1978 Lancia Beta 1800 on 2040-cars

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Maturo Stradale another sweet Lancia Delta restomod

On the one hand, what we have here is (yet) another vintage World Rally Championship Lancia restomod. On the other hand, we just haven't (yet) got tired of vintage WRC Lancia restomods. This one hails from The Netherlands, quite a bit further north than the Swiss and Italian takes we've seen so far. A company called Maturo Competition Cars in Veghel, which specializes in prepping old Delta Integrales for rallying, decided to work up a Delta HF Integrale 16v in the manner of the Group A cars that won WRC Manufacturer's Championships in 1990 and 1991. The trio of men behind it decided they wanted to stay close to the feel of the original in order to provide a similar driving experience — with more horsepower, naturally — built with far more reliable and luxurious components.  The hatchback now known as the Maturo Stradale starts with a Delta HF Integrale in serviceable condition. The chassis is stripped, then sandblasted. Welders install a full custom roll cage and add spot welds in 250 places, increasing rigidity. These much stronger bones are then primered and repainted for corrosion resistance.   While all that's being done, the 2.0-liter four-cylinder goes in for an even greater overhaul. The Group A Lancias made about 200 horsepower. Upgrades bolt on a larger carbon airbox, rebuilt Garrett turbo, larger intercooler, upgraded injectors and fuel system, new wiring harness and reprogrammed motorsports ECU. New internals include forged rods and pistons, and lighter valves. There's a thicker timing belt, and the balance shafts are gone. Peak boost climbs from 1.2 bar to 1.8 bar, upping peak power to about 355 hp. The company says the engine "Will deliver a completely reliable 380 hp or more and more than 550 Nm [405 lb-ft] of torque.” The original five-speed gearbox is rebuilt with stronger gears, and can be further revised with straight-cut gears in a dogleg pattern for power shifting. The original Deltas went without a locking front diff, making do with a Ferguson viscous center diff and a Torsen rear differential. Maturo puts in a new viscous center differential and mechanical locking diffs on both axles, meshed with driveshafts formed from an alloy created for Formula 1 cars that can endure angles of up to 40 degrees without deformation.  The four-way adjustable suspension derives from the firm's rally-spec cars, and can be enhanced with a hydraulic ride height control system.

Stellantis and LG launch joint venture for North American battery plant

Stellantis has struck a preliminary deal with battery maker LG Energy Solution (LGES) to produce battery cells and modules for North America, as the world's No. 4 automaker rolls out its 30 billion euro ($35 billion) electrification plan. Global automakers are investing billions of euros to accelerate a transition to low-emission mobility and prepare for a progressive phase-out of internal combustion engines. Stellantis and LGES's joint venture will produce battery cells and modules at a new facility with an annual capacity of 40 gigawatt hours (GWh), the two firms said on Monday. No financial details of the deal were provided. The plant is scheduled to start production by the first quarter of 2024, with groundbreaking expected in the second quarter of 2022, the companies said in their statement. Its location is under review and will be announced later. Stellantis, formed in January from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA, has said it wants to secure more than 130 GWh of global battery capacity by 2025 and more than 260 GWh by 2030. The batteries produced under the deal will supply Stellantis' U.S., Canadian and Mexican assembly plants for installation in hybrid and fully electric vehicles, supporting its goal of e-vehicles making up more than 40% of its U.S. sales by 2030. The company, whose brands include Peugeot, Fiat, Opel and U.S. best-sellers Jeep and Ram, earlier this year announced it would invest more than 30 billion euros through 2025 on electrifying its vehicle lineup. Stellantis has said it would build three battery plants in Europe and two in North America, including at least one in the United States. Intesa Sanpaolo analyst Monica Bosio said the deal was positive, and a further step ahead in Stellantis' electrification process. It comes weeks after Stellantis and its partner TotalEnergies agreed to open up their battery cell joint venture ACC to Daimler, to expand their European sourcing of battery cells. Stellantis is also targeting more than 70% of sales in Europe to be of low-emission vehicles by 2030, and aims to make the total cost of owning an EV equal to that of a gasoline-powered model by 2026. Related video: Green Plants/Manufacturing Alfa Romeo Chrysler Dodge Ferrari Fiat Jeep Maserati RAM Citroen Lancia Opel Peugeot Vauxhall Electric Hybrid EV batteries LG

Bonhams auction at Quail Lodge led by 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Competizione

It doesn't take too much knowledge of the classic car market to figure out that, when it comes to values, Ferrari leads the pack. Bonhams 2015 Quail Lodge Auction did absolutely nothing to buck that trend with four of the five top sellers bearing the Prancing Horse. While none came near the auction house's sale of a 1962 Ferrari 250 GTO for $38.115 million last year, there were still beauties in the bunch. The leader among these thoroughbreds was a 1959 Ferrari 250 GT Competizione Alloy Berlinetta (pictured above) that went for $8.525 million, including the buyer's premium. It was one of just seven vehicles made to this specification and raced extensively when new, scoring a win in competition at Watkins Glen. A classic 1971 Ferrari 365 GTS/4 Daytona Spider brought $2.64 million, and a somewhat more modern 1985 288 GTO had the hammer drop at $2.365 million. The final Prancing Horse in the top five was a 1951 212 Inter Cabriolet with a body by Vignale for $2.2 million. It scored second-in-class at the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Overturning the Ferrari trend, a 1955 Lancia Aurelia B24S Spider America rounded out the top five with a sale price of $1,952,500. While these are the most expensive vehicles to cross the block, you can check Bonhams' website for the results on all 111 lots. It's a wonderful array of largely European sports cars that are all in top shape.