Posts tagged Italy
The Italian Job
Nov 24th
When I say the Italian Job, most people think of Michael Cain, Mini’s and some breathtaking Italian scenery… Well this Italian Job has two thirds of those, it is a Mini car rally raising money for children’s charities. This Italian Job is a 10 day navigation time trial through various Italian cities that are featured in the film of the same name (original not the 2003 remake). The event has been running for 20 years and has raised well over £20 million for children’s charity KidsOut.
The 2009 Italian Job event saw over 200 Mini drivers and navigators, one of which was an Adrian Flux customer, Anthony Suckling, accompanied by his son and the Mini’s owner James. In return for sponsorship, the Mini was branded up with Adrian Flux stickers which you’ll be able to see below…
Anthony and James managed to raise a brilliant £2500 for KidsOut and came 13th out of 60 in the navigation rally, in their first attempt at the event. The 2009 rally managed to raise between £200,000 and £250,000. Anthony also told us that this provided many ‘money-can’t-buy’ moments, like driving around the old banked track at Monza.
The website says that ‘The event gives the opportunity to make new friends, explore new places and improve your driving/navigational skills. It’s about visiting off the beaten track places in your fantastic Minis and of course it’s a fun way to raise money for a really good cause!’
So I suggest if you have an old Mini and a spare couple of weeks in late October, you should really give this rally a go!
GranCabrio Set for Frankfurt
Aug 27th
Maserati have announced that the GranCabrio, the convertible version of the GranTurismo, will debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show on September 15th.
The GranCabrio will be the third prong in the trident carmakers line-up, the first open top four-seater in Maserati’s history. This car has breathtaking styling, developed by the well known Italian design firm Pininfarina, also responsible for the Ferrari Enzo, the Alfa Brera and the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti – need I say more!
If that wasn’t enough for you, the GranCabrio will use the 433 hp 4.7 l V8 lump from the GranTurismo S, although might be slightly slower due to the added weight from the extra bracing. Although performance figures haven’t been released yet, expect a 0-60 time of around 5.5 secs and a top speed of 180 mph.
The car will go on sale from early next year and unfortunately if I ‘ve got you excited you will have to part with around £90,000 to own one!
Also debuting at Frankfurt will be another gorgeous Pininfarina designed Italian supercar.
This will be the new offering from Ferrari, the 458 Italia their F430 replacement. This mid-engined beast will have a direct-injected 4.5 l V8 that blasts out 562 horsepower!
Keep your eyes peeled to Influx this month as next week the Italia theme will be launched.
I’m now off to book a flight to Frankfurt… Ciao Bella!