Quattrini Lambretta M-210-TV cylinder kit
Legendary tuner Max Quattrini has designed and built a cylinder kit for small-block Lambrettas – the M-210-TV. Prior to the kit’s release, our man in Italy, Christian Giarrizzo, tracked down the enigmatic engineer behind the name to find out more…
If you walk through a cemetery in Emilia Romagna, north-eastern Italy, you will soon spot gravestones depicting the deceased astride their beloved bikes on a race track – this is a region where passion for motorsport runs deep. I was in the city to visit one of its residents, a man I had spent three months searching for: tuning legend Max Quattrini. Guarding the entrance to his house as I arrived was an Abarth Fiat 595 – the wild sports version of the little Fiat 500 hatchback. Parking up, proceeding towards the front door, I pushed aside some leaves and noted the surname on the doorbell: Quattrini. It is a name that speaks for itself. My finger was just a millimetre from the button when a voice behind me suddenly asked: “Sei tu?” Are you, you? “Yes, I’m me,” I replied, a little uncertainly.
A man with streaky grey hair appeared in front of me, along with a beautiful girl, her eyes sparkling. “We were worried you were a hitman here to kill us all!” Max laughs deeply. My Taliban-style beard can make an unfortunate first impression.
From this moment on, I was at the mercy of Max’s fluid train of thought and I quickly discovered that trying to steer him towards answering my questions was like trying to catch lightning in a butterfly net. I wanted to break the ice by talking about his life but as soon as we sat down on his couch he reminded me that he doesn’t like to be photographed and he doesn’t like to discuss his past. “I am a man of facts,” he said, lighting a cigarette.