The One and Only - Part 1

Autumn ’72, I’m into my second year with the UK BMW importer and still marvelling that in this, my first post-education job, it’s not work at all.  And the prospect of even more enhanced fun is conjured when I’m instructed to prepare for my first trip to the Munich factory.  So, shortly after, I was revelling in my first four days in Bavaria.  There were many things to enjoy about the city, the South German culture and the ambience of the Lerchenauer Str. BMW campus – not least the recently completed, splendid Four Cylinder Tower – but the single experience that most inspired me was being allowed to get close up and personal with the fabulous Turbo which had made its debut appearance at the previous year’s Paris Motor Show.  As a vision of our automotive future, Paul Bracq’s creation even managed to trump the Mercedes C111-II that had so impressed me a couple of years earlier.  There was so much to like about Bruno Sacco’s bodywork design though I thought it could look even more purposeful if its height was reduced and its width increased just a touch.  That was exactly what Bracq did with his styling of the Turbo.  And all the talk around BMW   was about the possibility of such a wonderful car being put into production.

© 2026 Inspiration Grid and  Schiffer Publishing Ltd.

Meanwhile, Niki Lauda was ‘Stateside’ in October for the Canadian and U.S. Grands Prix.  He may well have wished he was elsewhere, as the car at his disposal for those races was a March 721G – not even a fully-blown F1 machine, but one of the marque’s Formula Two cars equipped with the ubiquitous Cosworth DFV engine.  It was, however, more competitive than the 721X – an innovative design by March’s Robin Herd.  Herd’s aim had been to improve the balance/handling of the car by incorporating a transverse gearbox.  However, from its debut in May ’72 at the Spanish Grand Prix, it was evident that the 721X was a very difficult car to drive.  So difficult in fact that after just three races, the team reverted to a conventional format with the 721G.  Lauda’s dismay, was compounded by the fact that he had had to borrow $250,000 to ‘buy’ his ’72 March drive.  Niki’s results for those two Grands Prix? – denied a likely, though lowly 15^th place finish in Canada as he had received help from marshals when stranded, and thus was unclassified (last on the road running) at the Glen.  His morale must have been further undermined by teammate Ronnie Peterson’s performance in his similar 721G – strong showing throughout the weekend and a 4^th place finish in the race.  Any dreams of being a future champion Lauda might be having over the winter would surely be very fleeting and unconvincing.

Courtesy graham64.wordpress.com

What was convincing in late ’72 was a spirit of optimism at the Lamborghini factory in Sant’Agata, where, by then, nearly 800 Miuras had been built and the ‘replacement’ Countach model’s development was progressing well – well enough, indeed, for a prototype to be shown at the following March’s Geneva Motor Show.  Coming up to its 10^th year as a car manufacturer, the business was riding the crest of a sales boom, increasing revenues and praise for the panache and innovative nature of its products.  For Ferruccio Lamborghini himself however, the outlook was very different.  His tractor business became especially problematic, prompting him to sell it out in ‘72 as a pre-emptive measure, fearing that it might become insolvent.  At the same time, he sold a significant chunk of his holdings in Automobili Lamborghini to Georges-Henri Rossetti.  Two years later he relinquished his entire stake in the business, leaving it in the joint ownership of Rossetti and René Leimer.

Courtesy Supercars.net

Late in ’71 Bernie Ecclestone had paid Ron Tauranac £100,000 for Motor Racing Developments/Brabham and was preoccupied with remodelling the business.  At the same time he was developing his interest in a role beyond team ownership and into the realm of the sport’s organisation, governance and commercial evolution; this would lead in ’74 to his involvement in the establishment of the Formula One Constructors Association.

