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Lazareth LM847 packs a Maserati V8 into a leaning quad frame

You want to know what insanity looks like? This is it. It's called the Lazareth LM847, and to boil it down to its essence, it's basically a sport bike built around a Maserati V8. Now this isn't the first motorcycle we've seen packing a giant car engine. There've been more custom jobs than we could list here, and of course there's the Boss Hoss – an American cruiser with a 5.7-liter Chevy V8 at its heart. And we'd be loathe to leave out the V10-powered Tomahawk concept from this discussion. But this is another matter entirely. The LM847 is made by a French outfit called Lazareth. It's the same company responsible for the Wazuma quad bike, the Wazuma GT roadster, and that bonkers Renault Twingo with the Range Rover V8 in the back. In other words, Lazareth knows crazy, and hasn't skimped on it this time. For its latest project, Lazareth started with a 4.7-liter V8 – the kind you used to find the Quattroporte or Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione before Maserati started downsizing and bolting on turbos. It produces 470 horsepower and 457 pound-feet of torque, channeled through a single-speed hydraulic coupling in place of a multi-gear transmission. Strictly speaking, it's not a motorcycle, but a quad – owing to the tandem wheels at each end. But it has a saddle and handlebars, and looks like it would lean in a fair bit in the turns. We're not about to find out though, because we don't have a death wish. Related Video:

Maserati Quattroporte custom-built wagon up for sale

These days, any modern station wagon is a rare machine, with models such as the Mercedes-Benz E-Class, Volvo V90, Audi RS6 Avant, and Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo selling not much more than a handful each. But combine the rarity of the wagon body style with the relative obscurity of the Maserati Quattroporte, and you have a truly unique longroof. That's exactly what you see here, a Maserati Quattroporte shooting brake, and it's coming up for sale by Historics Auctioneers in the U.K. Maserati never made a wagon version of its Quattroporte — "Cinqueporte"? — but that didn't stop one determined U.K. buyer. Inspired by the Quattroporte-based Bellagio Fastback, four of which were built by the Italian coachbuilder Touring, he had this 2016 Quattroporte converted into a shooting brake. The work was carried out by British high-end car restorer Adam Redding. The result looks like it could have come out of the factory in Modena. It's finished in Gunmetal Grey Metallic with 20-inch Mercurio alloy wheels with a black finish. The interior is Nero leather. There are no jump seats in the cargo hold, just luggage space, which again appears finished to a factory standard and is accessed via a power liftgate. Other features include navigation, parking sensors, heated seats, a backup camera, and a sunroof. As a U.K. car, this Maserati is right-hand drive. The Quattroporte's voluptuous styling lends itself to the wagon form. Too bad Maserati is unlikely ever to pick up the baton and offer such a model itself. Short of commissioning one yourself, this upcoming auction is likely to be the only chance to get one. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Is this designer sitting in Alfa Romeo's new SUV?

Well, well, well, what have we here? A picture of Lorenzo Ramaciotti, that's what. It was posted by Ralph Gilles on Instagram. But what's more interesting is what Ramaciotti is sitting in. And it appears to be a new crossover from Alfa Romeo. For those unfamiliar, Lorenzo Ramaciotti is one of the foremost designers in the Italian automotive industry. He served as head of Pininfarina until 2005, and in 2007 was named chief designer for the Fiat group. That's put him in charge of styling more Ferraris, Maseratis, Alfas, and others than we could name. But at nearly 68 years old, he's now preparing to retire, handing the reins to the design of everything that Fiat Chrysler Automobiles makes to his American counterpart Ralph Gilles. Gilles paid tribute to Ramaciotti with this photo and statement posted on Instagram. It shows the veteran designer sitting in the back of what looks to be an SUV. The thing is, though, that it doesn't look like any SUV or crossover we've seen to date. Judging from what we can see of the dashboard design – more angular and modern than rounded and retro – and given who's sitting in the back, we're likely looking at either an Alfa Romeo or a Maserati. Both are working on launching their first crossovers, but the similarity of the dashboard and center-stack design to that of the new Giulia suggests this is probably an Alfa. Whatever it is, it appears to have a rather tall but narrow tailgate, with a flat load floor extended by a fold-down rear bench. If Ramaciotti has done half the job with this crossover as he did with hits like the Ferrari 360 Modena or the Alfa 4C, we're sure it will be a stylish affair inside and out. We'll have to hold on to see how it pans out, but judging from the apparent level of completion of the product pictured, it shouldn't be long now. I have got to dedicate my year and this era of my career to one of my true Heroes, design Legend (& very soft spoken) Lorenzo Ramaciotti. Many of you may not have heard of him but have likely loved the cars he has had his hands in. Mr. Ramaciotti has had one of the most illustrious careers an automobile designer can have. Having led one of Italy's most famous design houses, #Pininfarina for 17 years and contributed there for an incredibly prolific 33 years. He came out of retirement in 2007 to lead Fiat design. In 2009 I met him as my colleague, global boss and most importantly a true mentor.