Paolo Martin knows Ferraris. Having worked for several decades as a designer for Pininfarina – the design house of choice for Maranello – he’s styled several Prancing Horse design studies. One of his most iconic designs was the Ferrari Modulo concept, unveiled at the 1970 Geneva Motor Show.

Based on the chassis from a homologated Ferrari 512 S racing car, the Modulo was the absolute cutting edge of space-age design. It was far too radical to ever see production, of course, but its design has endured as one of the most exceptional of its era.

Now, in a rather unique move, Martin has revisited his concept, re-interpreting the theme in a more contemporary design. Theoretically based on a Ferrari Enzo chassis, the “nuovo Modulo” looks as radical now as the original did in its day. The question is, does Pininfarina still have the gusto to build even just the one?

Last sold on these shores in 1982, the Lancia brand has pretty much slipped into obscurity for most Americans, but there was a time when Lancia was on top of the world. From the mid-’70s to the early-’90s, Lancia racked up an impressive tally of international race wins and championships with its doorstop-like Stratos and Montecarlo successor. With the recent Chrysler/Fiat nuptials, the Lancia brand is having a bit of a renaissance, but only as a source of future badge-engineered Chryslers. That’s why it’s so refreshing to come across something like the car we just found on Craigslist: A genuine Lancia LC2 Group C racecar.

In 1983, Lancia introduced the LC2, a closed-cockpit Group C car co-developed with Ferrari. It went up against the legendary Porsche 956, and later the 962, with a big power advantage courtesy of the dual-turbocharged Ferrari V8 in the engine bay. Its 720 horsepower helped the LC2 win a string of pole positions, but the car wasn’t very reliable. It did win a few races for Lancia from 1983-1986, and continued to run in privateer campaigns until the early ’90s, but Lancia eventually dropped out of sportscar racing altogether at the end of 1986 in order to concentrate on rallying. The Lancia Delta went on to be one of the most successful rally cars in history, but the LC2 remained the pinnacle of Lancia’s rise to glory in international sportscar racing.

The LC2 available on Craigslist is chassis number 2 of just 5 ever built. It ran under the works Martini livery from ‘83-’86 scoring a win at the Imola 1000K in 1983 at the hands of Teo Fabi and Hans Heyer. Bob Wollek and Alessandro Nannini piloted 002 to a fastest lap after winning the pole at Le Mans in ‘84. It finished 8th in that 24 hour run, but followed up with a 246-mile-per-hour Mulsanne Straight clocking the following year when it qualified P3 and finished 6th. Chassis number 002 ran in more races than any other LC2 before retiring in 1986. Riccardo Patrese, Michele Alboreto, Mauro Baldi and Lucio Cesario were the other drivers who got seat time in Chassis 002 before it was sold off to a private party in 1988.

Canepa recently put 4,000 hours and $350,000 into a 100-point restoration of the car and is now offering it for sale at $1,250,000. That might seem like a lot of money for a racecar that only scored one win and never really lived up to its promise, but it’s not likely you’ll find another LC2 cheaper anytime soon. For fans of the Lancia marque, the LC2 ranks right up there with the Fulvia HF, 037 Rally and Delta S4 in the pantheon of Lancia racecars.

After impressive FXX Evolution proposed by Edo Competition that we had already presented, it is the turn of GemballaAnother prestigious German tuner has unveiled MIG-U1A true racing machine created on the basis of Enzo Ferrari and proposed only 25 copies that can be customized from a palette of 10 colors. Besides the exterior styling, the interior is seen also addressed a sumptuous red leather and all the multimedia that you can expect in a car of this category.

As far as Alfa Romeos go, the 8C Competizione is as exotic as they come. Still, some are looking for more. Originally, rumors surfaced that Alfa was working on a lightweight GTA version, but while we wait for that to pan out, Alfa tuner par excellence Autodelta is working on tuning the svelte supercar themselves.

Few details are known at this point, but a remapped ECU should squeeze out a modest 17 horsepower boost from the stock 444-hp, 4.7-liter Ferrari-developed V8. Autodelta is also working on fine-tuning the chassis, taking their 8C around some of the finest tracks in Europe to get it just right.

The result is slated to be unveiled at the Pistonheads Performance Car Show in Birmingham later this week, so stay tuned, and follow the jump for the press release in the meantime.

[Source: Autodelta]

Life is tough, we know. You sit for months on a waiting list, drop six figures, order your Ferrari just the way you want it, and then bam! They come out with an even better version. What’s a supercar owner to do? Well in the case of the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and the Handling GTE package unveiled to go with it at the Geneva Motor Show just a few months ago (shown above in yellow for the first time), we’ve got good news as Ferrari has announced the availability of the package as a dealer-installable kit on existing 599s.

The package includes a host of enhancements to the GT’s already superlative capabilities, grouped into four areas: handling, performance, exhaust and aesthetics. Handling includes a suspension lowered by 10mm, magnetorheologically re-calibrated and stiffened by over 15%; beefed up in anti-roll bars, and stickier tires mounted on upgraded modular wheels.

The performance enhancements include new exhaust silencers, upgrades to the transmission software that cut shift times down to 85 milliseconds, as well as new lines of code that summon improved throttle response. The performance kit can only be installed on post-2008 models with the sequential transmission, while pre-2008 or manual-equipped models can get the exhaust kit without the remapped throttle and transmission.

Finally, the aesthetic improvements consist of a new front grille and Prancing Horse emblems front and back in a burnished finish instead of the usual chrome. The only thing which the dealer-installed HGTE kit doesn’t include from the factory-equipped models is the interior trim package. Released first for the British market, the kit costs £19,703 (~$32k USD), or £17,213 (~$28k) without the upgraded transmission and throttle calibrations. Check out the fresh gallery of images below and follow the jump for the full press release and an in-car video of the HGTE-equipped 599 pouring on the heat.

There are a myriad of choices available to the average traveler when four-wheeled transportation is required. But to the discerning car connoisseur, the prospect of being trapped within a Caliber, Impala or other nondescript people mover is as unconscionable as choosing Denny’s over Per Se.

Enter rentexoticcars.net, a website whose sole purpose is to provide the automotive world’s most elite rides, for a price. Surprisingly, the cost of such exotica may be within reach to those of you who can afford the rental fees, insurance and have a sizeable chunk of change available on your credit card to cover the security deposit.

The website allows users to select their destination city and then lists what high end machines are available for rent. The choices span the range from Mini Cooper drop-tops to Hummer H2s to Ferrari 360 Spyders. Whatever the taste, they have the flavor.

The interface is easy to work, provides hours of day dreaming entertainment and, our favorite feature, has an RSS feed of anything dealing with supercars from yours truly, Autoblog.

Enjoy, but make it a point to keep you credit card out of reach, preferably in the next time zone.