Courtesy Sport Pro History

One more thing happening in autumn ’72 was the growing influence of Jochen Neerpasch on BMW’s plans for development of its motorsport ambition.  After a successful driving career, ’60-’68, Neerpasch was hired by Ford Germany to run its racing division.  His achievements in the role led to his being offered a similar position by Bob Lutz, Sales Director at BMW, which he took up in May ’72.  With the appointment, the company sought to establish an elite brand, BMW Motorsport GmbH, (‘BMW M’) within the marque, its objective being to prove in the Group 4 and 5 racing categories  that anything Porsche could do, BMW could do better!  Initially, Neerpasch focused on establishing a general perception of the company’s excellence in design and engineering for motorsport applications by means of a highly successful engine supply programme for Formula 2.  Alongside, the E9 Coupe was developed for top flight Touring Car racing.  A lightweight version had first been evolved in ’71 in collaboration with Alpina.  Neerpasch added to that by having a 3 litre, 200 bhp version built and homologated for Group 2.  Thus began a run of success for the CSL, starting by winning the ’73 European Touring Car Championship and sustaining success right through to ’79.

Neerpasch, (right) with Martin Braungart, 1972  Courtesy PressClub USA

These people and situations began to be drawn together when Neerpasch, together with Martin Braungart (overall project management) and Paul Rosche (engines) collaborated on a study of two possibilities – 1) BMW’s participation in Formula 1, and, 2) Creation of a coupe designed (rather than adapted to being such a vehicle) as a racing car.  Their findings and outline proposals were first reviewed by the BMW Board in September ’75.  The following month,  a go-ahead was given not only to the start of work on an engine for Formula 1, but also for the coupe, specifically a mid-engine type with 8 cylinder power.  The proposed configuration of the coupe was not something with which BMW had had previous experience, so Neerpasch requested and received permission to negotiate with Lamborghini for the Bolognese manufacturer to engineer and build the cars.  As a result, Lamborghini contracted in Spring ‘76 to handle all aspects with the exception of the engine.  Central to the agreement was the obligation for 2,000 cars to be made at Sant’Agata over a four year period.  As regards the body, it’s styling was entrusted to Italdesign, the carrozzeria founded by Giorgetto Giugiaro after he had stopped working with Ghia.  The brief from BMW was for a car with functional and production practicality but with the ‘spirit’ of Bracq’s Turbo preserved.  There was enough interpretive room to allow Giugiaro to incorporate the wedge element themes he had been evolving in ’74, ‘75 and early ’76 with the Lotus Esprit, Alfasud Sprint, Alfetta GT, VW Scirocco and  Maserati Medici II.  Back at Munich, the M team was consolidated with the appointment of additional senior personnel, Rainer Bratenstein (Engineer, Development), Hans Erdmann Schönbeck (Sales Strategy) and Dr. Karlheinz Radermacher (Board member responsible for Research & Development).  So far, so good.

Giorgetto Giugiaro  Courtesy Mahan 

But, as the early months of ’76 came and went, the outlook deteriorated.  Judging by the speed of early progress on the F1 engine project, it became clear that it would require significantly more time than originally anticipated, and a strategic rethink was necessary.  Accordingly, it was decided to suspend work and focus on the coupe.  Indeed, this too had become a source of concern, not only because a growing number of the project team members were feeling discomfort with the scale and scope of the programme – was a sales volume of 2000 really feasible, and how did the costs/benefits ratio look with the creation of a new engine involved?  Regarding this second consideration, there was a practical solution readily to hand – utilisation of the existing 6 cylinder in line engine. 

This reappraisal of the project, whilst fully justified from a BMW viewpoint, was bad news for Lamborghini. Whilst the company’s financial status, as mentioned above, had been secure during the early years, a much less lucrative era had set in following the first fuel price crisis in ’73. For Lamborghini, the situation was especially difficult given that its products were relatively expensive and its engines large and highly fuel-consumptive. With the volume of sales of its own products thus likely to contract, the anticipated revenue from building 2,000 M1s had become an essential support of the Italian firm’s ongoing financial health rather than a nice bonus. In Sant’Agata, it was thus a severe shock when BMW advised that it was withdrawing from the contract for 2,000 units. In its place a revised agreement was proposed based on some fundamental changes to the vehicle’s specifications and a lower volume of just 800. Lamborghini had no option but to accept this and duly agreed to a new contract in mid-October ’76.

