Whether restomods, retromods, exacting recreations or simply something new and unusual that embodies the quintessence of a specific original, here are nine novel examples of how to update the classic spirit of Italian cars.
Restomod Italian cars: classics reimagined
EVO38 by Kimera EVO38
Now that the revival of the Lancia brand is well underway, interest is stirring in the manufacturer’s well-stocked cabinet of modern classics. No less than four different companies offer updated variations on contemporary models. Of particular interest to enthusiasts is the newly announced Kimera EVO38, a high-performance recreation of a car that never existed.
Lancia’s EVO37 was one of the most ferocious of all the Group B rally cars, a terrifying category of the sport defined by unadulterated raw power. Cancelled in 1986 following a series of fatal accidents (for drivers and spectators), the cars from that era have lived on as a collection of automotive unicorns. The original EVO37 won the World Rally Champion in 1983 and also sired 200 road-going versions (as required by the regulations).
Kimera, however, has taken upon itself to build the successor that never was, an all-wheel drive, road-going version. Dubbed EVO38, it’ll be low-weight, high power and very low volume – just 38 will be built, at a presumably higher price point that the 37 examples of the EVO37 Kimera previously built for €480,000.
Kimera-Automobili.com, @Kimera_Automobili
MAT Stratos
Yet another Lancia rally car returned for the 21st century. This time, the underpinnings of the MAT Stratos are rather different from the mighty Gandini-styled original (working for Bertone). Beneath the lightly updated wedge-shaped bodywork of the handful of cars built at the turn of the decade by Manifattura Automobili Torino, lies a Ferrari F430.
This particular reincarnation had a long gestation, and the New Stratos had to make do with a rather outdated donor vehicle after Ferrari withdrew direct support. It’s still a welcome revival of one of motoring’s most dramatic forms.
ManifatturaAutomobiliTorino.com, @manifatturaautomobilitorino
Maturo Stradale
Lancia’s Delta model stood in stark comparison to the Stratos. Introduced in 1979, the year after the Stratos went out of production, it was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro; the creases were still sharp, but the overall form favoured right angles, not origami-like folds. By the 1980s, the Delta’s racing variant was once again winning rallies and once again inspiring a classic performance road car. The Lancia Delta HF Integrale fleshed out Giugiaro’s neat box with big arches for a wider track and fat tyres, rally-car acceleration and a rather fragile constitution that required constant maintenance.
Dutch manufacturer Maturo specialises in restoring original cars, but it also builds this, the Maturo Stradale, a ground-up restomod that swaps out the panels for carbon fibre replicas, with a roll cage at its heart. Lighter, more powerful and far more robust than the original, a Maturo Stradale is a bespoke creation that’ll set you back around £400k.
Thornley Kelham Outlaw B20GT
Our final re-fettled Lancia is Thornley Kelham’s Outlaw B20GT, an upgraded and aesthetically enhanced version of the fabled Lancia Aurelia B20GT, the progenitor of all modern grand tourers. Lancia built the B20GT from 1951 onwards, with stunning bodywork designed by Ghia. In the hands of Gloucestershire-based specialist Thornley Kelham, this svelte Italian GT becomes the Fuorilegge (‘Outlaw’), with revised bodywork inspired by American hotrod culture.
The company built its first Outlaw in 2015, with a planned run of nine unique machines. The first six were powered with uprated Lancia engines, but the final three – still in build – will have Alfa Romeo V6s.
Fuorilegge.co.uk, ThornleyKelham.com, @ThornleyKelham
Totem Automobili GT
Totem Automobili describes itself as a ’tailor-made handcraft supercar manufacturer’, based in Venice and focused, laser-like, on what are perhaps Alfa Romeo’s most beautiful cars, the compact 105 and 115 Series Coupés that the company built in various configurations from 1963 to 1975. Available as high-power Giulia Sprint GT, GT Junior and racing GTA models, the original was shaped by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone (before he set up on his own).
Totem Automobili clearly knows the power and reach of this particular machine and has created three restomod versions that update the specs but keep the aesthetics as pure as possible (although they’re all longer and wider than the compact originals).
As well as the sleek GT Super and storming GTAModificata versions, Totem also makes the GT Electric, a hugely powerful GT EV with a projected 500km range and supercar-killing acceleration. All petrol-powered Totem GTs have a V6, with the ultra-light, wide-bodied, carbon-fibre GTAModificata putting out an impressive 810hp. Just five will be made, with the GT Super offering a more refined driving experience that evokes the grace and simplicity of its 1960s forerunner.
TotemAutomobili.com, @Totem.Automobili
ErreErre Fuoriserie Giulia
Another Italian homage to Alfa, Turin-based ErreErre Fuoriserie splices old and new in a more literal way with a recreation of the 1962 Giulia saloon. Billed as the ‘first retromod of a four-door sedan’, it evokes, rather than replicates, the spirit of the 1960s, with a contemporary Alfa Romeo Quadrifoglio serving as a donor car.
That takes care of performance, but the style component has been put through a blender of post-war design influences. ErreErre has chamfered the smooth curves of the modern Alfa into an approximation of a 1960s suit, with an abrupt tail, new retro-style front end and bespoke interior. Just 33 cars will be built, with prices starting at €400,000.
ErreErreFuoriserie.com, @erreerrefuoriserie
Bizzarrini 5300 GT Corsa Revival
The rebirth of Bizzarrini focused first on this, the 5300 GT Corsa Revival, an exacting recreation of the Italian company’s 1960s road/race car. Although focus is shifting to the forthcoming Giotto supercar, the company’s facility in the north of England will still hand-build this meticulous machine, with every last nut and bolt carefully matched to the car that won its class at Le Mans in 1964. Priced from a heady £1.65 million, the Corsa Revival is an indication of the seemingly limitless value of original classics.
Bizzarrini.com, @BizzarriniDesign
Breadvan Hommage by Niels van Roij Design
Dutch designer Niels van Roij has mastered the art of the tailored automobile, working on badges as diverse as Fiat and Range Rover. True automotive one-offs, each car is designed and built according to coachbuilding tradition, often responding to a whim or suggestion to do something out of the ordinary – a Tesla or Rolls-Royce shooting brake, for example.
This is the Breadvan Hommage, a one-off rebodied Ferrari 550 designed to pay homage to another unique car, the Ferrari 250 GT SWB ‘Breadvan’ of 1962. This machine – the creation of Giotto Bizzarrini himself – got its nickname from the aerodynamically pure but rather commercial-looking appearance of the long roofline. In building a modern version (revealed in 2021), van Roij and his client demonstrate a respect for history as well as a certain sense of humour.
NielsvanRoij.com, @NielsvanRoijDesign
Fiat 500 by Silent Classics
Finally, a more modestly scaled and attainable project in the shape of the iconic Fiat 500, courtesy of British company Silent Classics. As the name suggests, the North Dorset-based workshop specialises in transforming existing classics into electric vehicles, with Bentleys, Daimlers and Datsuns all receiving the high-voltage treatment, along with a smattering of pre-war cars.
Silent Classics’ Fiat 500E (not to be confused with Fiat’s modern EV of the same name) retains the car’s scale, looks and sheer delight, with an all-new powertrain giving up to 100 miles of range and rather more zip than the original. Complete cars are available from £50,000, with limitless options for those that like their luxuries down-sized.
