Mom look! I made a Transformer out of aluminum foil, sort of... Filandi Ever.S at the Modena Antiquaria, Unica and EYTT fair

Second acts are generally a tricky call. You're always wondering if you should push things further or try new paths, if more of the same is the right thing to do or if a fresh new start is required. It usually leads to not so great movie sequels, but it's a bit of a different story with cars. That's probably because the relationship with customers is a bit stronger, developed over years of possession of a car from the customer, or over years of chit chat with the proud owner of an exotic on the side of the automaker.

But what if you don't have customers at all? On one hand that should allow you to do basically whatever you want whenever you want, without following any market requirement, or satisfaction surveys. Pure personal inspiration. Things can go wrong nonetheless as you are back at square one with the kind of questions we mentioned above. While it's true that with no customers there would be no one really entitles to any sort of critic, but then again, the car risks to be completely pointless too.

It's definitely not pointless if there is a customer, and it's yourself. When Moreno Filandi from Fontanelice (Bologna, Italy) decided it was time to move on and start a new project, it was probably his own passion to drive him. Given this is once again a design not meant to please the crowds, it shouldn't surprise at all seeing how radical the design is shaping up.
While the first time I saw the Uragano, back in 2007 probably, I thought it was a bit sketchy and far from finished (which indeed it was) but with some potential, my first reaction to the new Filandi Ever.S was something along the lines of this:

Doge never gets old.

Seriously though, this car is indeed very large, very raw, rude probably, and so aggressive, it's hard to wrap your head around it at first. Speaking of heads, this was my second thought about the Ever.S:

 So if this is Megatron leading the Decepticons, I guess the Pagani Huayra P1 from a few posts ago must be the Autobots chosen fighter for this chapter. The two cars were parked side by side at the recent 2014 Modena Antiquaria, Unica and EYFFT fair, but the Ever.S really looks like Megatron and its whole design is so edgy you'd consider it "modern", but it's definitely massive as the cars from the 20s and 30s, while using a barchetta bodywork typical of the 50s and 60s. It really is a mashup of ideas and lines, and even if the geometrical composition seems to have an arrangement, it doesn't seem to be so simple, even if a bit too blunt and derivative according to some, yet functional as with the Uragano from a few years ago.

In 2013 the car was far from completed, especially the interior which was still partially stock. This car isn't completely built from scratch as the Uragano, as it's based on a Mercedes-Benz SL 500 R129, a classic with tis 5 liters V8 developing 306 bhp. The chassis has been obviously modified removing the windshield frame, but most of the rest is stock, engine, transmission, suspensions, etc.
The bodywork is of course handshaped in aluminum, without the aid of any sort of computer or computerized mechanism. Once again, this one-ff isn't a repeatable one, no project, no blueprints, every part is shaped and sculpted on the go.

When I've seen the car the first time in February 2013 it didn't have the two small windshields and the rear view mirrors, but other than that, in this year of work the car has been mainly finished. The bodywork needed a lot of care, filler needed to be added were the welding weakened the aluminum foils and other details were still to be fixed. Mr Filandi was running a survey though, asking visitors if the car should have been finished in brushed aluminum or painted. I suppose the answer would be obvious for any given car, but it doesn't hurt to say that people were leaning towards to clear coated aluminum finish.
Indeed a year later the bodywork is in much better shape, and the raw material has not been covered with paint. Wise choice.

Something I would recommend though is a set of larger wheels. I'm not a fan of huge wheels in general, but the massive look of the car and the large wheel arches really need to be filled somehow.

Bonus shot, you can really tell Mr Filandi isn't exactly your average PR guy.

So be it I say, because like it or not I think the automotive world is a better place with an awkward looking pointless massive handbuilt machine versus just another derivative and way too rational mobility device, something wrongly referred to as a "car".


Apologies for the third reference to a Michael Bay movie in a few posts, won't happen again.


All Pictures and Words Copyright: Damiano Garro for The Italian Junkyard
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... with my bare hands: Filandi Uragano

There used to be a time when we were much more ingenuous about the world and ourselves, more inclined to put ourselves at risk for the sake of curiosity and discover. It probably felt like we were free to roam the world while at the same time enjoying the latest and best in technology, with more news traveling around the world as never before and that probably let more and more people to feel the need to leave their mark in some way.