Central to the revised specification of the M1 was the substitution of a purpose-developed version of the existing 6 cylinder twin cam M49, a unit of 3.2 litre capacity which had been powering the works CSL race cars. Designated M88, this became highly regarded as an emblem of the M Division’s engineering excellence with subsequent utilisation in the models considered by many as iconic, E24 M635CSi (E24) and M5 (E28). Paul Rosche sought and achieved a quantum leap in the engine’s performance potential by again incorporating a twin cam head, this time with 24 valves. BMW had begun to make 6 cylinder engines in the Thirties. By the Sixties, it had become recognised for particular expertise with this power unit type, acquiring a good reputation for efficiency, reliability and smooth power delivery characteristics. As that decade came to an end, a version of the engine, designated M30, became an important element in the company’s evolution beyond the ‘Neue Klasse’ (1.5-2.0 litre) models through which its fortunes were very successfully revived. The M30 was produced in 2.5, 2.8 and 3.0 litre capacities and powered the marque’s reputation-enhancing models – 2.5, 2.8 and 3.0 ‘E3’ saloons and the ‘E9’ coupes. The fastest 3 litre versions of these models were rated at just under 200 bhp, while the further developed ‘3.5’ for the racing CSLs was considerably more powerful. The M88 as specified for the M1 generated just under 280 bhp – enough to address any possible assertions that the M1 would fail to fulfil the original objective of being a ‘junior supercar.’ That classification was conventionally assigned only to cars with an eight cylinder engine – as had been BMW’s original intention. However, the performance of the M88 was sufficient to render the six versus eight issue purely academic. After all, the M88 would make the M1 a 280 bhp/243 lb/ft torque machine, while the Ferrari 308 GTB, even in Quattrovalvole form, deployed just 240 bhp and the Lamborghini Urraco P300 harnessed not much more at 247 bhp.

M88 engine.  Cortesy Rikojanuary (Facebook)

Paul Rosche.  Courtesy BMW

Part 2, to follow, covers the M1's development period, finalisation and start of production.

De Tomaso Takes to the Road - the Vallelunga

 

A Vallelunga at the De Tomaso factory, Modena  Courtesy Sports Car Digest

 

You won’t often catch me saying anything complimentary about Japanese cars – though I did love the Honda CRX I bought for my wife long ago – but it’s difficult to be too shirty about the Mazda MX5/Miata.  It’s often been said that Tom Matano, key figure in the creation of the Miata, was much influenced by the De Tomaso Vallelunga, a car he was very pleased to own himself, (#0134).  An interview with Matano was featured on the website of PI Motorsports, which includes the following passage: 

PI:        We know that you own a Vallelunga.  Have you ever found out who designed it? Norbert MacNamara says it was Mario Fissore.

Matano: I spoke with Trevor Fiori who worked on the Elva BMW with Fissore about the same time the Vallelunga was in the works.  He said that Mr. De Tomaso himself was working with Fissore and he didn’t see any other designer was involved.

PI:        Do you think De Tomaso was trying to do a mini 250LM?

Matano: The original alloy bodied Vallelunga had a more 250 LM-like front end than the production fiberglass bodied car. It also had an entire rear half of the car which opens up for engine service just like the 250 LM.  But, the similarity stops there. The side view profile of the Vallelunga is unique for a mid-ship layout car.

PI:        What parts of the design do you like and what parts would you do over if you were updating it?

Matano: I like the 360-degree visibility the best, thanks to its low engine location.  It is still very contemporary.  It hasn’t dated at all in my opinion.

