Automobili Mignatta Rina evokes 60s V8 roadsters

Italian craftsmanship, American V8, a carbon tub and a manual box - it's dream sports car full house

By Matt Bird / Friday, 9 May 2025 / Loading comments

From De Tomaso Pantera to Bizzarrini 5300 GT, there’s a long and illustrious history of beautiful Italian sports cars being motored along with thunderous Yank tank V8s. Now there’s another: the Automobili Mignatta Rina. Its maker suggests the 60s-inspired speedster ‘aims to deliver unparalleled driving pleasure.’

It’ll do that partly thanks to the inclusion of a carbon monocoque; the Rina may be old school in ethos, but it’s packing some of the latest chassis technology. Apparently the ‘JM-SM’ tub represents ‘an absolute benchmark in the automotive field’ when it comes to lightness (just 71kg) and rigidity (torsional stiffness of 101,000Nm/degree), bringing with it ‘exemplary dynamic behaviour.’ Sounds great. Chief Engineer of the monocoque, Andrea Chiumello, added: “Using advanced virtual simulations, it was possible to significantly boost the performance of the monocoque. The JM-SM is a structure characterized by extraordinary rigidity, both in terms of flexural and torsional stiffness, the result of a clever use of carbon fiber and advanced lamination techniques.”

With that sort of engineering behind it, the Rina could be powered by a generic 2.0-litre turbo and probably be a right hoot. But don’t forget about tradition. Like so many of those Italian sports car icons, Automobili Mignatta is making use of a dependable, available, powerful V8: the Ford Coyote 5.0. It doesn’t say as much, of course, but it mentions Ti-VCT variable cam timing, which is Ford’s acronym. Mignatta also talks about plasma arc sprayed cylinder liners (introduced with the 2018 Mustang update) and forged aluminium pistons (first in the old Boss 302) so, yeah, it’s that engine. No bad thing, of course - the Coyote is perfect for this sort of sports car. It was going in the TVR once upon a time, if you remember that…

Anyway, there’s a little more to the Rina installation than just the 5.0-litre, a six-speed manual and a limited-slip diff, though plenty of the appeal is in that mechanical makeup. The engine sits in a front mid-mounted position, and Mignatta has worked with Italtecnica to design bespoke intake and exhaust systems, so it should sound mega. Exact power and torque figures are said to be coming, but given a 450hp Mustang feels pretty quick on its own, this ought to be rampant. They’re suggesting 1,000kg unladen…

Containing all that performance will be adjustable coilovers, super sticky Pirelli P Zero Trofeo RS tyres, plus big Brembo brakes - with ceramics optional. So the Mignatta Rina will be no mere boulevard cruiser. ‘A technical recipe that maximises the connection between vehicle and driver’ is their belief, and certainly the little barchetta seems to be ticking a lot of the important boxes.

Those that merely want to cruise, however, will surely be guaranteed of attention at whatever riviera they end up on. While not really looking directly like anything else, the Rina immediately conjures up visions of those classic Italian sports cars, with perhaps a bit of Alfa 33 to the front end and maybe some modern 8C influence behind. Or Zenos, if you were feeling less kind. But it’s dramatic, purposeful, compact, exciting and just about distinctive enough - people are going to stop when they first see one.

Predictably given the remit and the target weight, there’s not much to a Rina interior. The seats bolt directly to the monocoque, there aren’t any screens and the switches are basic at best. Chief Designer Davide Dessi talks of “removing the superfluous to leave room for the emotion, for the direct connection between driver and machine.” Good line, that. There are cut outs in the doors for helmets and, while stripped to the fundamentals, Automobili Mignatta suggests only the finest materials will be used for the Rina. Naturally, there’s lots of carbon, but what upholstery there is comes from bull hides tanned in Italy; each customer will be able to customise their car ‘in an exquisitely sartorial way.’

All very nice, and Mignatta even seems to have the boring stuff covered as well. We’ve all seen plenty of exciting looking sports cars with Mustang V8s emerge over the years, but considerably fewer of them in reality. To get the Rina to production, Automobili Mignatta has entered into a partnership with TÜV Rheinland, to make sure everything is up to snuff from a homologation perspective. And nobody better to do that. The first chassis is going off for crash testing soon…

Mignatta hopes to build 30 Rinas a year in the heart of Piedmont. There isn’t an exact launch date or price or anything like that for the moment, though this remains a pretty auspicious start by the standard of low volume sports cars. It’ll surely rank as one of those ‘if you have to ask’ kind of asking prices, let’s say that. More to follow as we have it.