Car Porn

Sunday morning I went to the Wheels of Italy car show at Lake Calhoun. It was a fantastic day for a little car porn. Obviously, it was an Italian focused show, with a larger number of Ferraris being show. But there were other beautiful machines as well.

There weren't many Lamborghinis on site, but this Diablo caught my eye. The first thing you notice about this car (as well as many others), is just how LOW to the ground it is. It looks like your butt is literally 3-4 inches off the ground. The seats are very thin and reclined. Of course, the Diablo has those awesome scissor doors.Many of the Ferraris were very recent 360 and 430 models. But those aren't so interesting to me. Any rich person can buy one of those. It takes a certain kind of madman to buy a vintage Italian car.This car reminds me of the 250GT California in Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I'm certainly no Ferrari pro, so I have a hard time telling what model they all are.
Many of the cars see actual use, including racing, as the next two show.
This was easily my favorite vintage Ferrari. A 250 GT SWB, fully race ready.
Six Weber carbs on the V12.Next I wandered into the slightly more modern GTs. The Testarossa was every boy's dream in the 80s. They used real gold foil to shield the engine cover from the flat 12's enormous heat. 5 liters and over 380 hp. Doesn't sound nearly as impressive these days, with run-of-the-mill Nissans putting down 300 hp without sweating.
But no Nissan leaves people with a view like this!
Next came the "junior" Ferraris. This was led off with a Dino. Not even labeled as a Ferrari when new, it was named after Enzo Ferrari's son. The Dino 246 eventually paved the way for the most popular Ferrari of the late 70s/early 80s.The Ferrari 308. Would Magnum P.I. have been a hit show without this car? Probably not. One of my all time favorite cars, just dead sexy body. Although I always felt the targa top of the GTS model took away the clean lines.Here's what it should be. A 1976 308GTB. Fiberglass body. Weber carbs. 255 tempermental horsepower. This specific vehicle was for sale, but without a price. Given that it's the first year, in nearly perfect condition, it's probably a bit pricey.
There were also a few Italian bikes on the premises. Aprilias, Moto Guzzis, and of course, Ducatis. Here's a Moto Guzzi cafe racer. The sideways V twin was always a weird design choice to me.Everyone respects a Ducati.Being an engineer, I love the fact that Ducati uses a desmodromic engine. What's that mean? There are no valve springs. The valves open and close by mechanical action.Still in the Italian car section is the DeTomaso collection. Whether they belong there or not is a debatable point. Take beautiful Italian styling, add in good old American horsepower, and you should have the best of both worlds, right? The Mangusta was DeTomaso's first attempt. Meant to battle Shelby's Cobra, DeTomaso's naming was very much intentional.Although the Mangusta was not a sales success, DeTomaso tried again, partnering with Ford to bring us the Pantera. A Ford 351 was the stock engine. Now, despite being the Wheels of Italy show, there were some non-Italian cars too. Although a few tried to pass themselves off as Italian purebread.
A stunning British example, an Aston Martin V8 Vantage. James Bond would be happy.And the most unexpected showing, a Porsche Carrera GT. With a 5.7 liter V10 that was originally designed for racing, it sounded awesome! Each blip of the throttle ripped thru the crowd.