 

Making allowance for the passage of about three decades, you may find echoes of the Vallelunga in the Miata’s overall form, as seen below:

Left, Vallelunga, courtesy Bonhams Cars. Right, Miata, courtesy Dond90 (BaT)

If there are some visual similarities, the relative production numbers certainly diverged, bringing to mind the old saying, ‘less is more.’ 

But, to linger right in the middle of mainstream thinking, we need to acknowledge the Miata’s debt to the Lotus Elan in terms of concept, style and footprint.  And while there, we can trace a connection back to the Vallelunga, since it too followed a Chapman lead in being built on a backbone chassis and powered by a Ford 4 cylinder engine.  Notwithstanding the considerable circuit motorsport heritage already banked at Lotus by the mid-Sixties, the Vallelunga could be seen as more closely based on a pure racing car than the Elan.  As well as the chassis form, the De Tomaso utilised the Ford block as an integral structural component, front suspension by wishbones with the rear controlled by multi-links, and disc brakes on all four corners – all much as had been seen on the Marque’s single seater race cars – F1, F2, F3 and Formula Junior, (called ‘Isis’) - constructed since ‘59.  Possibly inspired by the Ferrari formula of dedication to motorsport but with funding flowing from the production/sale of road cars, De Tomaso crystalised his ambitions by embarking on the design and creation of a prototype stradale sports barchetta in ’62.  This was put on show at the following year’s Turin Show, but drew no serious interest.  Resilient as he was – some said ‘pig-headed!' -  Alejandro gave Carrozzeria Fissore an order to rebody the chassis as a coupe.  The Turin Show – one year on - was once again chosen to launch the resulting car, with design credited to the Carrozzeria’s stylist, Franco Maina.  Reception was more positive this time and Fissore was contracted to undertake a production run of 15 aluminium bodies.  A surviving prototype was restored in England in 2021 by the specialist workshop of Three Point Four.  Excellent photographs of the car undergoing the renovation process can be seen here.  Head of Business there, Roger Brotton, has told me that all the Fissore prototypes were identified with the same chassis number - #1606.  Fissore, apparently, scrapped its own prototype in-period.

#1606 under restoration in ’21, courtesy Three Point Four

Fissore fulfilled the initial batch order in late ‘64/early ’65, though De Tomaso had already had some ‘developmental’ ideas which led to not all these bodies being used.

At least two ’64-made Vallelungas exist today, the earliest being chassis #0103.  At this point I have to observe that, not unexpectedly, some of what’s been written previously and/or ‘loose’ record keeping at the factory, (in the Italy of the Sixties, surely not!), undermines the certainty with which I can write this narrative.  In ’97, Thoroughbred and Classic Car published this: 

The Vallelunga coupe was built from early 1964 by Fissore of Savigliano, but after three (some say five, but just one survivor is known) had been made De Tomaso transferred the contract to Ghia over whom he had begun to exercise influence, assuming control by 1967. The Ghia cars were 'productionized' with a one-piece fiberglass body and were on sale from July '65. Engine access was now via a lift-up Perspex rear window and a removable plywood deck lid. . .

Probably the anomaly here is over the understanding of the production date.  This car is recorded as being first registered in the UK on 31^st December ’64.  #0103 is a glass fibre car with opening rear window, whereas other sources suggest that no Ghia production occurred before ’65.  The revised rear is a key feature which differentiates the Maina-designed coupes from the prototype barchetta, including the revised rear quarters where an opening glazed (Plexiglass) screen gave access to the engine rather than the original clamshell format.  This car is also a very ‘pure’ De Tomaso, being to Competizione specification and thus a racing car that might occasionally serve purpose on normal roads.  As such, its kerb weight was low, at around 700 Kg, while the stradale version is usually quoted at 726 Kg.

Courtesy Cottingham Blue Chip London

The car’s description for sale by DK Engineering notes engine power at 135 bhp, ‘thanks to the Cosworth enhanced cylinder head . . .  The Hewland 4-speed transmission is mounted in a VW housing, rotated around for mid-engine placement.’ 

