The best Italian cars

Ferrari was born in Italy and it is possibly its most important excellence today. It was born in Emilia Romagna, the land of engines. With the words “Terra dei motori” or “Motorvalley” you indicate an industrial district located right in Emilia-Romagna and specialized in the automotive sector. Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, the legendary Morini, Malaguti and Ducati bikes, Imola, Misano Adriatico, Varano and Modena circuits are just some of the many constellations of this land which mean charm, passion, victories for millions of people worldwide.

The companies of the district, mainly concentrated in the metropolitan area of Modena, Bologna, Cento and Argenta, are involved in research, technology, handicraft and industrial production of automotive products, sport motorbikes and farming equipment. In 2014 the Motorvalley district consisted of 9.643 companies with 93.888 employees, with an export volume amounting to 10,8 billion euro per year, including also the presence of specialized museums and of several universities devoted to training.

In this corner of the Po Plain then, in addition to the mythical Red, some of its prestigious Italian competitors were born who, with their ceaseless longing for technological and stylistic goals, urged it to improve itself and to become a legend. It could therefore not talk about Ferrari without a knowledge of the history of these historical brands that have constituted the operating and cultural context in which Ferrari has worked. Plenty of engineers and technicians who have made the Reds great, including Enzo Ferrari, came in fact from these glorious rivals. The most beautiful Italian cars of all time have been produced in the Motorvalley. We wish to mention them here with pride.

Alfa Romeo

Enzo Ferrari started his activity at Alfa Romeo when the Drake commented the first victory of his cars against the Alfa Romeo at Silverstone in 1951. He expressed his sentiments in this way: “I cried for the joy. But my tears of enthusiasm were mixed with those of pain because I thought: today I killed my mother.”

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian luxury car manufacturer. The brand is known for sports vehicles and has been involved in car racing since 1911. The company was owned by Italian state holding company Istituto per la Ricostruzione Industriale between 1932 and 1986, when it became a part of the Fiat Group. In February 2007, the Alfa Romeo brand became Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A., a subsidiary of Fiat Group Automobiles, now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles Italy.

The company that became Alfa Romeo was founded as Società Anonima Italiana Darracq (SAID) in 1906 by the French automobile firm of Alexandre Darracq, with Italian investors. In late 1909, the Italian Darracq cars were selling slowly and the Italian partners of the company hired Giuseppe Merosi to design new cars.

On 24 June 1910 in Milan, a new company was founded named A.L.F.A., initially still in partnership with Darracq. The first non-Darracq car produced by the company was the 1910 24 HP, designed by Merosi. A.L.F.A. ventured into motor racing, with drivers Franchini and Ronzoni competing in the 1911 Targa Florio with two 24-hp models.

In August 1915, the company came under the direction of Neapolitan entrepreneur Nicola Romeo, who converted the factory to produce military hardware for the Italian and Allied war efforts. In 1920, the name of the company was changed to Alfa Romeo with the Torpedo 20–30 HP the first car to be so badged.

Alfa Romeo has competed successfully in GP motor racing, F1, sportscar racing, touring car racing, and rallies. It has competed both as a constructor and an engine supplier, via works entries (usually under the name Alfa Corse or Autodelta), and private entries. The first racing car was made in 1913, three years after the foundation of the company, and Alfa Romeo won the inaugural world championship for GP cars in 1925.

The race victories gave a sporty image to the marque, and Enzo Ferrari founded the Scuderia Ferrari racing team in 1929 as an Alfa Romeo racing team, before becoming independent in 1939. It has had the most wins of any marque in the world.

Many famous automotive design houses in Italy have accepted commissions to produce concepts and production vehicle shapes for Alfa Romeo. These include: Bertone, Giorgetto Giugiaro / Italdesign, Pininfarina, Zagato, Centro Stile Alfa Romeo.

Bugatti

Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a French car manufacturer of high-performance automobiles, founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti.

