Nardi Silver Ray by Michelotti

True, the automotive world has seen remarkable consolidation over its history, and we’re now living in an era where the product is so good that weird car enthusiasts such as myself must be content to bitch about slab screens and driver assistance beeps, bongs, and buzzes.

If a mainstream car isn’t good enough, the luxury makes will do everything they can to please you. What even is there to complain about, anymore? Drop half a mil on something you like, order it in a preferred colour, and cherish it for the rest of your life — which is not what people at this income level do.

Many of them collect, and collect (more on this in a minute in a very timely way), but some wealthy enthusiasts will go old old school and have a custom car built.

At a place like Ferrari, we’re talking Eric Clapton money.

At Nardi (yes, the steering wheel company that used to make cars, shit you not), to get a custom car, all you needed was Florida money.

For sports cars of this time, generally speaking: Italy was most definitely cookin’ with olive oil.

Back in 1960, you not only had your choice of, say, a Ferrari or Lamborghini, but if you had a good enough reason, the factory could supply you with just the engine and chassis. 

Once the mechanicals were delivered at the carrozzeria of your choice, in this case, Vignale, the design team worked with you to create your dream car. 

You could even go with a smaller, up-and-coming engineering firm spun off from the wheel manufacturing, like Nardi, for the engine, drivetrain, and chassis design. Sometimes, Nardi just mixed and matched mechanical and components — the car here?

A total Frankenstein’s Monster. We’re talking an open Alfa Romeo race car chassis being modified into a coupe and fitted with an American V8 engine and automatic transmission. 

The Mystery of the Alfa Nardi Silver Ray

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What we’re looking at here is a man’s wallet opened wide enough to have exactly what he wanted: a Plymouth Golden Commando V8 engine hopped-up to 350 horsepower, with a sort of a Lidl Facel Vega-like body wrapped around it. 

Giving credit where it’s due, Nardi did deliver a modern (for the time), chiseled, sports car with a top speed of about 225 km/h (140 mph), a hood big enough for croquet, a cozy cabin, and touring trunk. 

With disc brakes all ’round and suspension apparently related to that Alfa racing car, it’s an expensive hodgepodge but no doubt desirable even today. 

After all, these sorts of one-offs may not have the brand cachet of a car with a Cavallino Rampante on its nose, but they capture a moment in time when the default way of doing business was to ensure the customer got exactly what they wanted.

The latest news, with no sugar coating: less than a year ago, the Nardi Silver Ray was discovered mostly intact in a derelict barn — by a YouTuber. Its interior is torn apart and its original Nardi steering wheel is split, but there’s no mistaking this unicorn for any other vehicle. 

Importantly, the Silver Ray is still here, and I have no doubts it will shine again.

Additional sources

The Mystery of the Alfa Nardi Silver Ray

pete