ferrari however, it’s very probably true, as – despite their amazing pre-1980s back-catalogue – the Maranello marque’s all-time high water mark came in 1987 with its fortieth birthday present to itself, the astonishing F40.

Pioneering twin-turbochargers, a kevlar and carbon-fibre body, and semi-flat under-tray, the F40 was the fastest, most powerful, and most expensive Ferrari yet, and the last to be personally approved by Enzo Ferrari himself before his death in 1988.

All of which means F40s are now worth around $1.5million, even though they are not – at least in supercar terms – rare cars, with over 1,300 produced during the model’s five year production run.

Unfortunately the result of such iconic status is that even TLCB’s executive team can’t afford one, despite the immense riches that blogging about Lego brings, but no matter because today we have the next best thing; Lachlan Cameron’s brilliant Technic Ferrari F40 replica.

Utilising the latest parts from the official LEGO Technic 42143 Ferrari Dayton SP3 set, Lachlan has faithfully recreated the definitive Ferrari in brick form, complete with a v8 engine and 5-speed gearbox, working steering and suspension, opening clamshells and doors, a highly detailed interior and engine bay, and pop-up headlights.

Accurate decals, chromed pieces, and printed tyres maximise the realism, and there’s lots more to see of this incredible creation at Lachlan’s ‘Ferrari F40’ album on Flickr and at the Eurobricks forum.

Join Ferrari’s fortieth birthday celebrations via the links in the text above, plus you can find out Lachlan builds amazing models like this via his interview here at The Lego car Blog; click these words to read more.

Iveco Overland Adventure

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Social media is bursting with #van/truck/buslife content. Attractive couples bedecked in hot pants and topknots regale their audience with tales of adventure, ethically-sourced all-natural vegan cuisine, and a life lived off the beaten track, only returning to civilisation to connect to Starbucks’ wifi to upload their latest vlog.

Back in 1995 though, a team of Italian overlanding experts did things properly. Using four amazing Iveco 330.30 6×6 trucks, each outfitted for a different overlanding purpose by specialists Mussa & Graziano, the team travelled over 170,000kms through 91 countries during the five year expedition.

Better yet, there wasn’t a ‘Like & Subscribe!’ in sight, with the expedition supporting Unicef (one of TLCB’s own chosen charities) and staffed by doctors, an Italian parachute regiment, Iveco mechanics, and other people that – whilst they might not have a topknot – do know what they’re doing.

This phenomenal Technic creation captures one of the four incredible Iveco vehicles from the epic expedition, and comes from previous bloggee Lucio Switch of Flickr.

With remote control 6×6 drive, steering, locking differentials, all-wheel suspension, and a fully-accessible cab and living quarter, Lucio’s model replicates the Mussa & Graziano modified Iveco 330.30 6×6 overland truck spectacularly, and there’s a whole lot more to see at both his Flickr album and via the video below.

Click the links to start your expedition. Topknot not required.

YouTube Video

Amerigo Vespucci

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This amazing creation is a near-perfect brick-built replica of the Amerigo Vespucci, a tall ship of the Italian Navy named after the 14th Century explorer of the same name. Surprisingly despite its late 18th century appearance the Amerigo Vespucci was actually built in 1930 as a training ship, and is still in use today based at the Italian port of La Spazia. This incredible recreation of the tall ship is the work of Luca Gaudenzi and it’s one of the most spectacular vessels this site has ever featured. Head over to Luca’s ‘Amerigo Vespucci’ album to begin your Italian Naval training.

The Most Expensive Car in the World…

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…can now be yours! The Ferrari 250 GTO is today worth approximately $70 million. That’s the equivalent to the entire annual value of smallest economy in the world (Tuvalu), 3,500 new Toyota Corollas, 1/3 of a Zlatan Ibrahimovic, or 1/35th of an Elon Musk. Which puts it slightly out of reach even for us here at The Lego Car Blog.

Flickr’s barneius can help though, having built this most excellent 314-piece Speed Champions recreation of the world’s most valuable car, and made building instructions available too, so you can create it for yourself. Click the link above to pretend you’ve got more money than Tuvalu.