The Unusual Iveco Massif 4×4: A Giugiaro-Designed Defender Rival

The Iveco Massif is a modern four-wheel drive that was built in Spain by Santana for Italian company Iveco which is owned by Fiat. Fewer than 10,000 were made between 2007 and 2011, and they were almost all sold in continental Europe.

If you see some familial similarity between the Iveco Massif and the Land Rover Defender you’re not wrong, the Massif is largely based on the running gear of the Santana PS-10, which is a direct descendant of the Series Land Rovers that had been built under license in Spain.

Fast Facts – The Iveco Massif

• Iveco was founded in 1975 when five automakers from three European countries merged: FIAT Veicoli Industriali (Italy), OM (Italy), Lancia Veicoli Speciali (Italy), Unic (France), and Magirus-Deutz (Germany).
• The Iveco Massif was designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro to be a competitor for both the Land Rover Defender and the commercial (and military) version of the Mercedes-Benz G-Wagen.
• The Massif uses body-on-chassis construction and it’s fitted with front and rear live axles on parabolic leaf springs, a 3.0 liter turbodiesel inline-4 engine, and a 6-speed manual transmission.
• Short wheelbase and long wheelbase versions were sold and the Massif proved popular with both commercial and military customers.

Santana, Land Rover, And The Massif

Santana is a rock band formed in 1966 by Mexican-American guitarist and songwriter Carlos Santana, it’s also the name of a Spanish automaker based in the province of Jaén, and it’s this second use of the name we’ll be focussing on today.

Santana started out as Metalúrgica de Santa Ana, S.A in 1956 building agricultural machinery but in 1961 they branched out into building Land Rovers under license from complete knock-down kits (CKD) from England.

The Massif has clear design links to both the Defender and the Santana PS-10, vehicles with which it shares much of its DNA.

These Santana Land Rovers proved huge popular in Spain and elsewhere in Europe, the company made additional revenue selling them in South America, North Africa, and the Middle East. In the 1980s they formed an alliance with Suzuki to build a number of the Japanese automaker’s four-wheel drive models in Spain including the Samurai, Vitara, and Jimny.

In the late 1990s and early 2000s the company developed the Santana PS-10, a direct competitor to the Land Rover Defender that used upgraded mechanical components from the older Series Land Rover vehicles.

It would be the PS-10 that caught the eye of Iveco, who were looking for a similar four-wheel drive vehicle to add to their own product range to appeal to commercial, military, and agricultural buyers.

An agreement between the two companies was reached and a modified version of the PS-10 was designed by famed automotive designer Giorgetto Giugiaro and the team at the Iveco Style Centre.

The Iveco Massif – History + Specifications

The Iveco Massif was developed relatively rapidly as it used the pre-existing running gear of the Santana PS-10 with its ladder frame chassis, parabolic leaf springs, axles, gearbox, transfer case, brakes, and more.

With power steering, electric windows, air conditioning, and a modern stereo, this Massif was well-appointed when it was ordered new.

The body of the Massif was specifically designed for commercial and military use, so it was kept as simple and functional as possible, easy to fix, and inexpensive.

The rear door is just over one meter wide so that it can accommodate a standard Euro pallet, and it’s powered by the same 3.0 liter diesel engine used in the Iveco Daily van. This engine was offered in two specification levels, one with 148 bhp and 258 lb ft of torque and the other with 174 bhp and 295 lb ft of torque thanks to an upgraded variable geometry turbocharger.

Power is sent back into a 6-speed ZF 6S400 overdrive manual gearbox and it has both high and low ranges. Unlike the permanent four-wheel drive used on the Defender, the Massif instead uses selectable two or four-wheel drive. The theory being that just using rear wheel drive would be suitable for most tasks, and it would save approximately 10% on fuel costs.

Disc brakes were fitted to all four corners, manual-locking free-wheeling hubs were used up front, and there was the option to have a limited slip differential fitted at the rear.

Ultimately the design of the Iveco Massif was perfect for its intended purpose and they initially sold well with 6,692 units finding buyers in 2007, the first year the model was offered for sale.

Popularity of the Massif would drop off after this with new vehicle buyers and when Fiat started buying heavily into bankrupt American automaker Chrysler in 2009 they gained access to the full line of Jeep vehicles.

This vehicle is fitted with the HPT version of the 3.0 liter diesel engine with 174 bhp and 295 lb ft of torque thanks to its variable geometry turbocharger.

By 2011 it was clear that it would be more cost effective to use Jeeps for the same purpose as the Massif and so production ended. The Massif is now a bit of an anomaly, they remain popular in 4×4 circles in Europe  and largely unheard of elsewhere, and thanks to their shared platform and drivetrain it’s easy for owners to source spare parts when needed.

The Iveco Massif Shown Here

The Massif you see here is a 2009 model fitted with the desirable “HPT” engine fitted with the variable geometry turbocharger giving it almost 300 lb ft of torque.

It’s riding on BFGoodrich All-Terrain tires on steel wheels and it’s been fitted with an AVM differential lock for off-road use. Inside you’ll find Recaro Sportster CS seats, a Momo Competition steering wheel, and a new stereo with Apple CarPlay compatibility.

The factory specification for the car includes electric windows, air conditioning, and a 180W power outlet on the dashboard, and it has received full anti-corrosion underbody protection.

It’s now for sale through Collecting Cars out of Germany, if you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

The post The Unusual Iveco Massif 4×4: A Giugiaro-Designed Defender Rival appeared first on Silodrome.

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A Vintage Schedoni Luggage Set For The Ferrari Testarossa

This is a complete set of Schedoni luggage for the Ferrari Testarossa, one of the great supercars of the 1980s and a popular photographic subject of teenage bedroom wall posters.