A standard Vallelunga had considerably less bhp on tap.  Contrary to some accounts, the OE engine was the Ford Kent 1498 cc, pushrod unit, not the Lotus twin cam.  However, the engines, on receipt at the De Tomaso factory in Modena, were modified to the extent of an upgraded cylinder head which facilitated a 24% increase in the compression ratio.  Together with twin Weber 40DCOE2s, this enabled a power output of 104 bhp, one third up on its delivery in its original Cortina GT application. 

Chassis #1611 is another Competizione example, equipped with a 1558 cc engine and Colotti five speed gearbox.  Seen in period below:

#1611 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Repainted in yellow, the car was offered for sale by Bonhams in June 2014.  The description referred to this as being one of only two right-hand drive Vallelungas built by De Tomaso, (other sources say there was only one). It was initially in Colonel Ronnie Hoare’s care when he was considering adding the De Tomaso franchise to his operations best known for the UK Ferrari import business, Maranello Concessionaires.  He decided against this initiative after establishing that it would be impractical to incorporate the Lotus twin cam engine as a series upgrade, and he sold the car to racing driver, Robs Lamplough.  However, #1611 does today benefit from having such a power plant nestling under its rear screen – see centre photograph below.

#1611 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Made in ’65, #0101, located in Holland, was sold on Bring a Trailer in 2024 for $260,000. The vendor asserted that this is the first glass fibre bodied Vallelunga made by Ghia after De Tomaso had halted construction of the aluminium version at Fissore. A reasonable claim, given the chassis number, which should be read in conjunction with the type number 807DT. Shown below are Vallelunga characteristic features, model-bespoke 13” magnesium alloy Campagnolo road wheels, chassis number stamping, and branded De Tomaso-modified cylinder head:

and drive Vallelungas built by De Tomaso, (other sources say there was only one). It was initially in Colonel Ronnie Hoare’s care when he was considering adding the De Tomaso franchise to his operations best known for the UK Ferrari import business, Maranello Concessionaires.  He decided against this initiative after establishing that it would be impractical to incorporate the Lotus twin cam engine as a series upgrade, and sold the car to racing driver, Robs Lamplough. 

#0101 Courtesy ImageStreetClassics

0101 Courtesy ImageStreetClassics

#1612 is said to have been delivered to its first owner in ’66, but it is likely a ’65 build.  A ‘VL’ designation is associated with the chassis number and the car’s recent vendors, Artcurial, claims this confirms it as a Competizione version.  With this spirit in mind, a previous owner had installed a Lotus twin cam engine.  The Artcurial auction – held in Monaco in July 2020 – resulted in a sale price of €313,200.  Referring back to the Vallelunga’s limited sales success when new, Artcurial pointed out that it was priced the same as a Lancia Flaminia Zagato, causing many to find it poor value given the Lancia’s size, sophistication, including a 2.5 or 2.8 V6 engine, and the prestige/motorsport pedigree associated with Carrozzeria Zagato.

#1612 Courtesy Artcurial

 

Artcurial also handled the sale – for €226,480 - of a France-located, ’66 Vallelunga, (registered 801PL68), in 2015.  At that time, it was in unrestored condition and reported to have had light, spasmodic use over the near half century since its original sale.  The auction lot description includes a chassis number - 4236620 - which is not formatted in any similarity with those of other examples and is likely not a reading in error of the engine number.  (This value on a Vallelunga OE block would be 10 position, (8 digits/2 characters), I believe).  I subsequently discovered that Ruote Vecchie had in reporting on the sale, attributed the chassis number #0115 to this car.  However . . . that chassis number appeared again, in October 2017, associated to a red “‘67” Vallelunga, (registered TON41126), on offer by Bonhams at Padova.  I have been unable to contact the author of Ruote Vecchie, so I do not know the basis of their attribution of #0115 to the Artcurial-sold vehicle.  Meanwhile, the latter is shown below, left, with the Bonhams-offered car to the right.    