The cars were known for their design beauty and for their many race victories. Famous Bugattis include the Type 35 GP cars, the Type 41 "Royale", the Type 57 "Atlantic" and the Type 55 sports car. The death of Ettore Bugatti in 1947 proved to be the end for the marque, and the death of his son Jean Bugatti in 1939 ensured there was not a successor to lead the factory.

No more than about 8,000 cars were made. The company struggled financially, and released one last model in the 1950s, before eventually being purchased for its airplane parts business in 1963. In the 1990s, an Italian entrepreneur revived it as a builder of limited production exclusive sports cars. Today, the name is owned by the Volkswagen Group.

De Tomaso

De Tomaso Modena SpA was an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso (1928–2003) in Modena in 1959. It originally produced various prototypes and racing cars, including a F1 car for Frank Williams's team in 1970.

Most of the funding for the automaker came from de Tomaso's brother-in-law, Armory Haskell Jr, Rowan Industries. In 1971, Ford acquired an 84% stake in De Tomaso from Rowan with Alejandro de Tomaso himself holding the balance. Ford would sell back their stake in the automaker in 1974 to Alejandro.

The blue and white stripes of the logo's background are the colors of the national flag of Argentina. The symbol in the foreground that looks like a letter "T" is the cattle branding symbol of the Ceballos estate where Alejandro grew up.

The company went on to develop and produce both sports cars and luxury vehicles, most notably the Ford-powered Italian-bodied Mangusta and Pantera grand tourers. From 1976 to 1993 De Tomaso owned Italian sports car maker Maserati, and was responsible for producing cars including the Biturbo, the Kyalami, Quattroporte III, Karif, and the Chrysler TC. De Tomaso also owned motorcycle company Moto Guzzi from 1973 to 1993.

De Tomaso went into liquidation in 2004, although production of new cars continued after this date. In April 2015 an Italian bankruptcy court approved the sale of the company to China's Consolidated Ideal Team Venture, for €1.050,000.

The Pantera, succeeding the Mangusta, appeared in 1971 with a 351 Cleveland Ford V8 and a low, wedge-shaped body designed by Ghia's Tom Tjaarda. Between 1971 and 1973, 6.128 Panteras were produced in Modena, the largest number of a single marque of De Tomaso produced.

The 1973 oil crisis and other factors compelled Ford to pull out of the Pantera deal at the end of 1973. However, the Argentinian retained from Ford the right to produce the car for the "rest of the world" market, so he continued Pantera production at a greatly reduced scale of less than 100 cars per year during the 1970s and 1980s. From then on, the cars were largely hand-built, even more than before.

Incorporating a Marcello Gandini facelift, suspension redesign, partial chassis redesign and a new, smaller Ford engine, the Pantera 90 Si model (the “i” standing for iniezione - Italian for fuel injection) was introduced in 1990. There were 41 90 Si models manufactured with 2 crash tested, 38 sold, and 1 example went directly into a museum before the Pantera was finally phased out in 1993 to make way for the radical, carbon-fibre-bodied Guarà.

Ferrari

Ferrari, as well as racing in Formula 1 and in many others sport competitions, produces road cars. Among the most beautiful ones we should mention 250 GT, 308, F40, 458 Italia.

According to Ermanno Bonfiglioli, Head of Ferrari Special Projects in 1987, no one expected to witness such a stylistic leap at the presentation of the F40, capable of forever marking the history of four wheels. Not a spectator. Not an insider. Not a reporter. This is his recollection: "I have never experienced a presentation like that of the F40. When the cloth was removed from the car, the hall was crossed by a buzz followed by a thunderous applause. Nobody, if not the close collaborators of Enzo Ferrari, had seen the car. The long process of development and experimentation had, in fact, been enveloped in an unusual secrecy in the company. And the surprise for such a stylistic leap was almost a shock". Thirty-five years after that day, the sensations remain the same as those experienced at that moment by the lucky few who witnessed, live, the birth of the best supercar ever.

 Fiat

Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (originally FIAT, Italian: Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, lit. Italian Automobiles Factory, Turin') is an Italian automobile manufacturer, a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (previously Fiat S.p.A.).

