Even if their contemporary periods are decades in the past, old cars and trucks don’t stop evolving over time, though not always literally. Whether it be the case that a previously underrated machine develops a following as a “classic” as the decades go by, or just the continuing development of restoration techniques, we are always applying some kind of current context to the vintage machines we love. In the case of Jonathan Ward’s company, ICON 4x4, we’ll let him put it in his words. “I'm a lifetime craftsman and artist, and I've gone through various phases over the years where I'll do deep dives into subjects, and I’ve drawn to transportation design since I was a kid. As I got older, I became disenchanted with contemporary vehicle design, so really as I started to think through what ICON would be, it was to revive and respect both a myriad of traditional art forms within the confines of the design language of whatever vehicle platform I'm choosing and whatever design era, while respectfully integrating the best of modern automotive engineering and convenience.” The philosophy allows Ward and his team of designers and engineers to incorporate not just new technology into ICON’s builds, but new approaches to tried and true modifications. They take inspiration from the original designs and purposes and respectfully weave in some modernity, while also taking into consideration and tweaking the established routes toward restomodding and customizing. The result of the process are a truly unique creation—from Toyota FJs and Land Cruisers to lead sled American land yachts and more—which you can argue is only natural when every project is approached with creativity and open mindedness. More films, articles, and photos: https://www.petrolicious.com Petrolicious Membership: Premium films, Drive Tastefully Quarterly, events & more: https://www.petrolicious.com/membership The best automotive gear and goods: https://www.petrolicious.com/shop Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petrolicious/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petrolicious/ Always Drive Tastefully®

Tuscany has all manner of public roads doing a laudable impressions of a tarmac rally stage, and if you’re going to drive an Italian homologation special around for a day you’d struggle to find a better area to get lost in on purpose. The Fiat-Abarth 131 Rally had some big shoes to fill when the Fiat Group hung its WRC hopes over its widened fiberglass shoulders. Unlike the Stratos which had brought Lancia a trio of constructors’ titles in the mid 1970s, it was decided that the Group’s rallying involvement would be more directly related to its mass-produced road cars; in this case the humble Fiat 131. To get the entry-level car up to the task at hand in the WRC, Fiat got Abarth involved with the preparation for rallying, and had Bertone take care of the restyling and construction of the lightweight bodywork for the 400-car homologation production. The transformation was enough to bring Fiat three WRC contractors’ titles (1977, 1978, and 1980), and drivers’ titles for Markku Alén and Walter Röhrl (in 1978 and 1980, respectively). The road-going version of the factory rally cars was impressive in its own right, with its dramatic styling backed up by the four-corner independent suspension and the Abarth-tuned twin-cam inline-four. In Stradale trim the motor made just shy of 140hp out of its two naturally aspirated liters. Fed by a single Weber carb but packing four valves per cylinder in its aluminum head, the engine isn’t what you’d call powerful outright, but it’s an impressive example of highly strung natural aspiration for a 1970s road car. Though there are some things that could make this 131 even sweeter to steer down these roads—like a limited-slip—it’s impossible not to find some enjoyment from this fascinating familiar yet wild relic from the formative years of world rallying. More films, articles, and photos: https://www.petrolicious.com Petrolicious Membership: Premium films, Drive Tastefully Quarterly, events & more: https://www.petrolicious.com/membership The best automotive gear and goods: https://www.petrolicious.com/shop Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petrolicious/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petrolicious/ Always Drive Tastefully®

Growing up in Berkley in the 1970s, Conrad Stevenson saved enough paychecks from his dishwashing job to buy his first Alfa Romeo. He took his driver’s license test in an Alfa, and long before he became one of the world’s go-to guys for restorations, he also used a Giulietta Spider in lieu of a business card. People would ask Stevenson who was responsible for the tuned and dialed car, and he would be happy to share that it was all his handiwork. Stevenson fell for cars early in life—a year and a half stint as a seven-year-old in Europe with his family proved to have a lasting impact—but he never explicitly planned on making a name for his talents in the world of restorations. It’s easy to sum up the marque’s influence on his life as a snowball that’s been rolling since his childhood and the first GTV that he saw as a young kid riding a Schwinn Stingray around early-‘70s Berkley. Steven’s passion for Alfa Romeos goes beyond the shapes that are so easy for everyone to love, and by the time the cars are returned to their owners, he’ll have had his hands on every bolt and bit. More films, articles, and photos: https://www.petrolicious.com Petrolicious Membership: Premium films, Drive Tastefully Quarterly, events & more: https://www.petrolicious.com/membership The best automotive gear and goods: https://www.petrolicious.com/shop Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petrolicious/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petrolicious/ Always Drive Tastefully®

By the end of the very first official season of the World Rally Championship in 1973, Renault-Alpine emerged victorious, with the extremely light and lithe A110 helping to take the honors back to Dieppe, where the Alpine story can be followed back to the 1950s and the tuning efforts of Jean Rédélé. Rédélé’s ability to coax performance from Renault’s 4CV caught the marque’s attention, and they were quick to support the young Frenchman’s ambitions to build his own car. With powertrains supplied by Renault, Rédélé started the lineage that would eventually include the WRC-winning A110. The early A106s and A108s were competent machines, but the A110 was a revolutionary step for Alpine. By the time the A110 had evolved into the 1600S version, the fiberglass-clad chassis was powered by a rear-mounted aluminum four-cylinder fed by twin Weber 45 carbs, producing nearly 140 horsepower. Not a prodigious amount of ponies to be sure, but considering the cars weighed less than 700kg (~1543lbs), it was enough to make the nimble short-wheelbase car a championship winner. In this week’s film we join our host Sam Hancock as he takes the road-going version of the rally legend out for some exercise on the type of road this car was born for. More films, articles, and photos: https://www.petrolicious.com Petrolicious Membership: Premium films, Drive Tastefully Quarterly, events & more: https://www.petrolicious.com/membership The best automotive gear and goods: https://www.petrolicious.com/shop Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/petrolicious/ Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/petrolicious/ Always Drive Tastefully®