Left, “#4236620” Courtesy Artcurial; right, #0115 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Lou Costabile shot a YouTube video of John Weinberger’s Vallelunga, #0134, in ’17.  He reported that John had owned the car long term in company with several other rare vehicles.  John died in 2020 after a long career in automotive retailing and motorsport.  Latterly he had been President and CEO of Illinois-located Continental Motors Group for over half a century.  As seen below, his Vallelunga was fitted with a VIN plate to confirm compliance with required U.S. import technical regulations.  Scott Martin‘s Vallelunga Registry records this as having been owned by Ricci (son of Dean) Martin, Dick Carr and Tom Matano.

#0134 Courtesy John Weinberger/Lou Costabile

€168,560 was the winning bid for #0106 when it was offered at a Belgian Bonham’s sale in June 2024.  The lot description highlights the sporting upgrades featuring on this Vallelunga, including extended wheel arches/wider wheels and an ex-F3 engine with induction by big (48 mm) Webers and a supercharger. Views into the engine bay and of the cockpit are seen below:

#0106 Courtesy Bonhams Cars

Though apparently to standard specification, #0128 was raced in the Sixties by its original owner.  Subsequently it was imported to the U.S. and from’10-’18 it was subject to a full restoration project.  The car featured in Gooding & Company’s Pebble Beach auction in ’18.  It was offered with an estimate of at $400,000-$475,000 but did not sell.

#0128 Courtesy Gooding & Company

Badges: 

A rectangular De Tomaso marque badge is mounted centrally on the upper surface of the front panel:

On the rear panel, centrally pinned on the horizontal plane, are two script badges, ‘VALLELUNGA,’ and, usually above, ‘de tomaso.’  On at least two extant cars, the ‘VALLELUNGA’ script is missing, and, on #0101, the relative positions of the two badges is inverted.

A Ghia ‘BUILT BY’ marque flank badge is applied to both front wings between the trailing edge of the front wheel arch and the leading edge of the front door.  (These are not extant on all surviving cars).

The marque badge features again on the wheel centre caps.

#0101 is fitted with a leather bound Ferrero sports wheel.  Ferrero was a noted supplier to De Tomaso and is possibly also the manufacturer of this wood rimmed example, style and spokes detail very much as typical for the era.  For more on Ferraro see here.  Though an aftermarket fitment, a Momo 'Jackie Stewart' seems a very appropriate wheel for a Vallelunga.  The rotation by 90° of the stripes on the horn button is also seen on some other versions of this component.

Literature:

Brochures:

Lower image is of a '65 edition

The consensus is that by the end of production, a total of 45-60 Vallelungas had been built.  It may be that most of this number were made as a batch, mainly in ’65, though not all sales were completed until ’68.  If, as seems confirmed, #0101 was the first Ghia-built chassis number, and #0146 the last known, 45 would be the built count.  The most likely breakdown was: Aluminium prototypes, (including Spyder): 4; Ghia production, (including Competiziones):45.

As a ‘first attempt’ the Vallelunga had established De Tomaso as a maker of road cars and facilitated a great deal of learning about the management of series production.  It thus was a positive factor in the company’s next development phase involving the creation of a considerably more complex model, the Mangusta.  With a Ford 4.7 litre V8 engine and imposing coachwork by Giorgio Giugiaro, it was well received on its launch in ’67 and was in production until ’71, with 400 units sold.  In turn, the Mangusta was followed by the Pantera – a car that gave De Tomaso a serious presence in the American market and was in production for over 20 years.  Over 7,000 had been built by ’92, so De Tomaso’s progress in terms of manufacturing volume was impressive. But, more importantly from my viewpoint, all three models were charismatic beauties!

The Elixir Drinking Honda

Here's my list of three of the best things to have come to us courtesy of the Japanese automotive manufacturing industry: Honda Formula One and Indycar engines, the Mazda paint colour, Soul Red, and the Honda CRX. 