That's a way too see the almost itch-like resurgence in activities of all sort that took place in Europe after World War II and elsewhere too. While many ended up creating their own companies setting the market on fire, others were more satisfied filling their everyday life whit something perhaps less ground breaking or necessary, but much more personal. Backyard projects were all over the place.
We've probably lost this in the last 10 or more years, I feel like people are quite satisfied with what the market provides as it surely got better and better, but also because it's much simpler to just pick something rather than "making" something. Mark Wahlber would say "Don't be a don't-er, be a do-er". Well, he kind of crossed the line, but you get the itch-like feeling of really needing to do something with your time, right?

While this could be the introduction prologue to many companies established between the 60s and the 80s and probably even later, if you consider software companies real companies in the same old fashioned way of course, the man I'm going to introduce is one who could be considered as one in dire need of a backyard project, a man who didn't embrace what came next, full size companies, computers, mass production and all of that.

Enter Moreno Filandi.
You'd be forgiven to mix him with Santa Claus bringing you a bright yellow hand made exotic, indeed when we took the time for a long conversation this man showed the same placid and quite temper it would take to deliver gifts and presents to little kids all over the world, or build a car from scratch with nothing other than his bare hands and tons of aluminum and steel chunks. I could do the latter, definitely not the first.

While Italian readers may already know the low metallic beast in front of their eyes, I guess people from the rest of the world may be clueless in front of this car. This is the Filandi Uragano, a car that took more than 5 years to be completed, between March 2004 and November 2009.

The proud work of his creator, it was sculpted rather than built, with no aid from a computer or any other modern techniques. You could well say this is a one-off, a unique car, as there are no blueprints and even if you could convince Mr Filandi to build a second car, it couldn't be like this one.
The power comes from an Audi-sourced V8 turbocharged for good measure, but the chassis is custom made in chrome-molybdenum steel. The bodywork is all aluminum. as most of the car too. Eventually, it tips the scale at 1.160 kg, and with 605 bhp and 552 Nm of torque providing motivation, it must be a hell of  ride.

 

Now I've read many times hard comments about its look, and I'll admit that it isn't for the faint of heart, it doesn't flow like a Pininfarina design or it doesn't strike as something modern yet cohesive as something from Mercedes-Benz, McLaren or any other Nordic company. At the same time, it's not supposed to be, as it was built by his creator for his own appetite for something unique and personal, very personal. We found out that Mr Filandi takes great pleasure in creating and forging just about everything out of aluminum, from cars to furnitures and design elements, be he doesn't look so interested in selling them. What he seems to care about is a spark in the visitors and bystanders wishing to do something as personal as he did. There is no price tag on this car, no bragged abilities about its construction and he isn't even really advertising his body shop Carrozzeria Moderna in Fontanelice, between Imola and Bologna (where else?!). Just ask him about his car, why he built it and what it takes to do something like this, and words will start to flow. He is a man of passion and he's just looking forward to share it. No elitist attitude, just a nice chat with an old friend at the bar.

There is a nice anecdote about this: in September 2010 he was invited at a new uber-elitist car fair organized by MAC Group, which is also behind the Mille Miglia historical recreation. Called "Uniques, special ones", the fair was about extremely low production cars and one-offs, both from the good old days and from the present, so you could expect anything from Alfa Romeo from the 30s, Ferraris from the 60s and 70s, and whatever Bertone, Zagato, Pininfarina and other coachbuilders came up with in all their years, plus some modern exotics. Held in the luxurious Four Seasons hotel in Florence (Tuscany, Italy of course) the public itself had to be invited, so I guess they had to come up with something like VVVIP for the most aristocratic ones. Eventually, the Filandi Uragano won the "People's Choice Award".

While Mr Filandi was all over himself and proud of his 5000 hours of hard work, the organizers were probably less than pleased, as they eventually reached Mr Filandi and let him know the prize was being retired without giving much of an explanation. Of course now he didn't look like Santa at all.
I felt like the MAC Group was indeed pushing hard on the elitist thing before, simply considering the way the Mille Miglia was run (organization wise) and even the simple process of media accreditation was getting like a showing off contest. So I could really understand his frustration, but also figured that was really not the place for him, unfortunately. Now the Uniques fair has moved to Moscow, so problem solved.

At this point I wondered what he was looking for at the various fairs I met him. While kids and youngsters are captured by the bright yellow and blue finish and the aggressive shark-like vents in the body, adults, deep-pocket white collars and wannabes in general didn't waste much time to check the car or the man. Truth be told, they were the same kind of people overlooking the equally eye-catching Spada Vettur Sport CodaTronca parked next to the Uragano once, another bold and peculiar creation. I reckon not everyone is into cars and even less into un-mainstream cars, then again, if you're at a car fair...

