The magic number.

_

__Last year’s “Abarth: 0-100-0” exhibition in Turin proved the perfect opportunity to remember Carlo Abarth in style, exactly 100 years after his birth on 15^th November 1908.

__Abarth owners took full advantage of this unique opportunity and were in attendance with a comprehensive range of impressive automobiles.

_

Fiat 124 Abarth Rally and 500 Abarth.

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__The legendary racing driver turned tuner and constructor became most well known for his highly successful, Fiat-based racing cars.

__Of particular interest, the 1959 ‘Double Bubble’ 750 Zagato and the little-known Porsche 356 Carrera Abarth from 1960.

_

'Cooper killer' Autobianchi A112 Abarth.

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Transmission Starts…

I had spent too long pouring over diagrams and Ferrari family history, but I was still no closer to what I’d seen.

Beauty, of course, is in the eye of the beholder. Although a steam engine or V8 are not  beautiful in the classical sense, either of these forms can make a grown man weep. When Morgan Man had shown me what was easily the star of the local classic Hill climb I had rediscovered what makes my fascination with machines tick. A tiny Ferrari 340MM with a perfectly formed 2-litre V12 barely filling it’s engine bay struck my very being. MM stands for Mille Miglia. This was more than just a car. This was a purpose built racing grand tourer.

Purpose in yowling through the Italian countryside.

Purpose in keeping its driver safe and informed.

Purpose in firing its tiny twelve cylinders in perfect order.

I could feel its latent busy energy in the Sunday Autumn air.

So why the family history searching? Turns out, from what I can make out, the little Ferrari has the wrong body for the engine.

OR

The wrong engine for the body. The engine  marked it as an earlier 166MM. The body identified a 340MM. I’m currently awaiting a reply from Morgan Man on the matter.

Coma-inducing sadness aside, what else was there? Well, as a clanging hangover had driven me and The Business Man to Prescott, as I’d crunched the gears on the PanzerWagon, as the official on the gate had looked on in horror, Morgan Man had met us at the gates. We parked up, walked up the field car park. The smell of unburnt petrol seared my nostrils. There was no mistaking it. We’d parked near a pack of TVRs.

Crossing the bridge to the infield (so to speak) revealed row after row of classic metal, plastic and rubber. Here a Type 51, there a Lotus Cortina. Here, the most immaculate Healey 3000 in the known Universe, there some students with a tiny single seater powered by a screaming superbike engine.

We were drunk on the fumes, the colours, the sounds. We were re-drunk on a couple of pints. Further staggering found an excruciatingly rare Aston martin DB7 Zagato.

“It is beautiful” I slurred,

“but then it is an XJS underneath”. Tact, as most things, goes out of the window when your blood is flooded with Guinness. Luckily, the owner wasn’t around, luckily someone laughed.

unfortunately, as my benefactor, Morgan Man, pointed out, this was the to be last hill climb of the season.

Fortunately Morgan Man promises a full season next year. By that time AutoEclectic may have made the leap to video.

…Images follow…

Transmission Ends…

Zagato Milano 1919-2009
Among the great names of the world’s body stylists, a place at the absolute top must go to Zagato, a name closely linked to the story of motor racing but also to that of style. And a name that celebrated the 90th anniversary of its foundation in 2009. It was in 1919 when Ugo Zagato founded "Carrozzeria U. Zagato & C.", a company that, in just a few years, earned great fame among the numerous car manufacturers, the first of them Alfa Romeo, who gave the Milanese stylist the task of building the body for the unforgettable 6C 1750 and the 8C 2900, which appeared in the Thirties….

Hot Rods & Custom Cars (Five-View Series)
Sunbeam-Talbot: The Stories of Sunbeam, Talbot and Darracq (An Auto Review Book)

Me acompaño de tu ausencia

me alimento del recuerdo

deambulo por el mundo

en busca de tus besos

Me crusifico en el pasado

en ese tiempo imperfecto

mirando caras viejas

que en lo perfecto ya son nuevo

Mi camino en retroceso

me retarda en el tiempo

me muevo en el mundo

pero en contra del universo

Mi alma exige

regresar a su camino

mi cuerpo me implora

que detenga el tiempo

Caminaré de frente

buscando mi pasado

y detendré mi andar

cuando me haya encontrado

¡Tarde te amé,

hermosura tan antigua y tan nueva,

tarde te amé!

Y he aquí que tu

estabas dentro de mi

y yo fuera,

y por fuera te buscaba;

y deforme como era,

me lanzaba sobre estas cosas

tan hermosas que tú creaste.

Tú estabas conmigo,

mas yo no lo estaba contigo.

Reteníanme loejos de ti

aquellas cosas que…

si no estuviesen en ti,

no serian.

Llamaste y clamaste,

y rompiste mi sordera;

brillaste y resplandeciste,

y fugaste mi ceguera;

exhalaste tu perfume y respiré

y suspiro por ti;

gusté de ti, y siento hambre y sed,

me tocaste, y me abracé en tu paz.