In the late 90s, when my wife’s Scirocco suffered an existential crisis, she showed me an ad for a model of car I’d not previously much noticed.  As we looked around it, I found myself thinking it was quite a neat little car with understated styling, and, though it was around ten years old, it was in rather nice condition.  All quite cosy and unremarkable, until . . . we got in it and went for a test drive.  I immediately felt at one with it, very much in the same way I’d liked so much about a couple of Alfasud Sprint Veloces I’d run a decade and an half previously.  They were cars that seemed to fit just like a glove, giving a feeling of a seamless connection with the steering wheel and pedals and making the driving of them an especially pleasurable physical experience.  But the CRX felt even better - quicker, with an apparently rock solid chassis, and considerably more power.  You’ll not be surprised to learn that it came back home with us that same afternoon. 

The relationship between mother and son is often said to be especially loving and empathetic; cue a big question mark in this instance – my eldest boy had engineered a swop within a couple of weeks whereby my sweet natured missus had become the usual driver of his Nova ‘Swing,’ whilst he was now out and about, terrorising the locals, as he hustled the CRX around the neighbourhood streets. 

I should have disapproved, but I was rather more inclined to envy him.  Especially for the combination of excellent handling and generous grunt he now had at his disposal.  To my mind this little Japanese skunk works product was everything the Alfa Sprint should have evolved into.  Apart from having appropriate performance capability – notably, a 29% bhp advantage – the CRX remained a ‘cleanly’ styled car while the Alfa, undergoing facelifts, became more cluttered with bits of plastic cladding, a spoiler and trim complications, such that Giugiaro’s original vision had become disfigured.  Ironically, it has been said that the CRX’s overall form was based on the Alfa Junior Z, a car owned by one of the Honda design team.

Left: In its original guise as the Alfasud Sprint.  Right: By the late Eighties, as the less ‘pure’ Alfa Sprint 1.7 Green Cloverleaf

The Sprint has often been cited as one of Giorgetto Giugiaro’s best middle-period designs.  It was launched in 1976, featuring the Alfasud’s chassis, engine options, (initially 1.2, then 1.35/1.5, and, eventually 1.7), and mechanicals.  Later in the production run the more mundane 33 platform was adopted, and the last cars were a little less felicitous to drive with fuel injection on the 1.7 engine replacing the Weber or Dellorto carburettors which had conferred excellent throttle response - a key Sprint characteristic.  As with the 105 bhp final iteration of the Alfasud 1.5 Ti, misplaced customer complaints about ‘torque steer’ also undermined the Sprint’s perceived reputation as a good enthusiast-driver’s car.

Below are three of Giugiaro’s early design studies for the Sprint.  Left: A render of the original 1:1 model in plaster made in 1970.  This has echoes of the Alfetta GT design, especially the rear, which Giugiaro had completed in 1969.  Centre: An interim, evolutionary development, notably without front window quarterlight.  Right:  A render of the metal prototype, (1971).  The further changes leading to the production version were largely dictated by findings from wind tunnel testing in Stuttgart.

The CRX began life as a new variant of the Honda Civic model, (3^rd series) family in 1983.  This version is distinctive in being slightly awkwardly balanced, as the front and cabin lines flow sweetly whilst the rear end appears boxy and clumsy.  Four years later, a 2^nd series CRX was introduced – this being the definitive version, as bought for my wife.  It is easily distinguished from the earlier model by its revised B post angle, C pillar which facilitates a nicely radiused lower corner to the rear side window and a taller, more abruptly truncated, tail.  The series 1 and 2 cars are shown below, left and right, respectively:

Left: Early CRX with its slightly angular tendencies. Right 2^nd series CRX with tall tail and spoiler prominent