These pictures come from two separate occasions: the Luxury&Yachts 2010 fair in Vicenza, Italy, and the 2013 Modena Antiquaria fair in Modena, Italy.

He has now moved on to a second project, named Filandi Ever.S, which will be featured here soon. Watch this space for more.

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2014 Modena Antiquaria and Unica fair, Pagani Huayra P1, Transformers 4 edition

From time to time, you may happen to see an extraordinary car on the road, something you’d have never considered seeing. When I was a kid, it only took a Lamborghini Diablo to make my day, or rather the whole week.

It’s a bit different now, and that’s mostly because the Internet took over the world with all its pictures, videos, reviews, live feeds and whatnot. A Lamborghini Murcielago is all of a sudden a much more common car, and not simply because it has been produced in greater numbers than the Diablo, but because we are more used to it than we were to the Diablo back in the days.
While this is definitely great news for those who like me can’t never get enough of these masterpieces, I reckon the kid in me misses a little of that magic feel when such cars were briefly spotted on the road on your way to the grocery shop. Don’t worry though, there are still cars that can make you jump around like a little kid no matter what.

Beware the almighty Huayra!

First and foremost thanks to Miss Pramazzoni for inviting us to the event, and thanks to Miss Giulia for the nice talk and walk around the car. As usual with Pagani’s people, you always feel welcomed.

Definitely not the first time you have seen the Huayra, but isn’t it a beauty every time? The craftsmanship is topnotch, the now proverbial Pagani maniacal attention to detail is ubiquitous, the bodywork design is simply exciting, and the sight is a simply knee-jerking experience. Add to that a candy red finish with exposed carbon fiber and a quite stylish silver stripe, and we got a winner here.

If cars were like movies and a subtitle was required I can’t think of a better one than “I’m thy God”.

Movies… what about them? It appears this car will be featured in a top movie very soon. Giulia was lip tight about the title of the movie because of the ongoing deal with the production house and Pagani, but it wouldn’t take much to find out tons of pictures with this very car on the upcoming Transformers 4 movie sets. She didn’t say it, so dear Michael Bay don’t be mad at Pagani! The secret was already out there anyway.
I’ve never been much of a Transformer movies fan (but I have a soft spot for the original animated series), but for once I’m going to be interested on how the Huayra presence in a major picture is going to turn out.

It’s not by chance though that this is happening right now. The Huayra is Pagani’s way into the North American market and a movie might be the best way not to collect more orders probably, but rather to have the car a bit more known in other countries, the US more importantly. Despite a now 15 years history and the astonishing Zonda already in the books, there is still an awful lot of people not knowing what the Zonda and the Huayra are, who Pagani is and where they come from. Even in Modena people sometimes wonder what model of Ferrari this might be… I say madness!

Back to more practical things, it took 2 years to get the Huayra certified for the US, bureaucracy, crash tests and fine tuning for the emissions took an heavy toll on the company, technically and financially, but now California and Florida shores are in sight. Additional side markers, “smart” driver and passenger airbags and even larger rear view mirrors are just among the various bits that were required to have the Huayra certified for the US, but even if the American life of the Huayra is just beginning, it was well worth bothering.

This car though doesn’t belong to any Hollywood personality or NBA player. It’s a factory car which is now back in Italy after its filming duties are over. I couldn’t help but notice that it doesn’t carry a regular VIN though, as this car is based on the very first Pagani Huayra prototype, or VIN ZA9C900P1 if you are into that, although it has obviously been thoroughly restored and rebuilt according to the latest specifications of the production Huayra.

Add to that at least two bespoke details I could spot, which so far haven’t been seen on any customer car yet. The easier to notice is the side profile on the optional front spoiler, which adds a lot of aggressiveness as little as it might be. It may also have an influence on the aerodynamics of the car but it’s hard to say without any hard data. The second seems an even more functional element, and it is this small winglet right after the front wheel, probably installed to reduce the amount of debris hitting the gorgeous bodywork of the Huayra.

Obligatory mirror shot, as per the Pagani rulebook.

As an occasional lady passing by said, “it really looks like a leaf”. Well, it’s supposed to look like a woman’s eye, but you’ll be forgiven.


Bonus pictures from the lady's mobile phone:

Working!

All Pictures Copyright: Damiano Garro for The Italian Junkyard
This article can be linked to from other websites but its content and the pictures can't be reproduced on any other website without my written permission. Want to know more?