It’s common for high-end luxury cars and supercars to be offered with an optional luggage set that has been designed to fit together almost like Tetris blocks, to perfectly fill the oftentimes limited trunk space.

The Ferrari Testarossa was first officially shown to the public at the 1984 Paris Auto Show as the replacement for the outgoing Ferrari Berlinetta Boxer model. The Testarossa is powered by the Tipo F113 flat-12 engine with a displacement of 4.9 liters, double overhead cams per bank, four valves per cylinder, and 385 bhp.

The 180+ mph performance of the car ensured that it would become a legend in its own lifetime, but it was the Pininfarina design of the car, with its large side strakes, pop-up headlights, and slatted rear grill that endeared it to a generation of teenagers (and adults) in the 1980s.

This holdall is designed to fit neatly between the seats inside the Testarossa, the rest of the bags can be arranged together to perfectly fill the front trunk – maximizing space.

The full luggage set of six Schedoni pieces here includes: one holdall, two suitcases, one briefcase, and two smaller vanity cases. The long holdall is designed to fit neatly between the seats, and the rest of the items can be arranged together to fill the trunk up front.

Each of these cases is made from tan leather with a beige lining, they have brass latches and base studs, and they’re embossed with both “Testarossa” and “Schedoni” logos.

If you happen to need a set of Schedoni cases for your Testarossa you’re in luck, this one is currently for sale on Collecting Cars out of England. If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

The Ferrari Testarossa was designed at Pininfarina by a team including Ian Cameron, Guido Campoli, Emanuele Nicosia, Diego Ottina, led by Leonardo Fioravanti.

Images courtesy of Collecting Cars

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jacdurac:Sunday Driver: The Peerless 1955 Imperial Newport“The Finest Car America Has Yet...
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(via 1990 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 Coupe | Hyman Ltd.)

(via 1990 Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1 Coupe | Hyman Ltd.)

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(via 1957 Bill Frick Special GT Coupe | Hyman Ltd.)

(via 1957 Bill Frick Special GT Coupe | Hyman Ltd.)

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1 Of 2 Ever Made: The 1966 Jaguar FT Coupé

This is one of just two examples of the 1966 Jaguar FT Coupé that were ever made, the cars were the brainchild of Ferruccio Tarchini, the primary Jaguar importer for Northern Italy in the 1960s.

Tarchini’s plan had been to develop a four-seat Jaguar coupe with more modern styling, built by his fellow Italians over at Bertone. Ultimately just the first car and the car you see here were built.

Fast Facts – The Jaguar FT Coupé

• Before the modern days of unibody cars most vehicles were built using body-on-chassis architecture. This allowed new bodies to be made and fitted to pre-existing chassis.
• An entire industry of coachbuilders existed to build special bodies for automakers and their clients, one of the most prominent was Bertone of Italy.
• In the mid-1960s Bertone was approached by Italian Jaguar importer Ferruccio Tarchini who commissioned them to build a custom five-seat coupé body on the Jaguar S-Type saloon car chassis.
• Two cars would be built in total, one on an S-Type chassis and one on a 420 chassis, both with vastly more modern styling than the Jaguars of the period.

Gandini + Bertone

When Ferruccio Tarchini had commissioned Carrozzeria Bertone to build a modern (by the standards of the time) Jaguar the design work fell to a young Italian man named Marcello Gandini, who had been tasked with filling the enormous shoes left by outgoing designer Giorgetto Giugiaro.

The interior of the car is instantly recognizable as a Jaguar, with the notable exception of the missing Jaguar logo on the steering wheel hub – replaced with an “FT” logo.

Although no one knew it at the time, Gandini would go on to become one of the most important Italian designers of the 20th century, rivaling the great Giugiaro himself.

The Tarchini Jaguar was one of Gandini’s first major projects with Bertone and he set to work not just to design a car, but to design an Italian-version of a quintessentially British automobile – a herculean task.

Tarchini’s plan was to offer the Bertone Jaguar for sale as a limited production model to wealthy clientele in Italy and around the world through Jaguar dealerships. Each was planned to be built using CKD (Completely Knocked Down) kits from Jaguar, with the cars built by Bertone in Italy.

Gandini’s design for the Jaguar was bold, a completely new look for the age-old British marque with sharp lines in place of the more traditional long curves. The cars were spacious inside with seating for up to five, adults, ample trunk space, and excellent visibility thanks to the acres of glass used on each of the four sides.

The sharp, clean lines of the car are a major departure from the Jaguars of the period. Although this particular model isn’t well know it’s relatively easy to guess that it came from Bertone.

In the 1960s and 1970s Gandini would become almost a household name thanks to his work designing major automotive icons of the age, like the Lamborghini Miura and the Countach, the De Tomaso Pantera, Fiat X1/9, Lancia Stratos, Alfa Romeo Montreal, Cizeta V16T, and many others.

The Jaguar FT Coupé

The first Jaguar FT Coupé was shown at the 1966 Geneva Motor Show, reception was good enough that another example was ordered, though this would be the end of the line for the little-known British/Italian vehicle.

Both examples used the supplied Jaguar engines, transmissions, and running gear, though one was built on the S-Type chassis and the other on the Jaguar 420 series chassis. From the outside however, the two cars are difficult to tell apart.

Both Jaguar FT Coupés still exist in private collections, and the one you see here is due to be offered for sale through RM Sotheby’s on the 19th of November with a price guide of $95,000 – $115,000 USD.

If you’d like to read more about this unusual Jaguar or register to bid you can click here to visit the listing.

Dirk de Jager ©2021 Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

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