Fiat Automobiles was formed in January 2007 when Fiat reorganized its automobile business, and traces its history back to 1899 when the first Fiat automobile, the Fiat 4 HP, was produced. Fiat Automobiles is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy.

During its more than century-long history, it remained the largest automobile manufacturer in Europe and the third in the world after General Motors and Ford for over twenty years, until the car industry crisis in the late 1980s.

In 2013, Fiat S.p.A. was the second largest European automaker by volumes produced and the seventh in the world, while currently FCA is the world's eighth largest auto maker. In 1970, Fiat Automobiles employed more than 100,000 in Italy when its production reached the highest number, 1.4 million cars, in that country.

As of 2002, it built more than 1 million vehicles at six plants in Italy and the country accounted for more than a third of the company's revenue. Fiat has also manufactured railway engines, military vehicles, farm tractors, aircraft, and weapons. Fiat-brand cars are built in several locations around the world.

Lamborghini

Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. is an Italian brand and manufacturer of luxury sports cars based in Sant'Agata Bolognese. The company is currently owned by the Volkswagen Group through its subsidiary Audi.

In 1963 Ferruccio Lamborghini, an Italian manufacturing magnate, founded Automobili Ferruccio Lamborghini S.p.A. to compete with established marques, including Ferrari. The company gained wide acclaim in 1966 for the Miura sports coupé, which established rear mid-engine, rear wheel drive as the standard layout for high-performance cars of the era.

Lamborghini grew rapidly during its first decade, but sales plunged in the wake of the 1973 worldwide financial downturn and the oil crisis. The firm's ownership changed three times after 1973, including a bankruptcy in 1978. Lamborghini currently produces the V12-powered Aventador and the V10-powered Huracán.

“You worry about building tractors and leave sport cars to me.” Enzo Ferrari to Ferruccio Lamborghini.

“You don’t drive Lamborghinis, Lamborghinis let you drive them.” Luc Donckerwolke, Lambo lead designer

Any car has a good side and an angle which doesn’t fully valorise it, all but one, the Miura. Sheer beauty from any angle, no frills, pure balance of shapes, a design that enchants, a scratch that captivates you. “Owning the Miura was like having married the most beautiful woman in the world”, Ferruccio Lamborghini said.

In 1966, the year of its presentation, the Miura was the lowest road grand touring ever, 1,05 mt, the first one mounting a transversal rear mid-engine, the first one to go over 300 kilometers per hour. The great of the earth have owned it, including the Shah of Persia, Alain Delon, Steve McQueen, Frank Sinatra, Aristotele Onassis, Liz Taylor. It is exposed in the MOMA in New York.

“Marcello Gandini, Maestro of Design, one of the most incisive figures of our time regarding style.” Davide Cironi about Gandini, the Miura designer.

Lancia

Lancia is an Italian automobile manufacturer that became part of the Fiat Group in 1969; the current company, Lancia Automobiles, was established in 2007. The company has a strong rally heritage and is noted for using letters of the Greek alphabet for its model names.

Lancia vehicles are no longer sold outside Italy and comprise only the Ypsilon supermini range, as the late Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne foreshadowed in January 2014 until his death in 2018.

Lancia & C. Fabbrica Automobili was founded on 29 November 1906 in Turin by Fiat racing drivers, Vincenzo Lancia (1881-1937) and his friend, Claudio Fogolin (1872-1945). The first car manufactured by Lancia was the "Tipo 51" or "12 HP" (later called "Alfa"), which remained in production from 1907 to 1908.

Lancia is renowned in the automotive world for introducing cars with numerous innovations. This drive for innovation, constant quest for excellence, fixation of quality, complex construction processes and antiqued production machinery meant that all cars essentially had to be hand-made. With little commonality between the various models, the cost of production continued to increase extensively, while no increase in demand eventually affecting Lancia's viability.

In 1956 the Pesenti family took over control of Lancia with Carlo Pesenti (1907–1984) in charge of the company. Fiat launched a take-over bid in October 1969 which was accepted by Lancia as the company was losing significant sums of money, with losses in 1969 being GB £20m.

