Tag Archives: Ferrari

News

Itala Returns After 92 Years as DR Automobiles

Few revival stories in the automotive world arrive with as much historical weight—and modern contradiction—as the return of Itala. A brand once associated with early Italian prestige has been resurrected after 92 years of silence, now re-entering the market under the engineering oversight of former Roberto Fedeli.

But this is not a simple heritage reboot. It is part of a far more complex industrial expansion led by DR Automobiles, a company that has spent the past two decades building its business model around adapting Chinese-sourced vehicles for European markets. With six brands already in its portfolio and roughly 34,000 cars sold across Italy and select neighboring markets last year, DR is now pushing beyond its home turf, setting its sights on larger and far more competitive territories like France and Germany.

Heritage, Rewritten

The revived Itala sits within DR’s “Historic Italian Brands” strategy—a deliberate attempt to fuse nostalgic brand equity with modern, cost-efficient manufacturing pipelines. Alongside Itala, DR is also preparing to relaunch Osca, a name originally founded by the Maserati brothers and once active in motorsport between 1947 and 1967.

The plan is as pragmatic as it is ambitious: both brands will share showroom space, effectively leveraging history as a dual-badging showroom experience aimed at emotionally anchoring budget-conscious products.

The First Modern Itala

Debuting this week at the Turin motor show, the first modern Itala is called the 35—a 4.4-meter petrol-powered crossover that underpins its engineering architecture on the GAC Trumpchi GS3. Pricing is expected to start at around €35,000 (£30,000), placing it squarely in the highly contested European compact SUV segment.

Yet DR is not simply importing and rebadging without intervention. Italian media reports suggest a multi-layered refinement program: Fedeli has reportedly tuned the suspension setup, while interior execution has been reworked by Italian suppliers, with red leather and Alcantara dominating the cabin. Exterior styling has also been revised, with design input attributed to Italdesign—a name that carries genuine weight in global automotive styling circles.

The result, at least on paper, is a familiar formula executed with Italian surface finesse: global architecture beneath, local tuning on top, and heritage branding wrapped around the package.

Expansion at Scale

Under the same strategy, DR is investing approximately €50 million into two new “production facilities” at its Macchia d’Isernia plant, where it already assembles knock-down kits sourced from China. The expansion is expected to create around 500 jobs, reinforcing DR’s increasingly industrial footprint in southern Italy.

The timing is no accident. As European emissions regulations tighten and development costs rise, DR’s model—lean platforms, localized assembly, and brand resurrection—sits in a growing niche between mainstream volume manufacturers and premium incumbents.

What Comes Next

If Itala represents the first step, Osca may represent the sharper end of the strategy. While no production model has yet been confirmed, Italian reports suggest a “proper sports car” is under consideration, potentially featuring a 2.0-litre engine sourced from Lotus-related architecture—possibly aligning with the turbocharged four-cylinder used in the current Emira’s Mercedes-AMG-derived setup.

For now, however, DR is focused on rollout infrastructure. Around 50 Itala-Osca dealerships are planned, with the first opening in Turin—the original home of Itala itself. It is a symbolic return, but also a strategic one: anchoring a revived brand network in the city where its identity was first forged.

A Familiar Modern Paradox

The rebirth of Itala is not a pure heritage story, nor is it a conventional product launch. It sits in the increasingly common space where globalized platforms, Chinese supply chains, and European branding intersect.

The question, as always, is not whether the story is authentic—but whether the product behind the badge is compelling enough to make buyers care.

And in today’s European market, that may be the only metric that truly matters.

Source: Autocar

Auctions

The Funky Green Unicorn: Jay Kay’s One-of-One LaFerrari Heads to Monaco

In the rarefied world of hypercars, exclusivity is everything. But every once in a while, something comes along that manages to stand out even among the rarest machinery on Earth. Case in point: a one-off green Ferrari LaFerrari formerly owned by Jay Kay—the famously car-obsessed frontman of Jamiroquai—which is headed to auction at RM Sotheby’s’ upcoming sale in Monaco on April 25.

Yes, that LaFerrari. And yes, that green.

Funk Meets Maranello

Jay Kay is well known in automotive circles as much as he is in music ones. His garage reportedly houses around a hundred cars, ranging from vintage classics to modern supercars. But even in a collection that eclectic, this LaFerrari stands out.

Among the 499 coupe examples Ferrari produced between 2013 and 2016, Kay’s was finished in a striking shade called Signal Green—a color that makes it the only LaFerrari ever delivered in that hue. In a sea of Rosso Corsa hypercars, this one is more Kermit than Cavallino.

Delivered new to Kay in 2014, the hypercar saw remarkably light use. The singer logged just 3000 kilometers before parting with it in 2019 for reasons unknown. Six years later, the car returns to the spotlight with fewer than 9000 kilometers on the odometer and an estimated auction value of roughly €4.5 million.

Subtle (and Not-So-Subtle) Personal Touches

If the color doesn’t already scream individuality, the interior seals the deal. The cabin echoes the vivid exterior theme, with green accents applied across the leather and carbon-fiber surfaces.

There’s also a small but unmistakable reminder of the car’s first owner: a plaque embossed with the word “Jamiroquai” mounted on the lower portion of the steering wheel. It’s the kind of detail that transforms a hypercar from collectible to conversation piece.

This particular car is also one of just 50 LaFerraris equipped with Ferrari’s transparent, removable carbon-fiber roof panel, effectively giving owners a glimpse of open-air motoring in a car better known for shattering lap times than catching sunlight.

