11-05-2025
This New Italian Sports Car Takes You Back in Time with a Free-Breathing V-8 and a Manual
Automobili Mignatta, a new Italian automaker, has debuted the Rina—a sports car with no windshield and a sleek carbon-fiber body.
Under the hood lies a naturally aspirated V-8 that feeds the rear wheels via a six-speed manual.
The cockpit is devoid of screens, instead boasting aluminum and carbon-fiber trim, analog gauges, and brown leather.
Between Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Pagani, and countless others, Italy has a rich history of producing jaw-dropping sports cars. Now there's another name to add to the list: Automobili Mignatta, a new startup that is based out of Valfenera d'Asti in Piedmont, around 25 miles outside of Turin. The company's first car, the Rina, was revealed this week and pairs classically beautiful bodywork with the equally classic combination of a naturally aspirated V-8 engine and a manual transmission.
The Rina's monocoque is made from carbon fiber, as is the handcrafted barchetta-style body, which draws inspiration from Italian sports cars of the 1960s. The curvature of the fenders, oval-shaped headlights, and lack of a windshield call to mind classics like the Shelby Cobra or Maserati 450S. The Rina has an athletic stance and perfect proportions, and small visors sprout up in front of each occupant to divert the air flowing over the long hood.
Beneath the bodywork lies a 5.0-liter V-8 that remains free from both turbochargers and superchargers. The naturally aspirated unit is hooked up to a six-speed manual transmission that delivers power to the rear wheels only. There's no official word on where the company has sourced the engine or transmission, while official power and torque outputs will be revealed later.
Automobili Mignatta says the engine has been tuned by Italtecnica Engineering, which worked with Podium Advanced Technologies on a 5.0-liter V-8 for the Nardone 928, a slick restomod. The engine in that modernized Porsche makes 450 hp and 383 pound-feet of torque. Italtecnica Engineering has also designed and developed engines for several other restomods, including the Kimera EVO37 and Totem GT Super.
The Rina rides on 19-inch front wheels and 20-inch rear wheels, all shod in Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tires. A Brembo brake system is fitted with six-piston front calipers and four-pot units in back.
The cabin—if you can call it that on a car with no roof—is straightforward, with an array of buttons and analog gauges. The speedometer is mounted on the center console, while the tachometer sits behind the steering wheel. Automobili Mignatta is proud that the Rina has zero screens. The interior also pairs aluminum trim with rich brown leather and carbon fiber.
Only 30 units will be built each year, the company says, and prices will start at around $290,000. The Rina likely won't be road-legal in the United States, but that won't stop us from dreaming about ripping up and down the Italian coast, wind in our hair as the V-8 engine roars and the shifter clicks into gear.
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