Not sure how we missed it at the time, but back in April at the exceedingly posh Villa D’Este car show, an incredible one-off special was announced that celebrated Alfa’s 100th year.

Just as well we didn’t spot it at the time, because we would have spend a whole summer lusting hopelessly after this beauty, mind-driving it through the workaday motoring moments of the week. The collaboration between Alfa and Zagato has always for us been a lovely bit of car-type cooperation, both the original TZ and the TZ2 being gorgeous pieces of breadvan-like sleekitude – crossed of course with the angular quirk of the Zagato pen.

The TZ3 Corsa is a one off built by Zagato for jammy git car collector Martin Kapp, and no, you will never own one. It is, however, based on the already otherworldly 8C Compezione, but has a super light weight carbon frame and that hand-wrought steel panel loveliness that the Z-cars are known for.

Fast, light and incredible to behold. It’s tuesday, I’m in Love.

Two things in Motorsport go together particularly beautifully: Targa Florio and Porsche.

The long defunct, fatally dangerous and aesthetically beautiful Sicilian endurance race may have gone the way of the Dodo as far back as 1977, but it lives forever in the imagination.

Like its cousin the Mille Miglia the colour, sound and power of the Targa is burned into the cortex of anyone who cares about cars, style and aesthetics.

The video below was put together by an Italian aficionado of the race – and kindly bounced to us for context.

The sunburst liveried Porsche 908/3 – the short wheel base endurance racer perfect for the twists of the mountains is the one raced by Vic Elford in the 1970 event – and is, we think you’ll agree – typically evocative of the emotions inspired by the cars that competed around this time and this place.

For any of you who didn’t follow last Friday’s tweet, we thought this footage is more than worthy of a daily post. Especially as the car is so brutally lovely.

Lexus’s LFA Nürburgring Edition has just run the ‘ring in 7:14 at the hands of driver Akira Iida.

This is quickest time from a mainstream carmaker and beats the previous record, set by a Porsche 911 GT2 RS, by four seconds.

Obviously this is a tweaked version of the LFA, which will cost you £55,000 more than the ‘bog standard’ (!) £345,000 LFA.

Apart from general record breaking kudos, for that extra money you get a bunch of aerodynamic carbon-fibre add-ons, including a jutting front spoiler, fins ahead of the front wheel and a massive rear wing.

This downforce-heavy package is counteracted by a set of tuning tweaks that squeeze 562bhp out of the 4.8-litre V10. That’s 10bhp more than in the standard car.

There’s reworked suspension too that slings the body 10mm lower than the standard LFA.

You could of course score a very nice nearly new 911 with the difference..but hey, we’re in the world of automotive fantasy here, so you might as well just sit back and mind drive a very hairy (but remarkably smooth) seven minutes.

I always had the feeling that Honda’s staple tourist superstar the Gold Wing would look better naked.

And this example certainly confirms our intuition.

Spotted recently on Bike Exif – it appears that this 1975 GL 1000 was built for an Italian customer for a trip from his home to Norway – and the stripped back matte frame and custom everything else reflects the need for cruising utility.

And added lights for longer shadows

I’ve often wondered why long distance tourers would want to sheild the rider so much from the wind in the face. Surely, the whole point of a long distance ride is to feel the the breeze – and a stripped down long hauler like this must surely be the way to be practical –

– and lose nothing in the aesthetic stakes.

Great detail.
When a Japanese bike does germanic
A real sense of utilitarian chunk
And added lights for longer shadows
Haulage bespoke
Racks with a military edge.

Not sure why we haven’t seen this before, but this is undoubtedly some of the nicest pieces of automotive action we’ve come across for a very long time.

One possible reason for this exquisite (and doubtlessly extremely expensive) commercial’s lack of widespread release might be that it recalls the brilliant

that took viewers through the brand’s noble engineering lineage across platforms, genres and formulae.

Who know which came first?

With Honda’s recent sad and ignominious retreat from motorsport, it might be time to resurrect this beautifully rhythmic, sonically delicious piece of work.

CAR CRUSH REDUX

We know we’re being a bit boring about our love for the Lancia Fulvia.

But now, remembering the dictum that less is sometimes more, we think we’ve fallen in love all over again with the pert little Italian. And this version is topless. And if you’ve been aware of these things, then you are more of a Fulvia geek than we.

Thing is, you can see from the structure of the Fulvia coupé’s body that the torsional stiffness of the chassis would probably not have been affected by the absence or the presence of that boxy canopy. Look at those hard-edged flanks!

And the proof of the theory seems to have been demonstrated by the fact that a handful of chop-topped Fulvia’s were campaigned hard on the road race curcuit of 1970s; particularly successfully apparently, in the dangerous Sicilian classic the Targa Florio.

According to a Coy’s catalogue from a couple of years ago, there were class victories for these snarling, defaced beauties.

And while you’re here, heck out some devilish Kodachrome onboard from the 1972 Targa Florio. Apparently, Vic Elford ‘hit a local’.
Hehehe!