The Hybrid That Changed Ferrari

When Ferrari unveiled the LaFerrari in 2013, it wasn’t just another halo car. It marked the company’s first venture into hybrid performance technology.

Behind the cockpit sits a naturally aspirated 6.3-liter V12 producing 800 horsepower on its own. Working alongside it is an electric motor that boosts the combined output to 963 horsepower and 900 Nm of torque.

The result? Hypercar performance that still reads like science fiction more than a decade later:

  • 0–100 km/h: 2.6 seconds
  • Top speed: 350 km/h
  • Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch sending power to the rear wheels

The LaFerrari was the spiritual successor to the Ferrari Enzo, and like the Enzo before it, ownership was limited to Ferrari’s most loyal clients. Back in 2014, the privilege cost a little over €1 million—assuming Ferrari even invited you to buy one.

A Green-Blooded Collectible

In the collector car market, rarity always drives value, but provenance helps push it into another stratosphere. A one-off color, celebrity ownership, low mileage, and a pristine service history make this LaFerrari a near-perfect storm for collectors.

And when the gavel drops in Monaco this April, someone may walk away with not just a hypercar—but arguably the most flamboyant LaFerrari ever built.

Not bad for a machine that proves even Ferrari occasionally likes to dance to a different beat.

Source: RM Sotheby’s

Restomod

Evoluto F355 Is Light, Loud, and Almost Sold Out

There’s a fine line between preservation and provocation in the restomod world. Coventry-based Evoluto Automobili has decided to ignore that line entirely and redraw it in carbon fibre.

Its latest creation—the 355 by Evoluto—is what happens when you take a mid-’90s Ferrari icon, subject it to 12 months of engineering scrutiny, 5000 miles of track abuse, and then hand the styling pen to Ian Callum. The result is a 420bhp, 1250kg love letter to the analog era, sharpened for 2026.

A Shape You Know, A Surface You Don’t

At a glance, you’ll recognize the donor car: the sublime Ferrari F355 GTS. But linger for a second and the differences stack up.

The nose now wears a larger grille and a pronounced carbonfibre splitter. The pop-up headlights—once a defining ’90s flourish—are gone, replaced by fixed LED units. Around back, a proper diffuser anchors the tail, flanked by ring-shaped LED brake lights that echo the original’s quad-round theme without lapsing into retro pastiche.

Every external panel is now carbonfibre. That alone slashes kerb weight from the F355 GTS’s 1422kg to a target of 1250kg, depending on how indulgent a buyer gets with their spec sheet. It’s a dramatic cut, and one that transforms the car’s fundamental character before you even twist the key.

Stiffer, Lighter, Sharper

Underneath, Evoluto hasn’t simply refreshed the chassis—it’s reengineered it. The structure is now spot-welded and reinforced with carbonfibre bracing, boosting torsional stiffness by 23 percent. Reinforcements cluster around suspension hardpoints, precisely where a 1990s Ferrari would most benefit from modern thinking.

The suspension geometry has been reworked with a wider track, while braking is handled by modern slotted Brembo discs. For those who see kerbs as apexes rather than warnings, carbon-ceramic discs are optional.

Yet Evoluto resists the temptation to sanitize the experience. The car rides on 19-inch wheels wrapped in road-biased Michelin Pilot Sport 4S rubber, chosen specifically to allow a degree of rear slip. This isn’t about crushing lap times with clinical efficiency; it’s about letting the chassis breathe and move beneath you.

A V8, Reconsidered

The 3.5-litre naturally aspirated V8 remains, but only in the same way a cathedral remains after restoration: spiritually intact, structurally transformed.

A new ignition system sharpens timing and throttle response. The cylinder heads are ported for improved airflow, and bespoke camshafts enhance high-rev stability. The notorious quill shaft—long regarded as a weak link in the original drivetrain—has been replaced with a strengthened Evoluto-designed component to reduce vibration and improve reliability.

There’s also a full-length titanium exhaust with equal-length headers, promising what Evoluto calls an “emotional” soundtrack. Given the F355’s reputation as one of the best-sounding V8s ever fitted to a road car, that’s a bold claim.

Output climbs to 420bhp—40bhp more than the factory-rated 380bhp the F355 boasted in 1994, when it had the highest specific output of any production engine on sale. Combined with the weight loss, power-to-weight improves by 69bhp per tonne. The numbers matter less than what they imply: urgency.

Crucially, drive is still sent through a six-speed manual gearbox. It’s been modified for improved shift feel, but the gated romance remains. No paddles. No dual-clutch. No apologies.

Tested, Not Just Tuned

Before a single customer car rolls out in March, the 355 by Evoluto has endured a 12-month development programme, including 5000 miles of track driving. High-speed aerodynamic and noise testing took place in Northamptonshire’s Catesby Tunnel—a proving ground more often associated with OEM validation than boutique restomods.

Backing that up is a 20,000-mile, two-year warranty—an unusual commitment in a sector where craftsmanship sometimes outpaces durability.

Only 55 Chances

Production is capped at 55 cars. Each buyer can commission bespoke paint finishes, tailor-made interior upholstery, and presumably a spec sheet limited only by taste and budget.

The original F355 was often described as the moment Ferrari rediscovered its edge in the 1990s. The 355 by Evoluto feels like a similar inflection point for the restomod world: less nostalgia trip, more engineering reset.

In a market crowded with carbon-clad classics chasing concours glamour, Evoluto’s Ferrari doesn’t want to sit still under soft lights. It wants to be driven—hard, often, and preferably sideways.

Source: Evoluto