The Golden Age of Rallies

Exhibition at MAUTO – National Automobile Museum of Turin, Italy

From 27 October 2022 to 2 May 2023

The MAUTO (National Automobile Museum of Turin ) organizes an exceptional exhibition in partnership with the Gino Macaluso Foundation (see below) on the golden age of rallies. It brings together some twenty legendary rally cars from the 1960s to the 1990s, cars that won the most important races in the World Rally Championship, from Monte-Carlo to Safari Rally, via the 1000 Lakes or the Sanremo. A large arch, as at the start of a rally, kicks off the route which, from one curve to another, leads the visitor along a chronology that allows to judge the evolutions.

We will find the Mini Cooper S, Ford Cortina Lotus and Ford Escort RS of the 1960s, the Porche 911, Lancia Fulvia Coupé HF 1.6, Fiat 124 Spider, Alpine Renault A110, Lancia Stratos, Fiat 131 Abarth GR.4 of the 1970s.

During the 1980s and 1990s, cars changed size, with increased power with the arrival of the turbo, then 4WD. Witnesses of this extreme era, the great saga of Lancia – Rally 037, Delta S4, Delta HF Integrale 16v, Delta HF Evoluzione Safari – and their opponents – Audi Quattro, Renault R5 Turbo, Peugeot 205 Turbo 16 or Toyota Celica GT-4 ST165.

We also discover the very rare prototype of the Fiat X1/9 Abarth. Gino Macaluso was the project manager for the Fiat racing team, before racing the Giro d’Italia Automobile alongside Clay Regazzoni. The project was stopped before its series production and homologation in Group 4. Rediscovered years later, this car was the spark behind Gino Macaluso’s collection. An outsider of the exhibition is the Fiat Punto S1600, winner of the Sanremo Rally in 2001, the spearhead of the racing team founded by Gino to participate in the Junior World Rally Championship.

The exhibition is conceived as an immersive experience in the world of rallying, with several cars presented in sets reminiscent of the terrain of their exploits. The visitor will even be in “physical” contact with the elements, platforms, specially designed for the exhibition, simulate the road surfaces on which drivers and cars fought, from the sand of the Sahara to the asphalt through the snow of the Col de Turini.

Thanks to a 180° projection of restored videos of the most emblematic races, visitors will be able to synchronize their heart rate with the roar of mythical engines and let themselves be transported back in time, to an era dominated by mechanics, speed, the challenge of limits, which saw legendary cars and drivers compete against each other. A “Hall of Fame” set up on the occasion of this exhibition pays tribute to the drivers of these years Biasion, Mäkinen, Kankkunen, Mouton, Pinto, Sainz

Gino Macaluso Foundation for the Historic Car

Dedicated to the memory of Gino Macaluso, the Gino Macaluso Foundation for the Historic Car aims to promote the automobile as a cult object, capable of combining technological innovation and humanist culture, artisanal tradition and the beauty of avant-garde design. The Foundation is also a tribute to Turin, birthplace of Gino Macaluso, sportsman and European rally champion in 1972, then architect and designer, entrepreneur and knight of work. Despite having spent most of his career and professional life in Switzerland and around the world, Macaluso was closely linked to Turin, the city of the automobile. The birth of the Foundation in 2018 is a sign of the legacy that Gino Macaluso gives back to the city, through the commitment to young people and new generations who address the passion for cars, motorsport, innovation and automotive design.

The collection of the Gino Macaluso Foundation is among the largest in the world, and unique in its kind by the palmares and originality of the cars. These historic Grand Touring models for rallying and circuit trace the history of design and motorsport from the 1960s to the 1990s.

Practical information

The visit of the exhibition is included in the price of the entrance ticket to the Museum
Guided tour on certain dates, cost in addition to the entrance ticket to the Museum€5.00
Groups will be 25 people maximum
For info and reservation: prenotazioni@museoauto.itSw F 10.00

The photos on this page belong to MAUTO – National Automobile Museum of Turin