In 1992, the 2^nd series CRX was replaced by a targa roof model, CRX del Sol.  Although equipped with the ESI and VTECH engines, this model lacked the character of the earlier versions and has attracted the soubriquet, a hairdresser’s car!  It, and the CRX model name, was discontinued in 1998.  Shown below are some studies for the CRX in its original form and in development towards the series 2 version:

By Q3 2022, there were just 103 Sprints and 98 CRXs still registered/running in the UK.  With the interest currently evident in Historic Racing, and Alfa Romeo’s profile in Motorsport, a Sprint is much more likely to be encountered at racing circuits.  However, this CRX, raced in the Kent Oval Outlaws series, (Lydden Rods class), at Lydden Hill, driven by Michael Burke, certainly looks very striking in its bashful shade of green:

Admittedly, this is a glimpse of motorsport at a modest level, whereas when the Alfasud Sprint was still in production it had featured in Division 1 of the European Touring Car Championship, and for a while it was highly competitive – see here. 

Both cars were readily suitable for racing applications thanks to their notably sophisticated engine architectures.  The Sprint’s Alfasud flat 4 engine was imbued with considerable capacity enlargement protentional and was inherently track-friendly with its configuration enabling a car to have the handling benefits of a low centre of gravity.  The original 1186 cc version was notably oversquare and thus very ready to rev, producing peak power of 63 bhp at 6,000 rpm, and plenty of torque (65 lb-ft at 3,200 rpm).  Eventually, (1990), in 1712 cc/16 valve form, the unit was generating 132 bhp at 6,500 rpm.  So, in the interim, tuners and race teams had no difficulty with achieving relevant class-competitive performance, especially with induction-related modifications and upgrades.  With the 1351 cc capacity, for instance, 125 bhp was easily attainable.  A particularly celebrated racing Sprint is the Team Bigazzi lightweight example, featuring many Autodelta modified parts, seen below:

When offered for sale in November 2022 by Bonhams, catalogue notes referred to the car’s race history as being a championship winner in 1982 and 83.  In the photograph, the car wears the 1983 livery as run in the Trofeo Sprint Europa and driven by Luigi Calamai to the title honours.

Although there was some emphasis in Honda’s marketing on the CRX’s virtues in terms of fuel efficiency, the range-topping VTECH versions were also noted for their high performance attributes.  Deploying multiple camshaft profiles, the system is able to enhance fuel economy when the engine is under light load, but also optimise the charge volume for increased power at higher rpm.  The peak power rating thus enabled made the CRX a natural basis for racing developments.  (Alfa Romeo had been a little ahead of Honda in putting variable valve timing into production – on the 4 cylinder in line Nord (Arese factory) engines, though this technology was absent on the Sud factory flat fours).  So, while the Sprint’s image was well promoted by the Trofeo series, both at National and International level, the CRX featured in its own one-make/model championship in England – an example race, at Snetterton in 1989, is seen in this video.
 
The CRX Challenge had been the subject of a Motor Sport magazine article in August 1988.  This noted that the series had been devised by Honda UK as an initiative seeking to attract interest in the Marque from a younger demographic, the average age of a Honda owner then being 57.  Honda prepared and sold the cars direct to would be competitors at a subsidised price just short of £10,000.  All the cars used the 1.6 16 valve engine, with 130 bhp on tap.  The series winner was Patrick Watts, (a feat he repeated in the 1990 season).  Below is an example Honda CRX Challenge car from the 1989 series:

More about this car – which was driven in-period by Steve Waudby – can be seen here.

The success of the Challenge here in the UK led to similar series being set up elsewhere in Europe and in the U.S.

 

Two characterful cars with true sporting spirit.  Since the cessation of their production – the Sprint in 1989, the CRX (series 2) in 1991 – there has been nothing new quite like them.  For instance, the revival of the Scirocco name by VW in 2008 did not introduce a model with the combination of compact coupe form with good engine performance, relative light weight and excellent handling which characterised the Sprint and the CRX.  They remain emblematic of a very different era, prior to the current global warming-aware manufacturing milieu.