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A visit to the Bologna Motor Show last week was full of the usual motoring delights but for me one aspect stood out from the rest. There was a very strong rally presence, hardly surprising given the heritage of Lancia and FIAT over the years.<\/p>\n

Of course being easily distracted by a shiny bauble I was fascinated by the Lancia ECV, a prototype developed for the Group S rules, that were supposed to replace the madness of Group B.<\/p>\n

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After the deaths of Henri Toivonen and Sergio Cresta in the 1986 Corsican Rally both Group B and Group S regulations were abandoned, so this spectacular machine never saw competition.<\/p>\n

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Other Lancia favourites were also on hand, I mean who can resist the Stratos, painted up in Alitalia livery?<\/p>\n

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And it would be rude not to have another Martini………….<\/p>\n

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Actually let’s turn it into a three Martini lunch, proper Mad Men<\/em> style<\/p>\n

Later in the week the Rally cars would have their time out on the tracks but I had to make do with the static display………….worth the journey to Italy by itself. I’ll have a look round the rest of the Show in the next day or so. Avanti!<\/p>\n

John Brooks, December 2011<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\t\t