REVscene Automotive Forum - Haven't seen a modded car in Italy

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Haven't seen a modded car in Italy

I was expecting a country with that many car manufacturers should have a lot of crazy cars and soup-up cars (like Japan or North America) on the road, but it seems like it's not.

I was on vacation in Italy last month, spent most of the time on the road hoping to see crazy Italian exotics (like Maserati, Ferrari, Lambo), if not maybe hot cars (like Alfa, Fiat 4C) or European cars with tasteful mods, but then I found out that no one there mods their car. From Rome to all the way to the northern cities, I couldn't see a single modded car there. Everyday, Everywhere is just Smart, Fiat500, diesel hatchback and mopeds. Throughout the whole trip I only saw a couple Ferrari FF near Mondena area racing each other and a Porsche 911 being towed in Milano (or lifted?), that's about it. I thought Italian likes car, but maybe just not into modding or driving on the road?

Here are some photos that caught my attention
Classic Fiat 500
http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps8rfhscw0.jpg

I don't know, but this Renault Twizy is everywhere
http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/t...psctyaxelc.jpg

Not sure what's that, but it's everywhere as well, just like a Smart car
http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps2bqrfzfs.jpg

Probably the Smart Car in the 50s
http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/t...pseydbyrt4.jpg

Vespa Mopeds are everywhere, but these are HOT!
http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/t...ps3nivri3r.jpg
http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/t...pslzjf50eu.jpg

These just being parked on the street just like that, they should be gone right away in Vancouver. http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/t...psw8iigiff.jpg

Tow truck are damn quick in Europe and the Porsche is already on the flatbed truck in 2 mins.
http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/t...psw7tuis3r.jpg

According to this Speedhunters article, the Italian government is pretty strict in regards to car modification.

Quote:

What a lot of people don’t understand is how difficult it is for someone to own and tune their car in Italy. Countless times I’ve had people ask me about Italy, and just assume that the streets are laden with all sorts of exotics being driving without much regard for speed limits. Well, while the disregard for speed limits might be somewhat accurate, everything else couldn’t be further from the truth. Italy is a great country to live in, and from a driving perspective has a never-ending selection of epic roads, but the actual car-owning experience is nothing short of torture. Or a joke. Actually both.

You see, thanks to all the government’s bureaucratic paper-pushers, it’s always been very difficult to up the performance of your car. Since after the war, the government has penalised those that want to get their hands on anything with a powerful or bigger engine than the 2.0-litre motors that Italian manufacturers like Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo churned out. All the stuff with the bigger and more fun engines are being sold abroad. So go above a 2.0L and you would be paying a lot more car tax, which is also calculated by taking your engine horsepower into consideration.

But it doesn’t end there, because vehicle regulations stretch to all sorts of things. For example, you are unable to upgrade to bigger and wider wheels unless the size you choose is specified and homologated in the manufacturer handbook. You can pay for a specific check and homologation yourself, but it’s not 100 per cent guaranteed that you’d be able to go ahead (legally) with the modification. Even suspension and brakes modifications – irrespective of the fact that you might be making the car better handling and safer to drive – can land you in trouble.

Quote:

Originally Posted by asian_XL (Post 8753831)

Tow truck are damn quick in Europe and the Porsche is already on the flatbed truck in 2 mins.
http://i593.photobucket.com/albums/t...psw7tuis3r.jpg

Japan has been like this since 1970s or even earlier.