This was not the end of the distinctive Lancia marque, and new models in the 1970s such as the Stratos, Gamma and Beta served to prove that Fiat wished to preserve the image of the brand it had acquired. During the 1970s and 1980s, Lancia had great success in rallying, winning many World Rally Championships.

During the 1980s, the company cooperated with Saab Automobile, with the Lancia Delta being sold as the Saab 600 in Sweden. During the 1990s, all models were closely related to other Fiat models.

Maserati

Maserati is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna. The Maserati tagline is "luxury, sports and style cast in exclusive cars", and the brand's mission statement is to "build ultra-luxury performance automobiles with timeless Italian style, accommodating bespoke interiors, and effortless, signature sounding power".

The company's headquarters are now in Modena. It has been owned by the Italian-American car giant Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) and FCA's Italian predecessor Fiat S.p.A. since 1993. Maserati was initially associated with Ferrari S.p.A., which was also owned by FCA until being spun off in 2015, but more recently it has become part of the sports car group including Alfa Romeo and Abarth.

The Maserati brothers, Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto, were all involved with automobiles from the beginning of the 20th century. Alfieri, Bindo, and Ernesto built 2-litre Grand Prix cars for Diatto.

In 1926, Diatto suspended the production of race cars, leading to the creation of the first Maserati and the founding of the Maserati marque. One of the first Maseratis, driven by Alfieri, won the 1926 Targa Florio. Maserati began making race cars with 4, 6, 8, and 16 cylinders (two straight-eights mounted parallel to one another).

The trident logo of the Maserati car company is based on the Fountain of Neptune in Bologna's Piazza Maggiore. The famous Argentinian driver Juan-Manuel Fangio raced for Maserati for a number of years in the 1950s, producing a number of stunning victories including winning the world championship in 1957 in the 250F.

“Brake less and accelerate more.” Juan Manuel Fangio to Johnny Claes who was asking him how he was able to be faster with the same Maserati

“Plenty of drivers would have beaten me if they would have followed me. They have lost because they have overtaken me.” Juan Manuel Fangio

“Fangio was the one who could always run a bit faster than you and longer than you.” Stirling Moss

The most beautiful Maserati are the 3500 GT Spyder and the Ghibli. The first Ghibli was designed and unveiled at the Turin Motor show of the 1966. It followed a tradition pioneered by Maserati with the glorious A6 1500 of 1947: it was a grand tourer. That meant it delivered on the promise of glorious style, high-powered luxury and peerless comfort over almost any distance the owner cared to consider. A car imbued, naturally, with our motor racing DNA - a remarkably powerful force.

Puma

Puma was a car company founded by Roman businessman Adriano Gatto active from seventies to nineties that specialized in kit cars. The first model was the Gatto Spider Spiaggia, born from experience modifying "deserter" American Dune Buggy.

Besides the owner, another eminent figure of the company was Domenico Lombardi, a young technician who followed the development of all models produced by the company. Its headquarters were in Via Tiburtina in Rome and products ranged from dune buggies to off-road and later sports cars and aesthetic and mechanical tuning of Volkswagen Beetles.

The Dune Buggy, the car that always gets a smile from you, was born in California. Beloved by surfers, synonymous with the sea, summer, holiday and carefree life, it has quickly spread all over the world. Simple and reliable, it lasts a lifetime, like summer of lovers.

It was owned and loved by Steve McQueen who wanted it in his film “The Thomas Crown affair”. Born as "Meyers Manx” with a Volkswagen beetle engine, it has been aesthetically and mechanically tuned and customized by fans around the world.

However the coolest one certainly remains the Puma Gatto spyder spiaggia, that of the movie “Watch out we’re mad”. With this version of buggy you can even go to the theater as it’s so stylish.

Puma Gatto Spider Spiaggia is a classic dune buggy built over a VW chassis on which was mounted Volkswagen 1192 cc air-cooled engine, with a body made up of fiberglass panels. It was a big commercial success due to quality and affordable price for the kit.

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Alfa Romeo

Bugatti

De Tomaso

Ferrari

Fiat

Lamborghini

Lancia

Maserati

Puma