In 19 cars, the exhibition of the National Automobile Museum in Turin takes us into the golden age of road competitions, which we find between the beginning of the 1960s and the end of the 1980s. of vehicles comes from the collection of the late Gino Macaluso, who died in October 2010. Before becoming the owner of the watch manufacturer Girard-Perregaux and president of the Italian Motorsport Federation, this automobile enthusiast had carved out a fine sports record , becoming European rally champion in 1972, the year the discipline earned the epithet “international”.
Frantic battle against the background of escalating to power
Andrea Guermani
His cars, mostly factory models with gold awards, transport us to the thrilling atmosphere of road racing.
They make us relive this pivotal period of the late 1950s when rallies ceased to be regularity events to become pure speed races.
We cross the 1970s on the hats of wheels: the International Sports Commission gives birth to a world championship.
Alpine upsets the order established by Porsche and Lancia.
The catwalks are no longer the preserve of the Scandinavians.
The talented German Walter Röhrl leads a new generation of drivers that the Group B cars will bring to power.
Andrea Guermani
Coming into force on January 1, 1982, this new category gives birth to real racing cars.
A period marked by a frantic battle between Audi, Lancia and Peugeot, against a backdrop of escalation in power.
The best of them exceed 500 horsepower.
Some champions will burn their wings.
At the end of the 1986 season, Group B was banned.
It is this thirty-year adventure that makes us rediscover this splendid exhibition.
National Automobile Museum in Turin. Monday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Tuesday to Sunday and public holidays, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Prices: €15; 5 € (6 to 17 years old) and 12 € (over 65 years old and 18 to 25 years old).
Andrea Guermani