Giocattolo Group B - Classic adelaide crash video

[Colin Byrne]

Not sure if this has done the rounds but i only just found it.
The Giocattolo is one of my favorite cars, small, light and powerful and this video shows just how fast they are.  I've seen this car in tassie a few times and it set a blistering pace, very unfortunate end, don't know if it has been fixed yet or not?

[Evan Bottcher]

At least they could get the bottle of bundaberg out of the toolkit and drink it to calm their nerves afterwards...

[Colin Byrne]

you'd need more than the 330ml emergency bottle after that crash

[SimonR]

I saw a yellow one at Eastern Creek a few agos at an open track day, so I presume it is the same car and now all fixed up.

[Colin Byrne]

That's good with only 3 protoypes and 12 production cars  built you can't really afford to be scraping them! I think 1 is missing and 1 was destroyed at eastern creek.  But great work from these guys for actually using the car.  Have always thought building a replica one would be an awesome project.  You can get used  ZF transaxles from the states relatively cheaply I've heard and I reckon a could track down a motor, anyone got any lazy sprints lying around? 

[Ray Pignataro]

I would say Frank would have a sprint lying around but there will be nothing lazy about it

[Evan Bottcher]

I wonder if the moulds are still around?

I'd rather see an Alfa engine in it though.  There's a chap in the UK who's most of the way through building a 6c replica using a 164 engine and gearbox in the rear of a sprint.

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-33-sud-and-sprint/102492-sprint-6c-build-up.html

I'm yet to decide if it's going to be really nice, or belong on http://www.barryboys.co.uk/

[Sheldon McIntosh]

I've got the article somewhere which was written while they were still in the prototype stages.  They were talking of doing two versions, one with the standard 2.5 V6, and one with a twin-turbo V6, and from memory priced at around 60k and 100k respectively (but that could be very wrong).  I'll try and search it out.

Shame, in a way, that they couldn't use the V6 in the end.

[giulia_veloce]

I supplied another shell for this car a few years ago,and its currently being transplanted.

I drove a Giocattolo for a few weeks and was not impressed with it as a road car.
Engine was a V8 Group B engine,480 odd HP, that litterally lifted the front wheels off the Ground on hard acceleration in 1st gear= no steering.
Steering was vauge and not responsive.
Brakes= What brakes.
All it did was lock the front wheels and sort of stop.
Taking the original engine ,radiator etc from the front,didnt help with no weight on the front wheels to stop it.
Big 4 pot Brembos were fitted later.
I drove it again for another week,and was still not impressed with the brakes.
I had full brake bias to the rear,and still was not confident in the brakes.
This is just my opinion.
I dont want to stop anyone building a great Sprint,but more engineering needed to be done to STOP it.
I am sure the brakes let the Eastern Creek disaster occur,but more of that story another time.

Robert

[hammer]

AROCA Qld comp secretary Ken Percival has a pristine version of the "chook lotto" as he calls it. He brings it out for show and shines etc. Hot looking little machine and KP has kept it in to nick.

Cheers,

brent

[Colin Byrne]

I drove a Giocattolo for a few weeks and was not impressed with it as a road car.

Interesting, i've never had the opportunity to drive one so can't really comment.   I just like them as they seem to all the right ingredients.  Small, light, powerful, mid-mounted engine,  double A-Arms all round, half alfa and half Australian (sort of).  On top of the technical aspects they also have that awesome eighty's look that could only be beaten if you where driving a Delorean with a flux capacitor whilst listening to a endless tape of the power of love whilst checking the time on your Casio data bank watch...Rad