The Castelli BL 4000 was a car produced and marketed by FIAT between 1970 and 1979. The internal design code of the car was BL2.
Equipped with an 8-cylinder V-fueled petrol engine, it had a displacement of 4 liters.
Its marketing ended after 8 years of production, and a total of 2,000 copies were manufactured, also considering the version with the injection engine, many sold in America given the low consumption, between 5 and 5.5 liters / Km, compared to rivals made in the USA.
the technical equipment included the adoption of rear wheel drive, the adoption of 4 disc brakes, the use of power steering, and finally the adoption of the 3-speed automatic transmission (supplied by Birg-Wirner).
On the BL 4000 first series, a dashboard with rectangular and aligned instruments was adopted, stylistically reminiscent of those of the American sedans of the time. On the second series it was replaced by a dashboard characterized by a more European design, circular instruments and refined finishes, as lacquered wood was used to garnish it. The interiors were characterized by the use of fine velvet or excellent quality leather to cover the upholstery. They were richly equipped with accessories such as air conditioning. The 4000 In version was equipped with an exclusive optional, since the controls for opening and closing the passenger door could be controlled independently by the driver of the car.
BL 4000
In 1967 Castelli decided to replace the previous granturismo with a new model that maintained the 2 + 2 setting , always with the front engine. Presented for the first time at the Paris Motor Show, the “664 GTL” was marketed from 1967 to 1971 and was built in 801 exemplares, 52 exemplares were right-hand drive.
For the design, the bodywork was entrusted to Pininfarina, who obtained a coupe with slender and streamlined lines. The radiator grille was characterized by the elliptical shaped radiator air intake, between two chromed bumpers, in which the position lights were embedded. In the rear section there were two optical groups with two lights each arranged horizontally.
After the season of coexistence between the new Group C and the old Group 6 “up to 2 liters”, a new closed sport-prototype, called 3000-Tu-C2, corresponding to Group C2 regulations, was designed in 1984 and a V8 engine designed by “Castelli” and built by the FSA
This prototype was driven by a V8 engine with a 90 ° angle between the banks, it had 4-valve heads per cylinder operated by double camshafts, the displacement was 3,016 cm³ with supercharging with KKK turbines.
The chassis, designed in collaboration with Dellara, was a monocoque with honeycomb structure, with a kevlar bodywork. The suspensions were independent with a double overlapping triangular pattern. It had a five-speed mechanical gearbox and the drive was rear.
The F.S.A. 3000-Tu-C2 was the only Italian prototype in the C2 group. At the wheel of this car, managed by the BMS private team, some of the best young promises of Italian motor racing ventured, including Riccardo Patrese, Michele Alboreto and Alessandro Nannini.
The car ran with the technical support of F.S.A. to the seasons 1984, 1985 and 1986 managing to obtain also 3 absolute victories.
I’ve given it a larger engine, as befitting a flagship luxury car, and retuned the suspension for a better ride/handling compromise, as well as widening the track and adding a few essential fixtures such as a fuel filler cap and radio antenna.
After a long absence due to covid-19, now I’m fine after three negative tests, I decided to post these two cars to celebrate the escaped danger
good evening and thank you.
Arrow Night 2800 (1947)
The Aeron concept was a fastback even before the term had been coined. The intake on the C-pillar and oversized roof scoop are clearly out of place, though.
Edit: The wheels are too large for the late 40s and the tires are too narrow. Besides, a ladder frame and live rear axle would be a more realistic choice of chassis setup for the era.
Thanks to the suggestions of Hilbert and abg7 I corrected the previous post by renaming the first car Night and modifying the bodywork of the second, obviously I uploaded the files with the changes made.