Porque me arrastro a tus pies

Porque me doy tanto a ti

Y porque no pido nunca

Nada a cambio para mi

Porque me quedo callado

Cuando me sabes herir

Con todos esos reproches

Que no meresco de ti

Porque en la cama doy vueltas

Mientras tu finges dormir

Pero si quieres yo quiero

Y no consigo fingir

Te has convertido en la punta

Que clava mis sentimientos

Te has convertido en la sombra

Mas triste de mis lamentos

Pero resulta que yo

Sin ti no se que hacer

A veces me desahogo

Me desespero porque

Tu eres el grave problema

Que yo no se resolver

Y acabo siempre en tus brazos

Cuando me quieres tener

In the market for a supercar? Not too many people are given our current times. Don’t you just wish you can get a real supercar for less money? Well there might be one automaker in the market that won’t let all of you die hard supercar fans live without one. I am of course talking about the Zagato Perana Z-One. As you can see this car is beautiful, it’s daring and yeah, it’s fast. It also will retail for under $70,000 USD! That’s right, most likely for a limited time you can actually go out there and buy a real exotic supercar for pennies. Alright fine, I may be exaggerating when I say pennies but it’s cheaper than most. So why do I say limited time? Unfortunately only 999 of these bang for your buck supercars will be built.

Now this Perana has made it’s rounds. It has been designed in Italy, has the heart of American muscle and was manufactured in South Africa. Under the hood of this Perana we can see the Corvette’s immense 6.2L V8 engine spewing out 440hp, all to the rear wheels.  That’s not all the Perana takes from the American muscle car, it also possesses its 6 speed manual gearbox. Remember when I said this car was fast? I wasn’t joking since this tough fishy can jet you to  62mph in under 4 seconds!

My Thoughts: The Z-One really does look and perform like a true exotic sports car. On the outside it’s got all the goods; wonderful curves, functional vents, great looking wheels (a little bigger wouldn’t hurt though) and a spectuclar long nose front bumper. In the performance department, the Perana also refuses to disappoint give you all the power and speed you want at the command of your right foot. So where is the trade off? I mean, you’re spending a very small fortune compared to the cost of most supercars, there has got to be a catch right? Yes, sadly there is; the interior. It has always been my opinion that a more subtle and conservative interior screams classy far louder than a more crowded one but there is a limit, and unfortunately, the Z-One has crossed it. Yes the interior is quite unappealing and lacks quality and refinement. Don’t be too let down though, Zagato says it will have a new version of it once the car is released into production.

Thumbs up! Worth your money in the end? Everydamn cent!

A video of the Z-One at the Geneva Show with some of the worst camera work I’ve seen!

Alimentame con tu boca

porque en ella encuentro la dulzura de la miel

Alimentame con tus ojos

porque en ellos veo tu cariño hacia mi

Alimentame con tus manos

porque son de seda en mi piel

Alimentame con tus brazos

porque sólo soy esclavo en ellos

Alimentame con tu pecho

porque le brinda calor al mio

Alimentame con tus piernas

porque su recorrido es perfecto

Alimentame con un beso

porque la vida esta en ellos

Alimentame con tu alma

porque sin ella  soy nada

Sonreias por el siemple hecho de estar junto a mi

triste realidad que no logré comprender

Mi felicidad era el mundo en el que vivia

tu felicidad estaba en  vivir el mundo a mi lado

Besos que no valoré, caricias que no disfrutaba

fruto de inmenso dolor, veneno de mi sangre

Tiempo irreparable perdido en el anhelo de saber

Ahora me he quedado solo

sufrimiento eterno me acompaña

no más besos cálidos y dulces sentirá mi alma

y no es  sólo que los quiera, los necesito sin saber por qué

Me torturo fuertemente

no por que compartas tu cuerpo

sino por no haberlo hecho completamente mio

La razón nubló sentimientos  que emanaron de ti

ahora sentimientos antagónicos corrompen mi juicio

no encuentro salvación a mi corazón

corazón que yace en el olvido.

Es que mi sino

Mi sino será quererte siempre

y si llegas a amarme tu esclavo yo seré

no habrá quien diga que nos oy de ti

te mimare con loca pasión

pero piensalo bien

si me vas a querer solo mia serás

La mayor ambicion que yo tengo en al vida

es estar junto a ti

pero el mundo es adverso y encuentro que tu

no te fijas en mi.

Sé que no estas acostumbrada

que te digan te quiero con frases nada más

porque ya estas metalizada

y espero que te compren como un juguete  mas

pero tu vida es como un desierto

y tu amor esta muerto no puedes ni soñar

porque a travez de tu belleza hay signos en tus ojos de una mujer fatal

Tu no cambiarás

y asi sufriras las penas que pase por ti

tan solo por creerte buena

pero yo sé que eso es incierto

que tu amor está muerto, que no puedes amar

porque el destino ha sentensidado

que todos tus pecados los tendrás que pagar.

Vendaval sin rumbo

que te llevas tantas cosas de este mundo

llevate la angustia que produce mi dolor que es tan profundo

llevate de mi las inquietudes

que me causan el desvelo

por vivir soñando

con un imposible para el corazón

Vendaval sin rumbo

cuando vuelvas traeme aromas

aromas de su huerto

para perfumar el corazón que por su amor

casi, casi está muerto

Dile que no vivo desde el dia en que de mi apartó sus ojos

llevale un recuerdo envuelto en los antojos de mi corazón

Deja que tus ojos me vuelvan a mirar

deja que mis labios te vuelvan a  besar

deja que tus besos ahuyenten las triztezas

que noche tras noche me hacen llorar

deja que la luz retorne a mi alma

para que lo triste se marche de mi

dejame sentirme dormido en tus brazos

para que mi ser se llene de ti

deja que mis sueños se aferren a tu pecho

para que te  cuenten cuan grande es mi dolor

dejame estrujarte con este loco amor

que me tiene al borde de la desolacion

Deja que mis manos no sientan el frio

el frio terrible de la soledad

quemame los ojos si es preciso vida

pero nunca digas que no volveras