The history of the Italian automobile industry began in the 1880s when Enrico Zeno Bernardi invented the internal combustion engine, almost simultaneously with Karl Benz. The engineer fitted an internal combustion engine to his son’s tricycle and his daughter’s sewing machine, and manufacturers could create motorized vehicles. After that, automobile companies began to appear one by one. They produced the first-of-their-kind models, FIAT and Renault, as well as the lesser-known Junior, Itala, and others.
What are Italian car brands?
The main Italian car brands are Pagani, Mazzanti, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Lancia, Iveco, Abarth, Pininfarina, and Fioravanti. Among the defunct brands are De Tomaso, Bertone, Innocenti, Autobianchi, Iso, Bizzarrini, OSCA, Cisitalia, Diatto, Cizeta, and Fornasari.
The automotive industry contributes about 8.5% to the country’s GDP. The market is led by Fiat, which owns popular brands such as Maserati, Lancia, and Alfa Romeo. Italian-made cars have repeatedly won the “World Car of the Year” award and, more often than not, received the prestigious “European Car of the Year.”
Supercar Brands
Exclusive equipment distinguishes Italian supercars. These are sports cars with increased power and record speed. They are based on professional racing models but fall into the road-sports-car class. In Italy, not only are small firms that have created one or two hand-built supercars, but there are also large enterprises specializing in the serial production of such cars. These include Pagani and Mazzanti.
Pagani
Pagani is an independent company founded by Horatio Pagani. Its creator dreamed of supercars from childhood and, at 21, already built a car for Formula 3. Five-time champion Juan Manuel Fangio was so impressed with the work that he gave Horatio three recommendations to prestigious companies. As a result, the engineer got a job at the Automobili Lamborghini factory, where he suggested using carbon instead of lightweight plastic. He founded Pagani Composite Research, a composite materials company, to realize his projects.
In the 1990s, Horatio decided to create his supercar and invested all the funds in constructing the Pagani Automobili factory. He named the first model Zonda and introduced it in 1999. Since 2017, Horacio Pagani’s headquarters, factory, design studio, showroom, museum, and apartments have been housed in a single building in Modena.
Mazzanti
The most powerful Italian supercar is the Mazzanti Evantra Millecavalli, produced in 2016. This model surpassed the hybrid hypercar LaFerrari. The automaker is named after Luca Mazzanti, who opened a small workshop with Walter Faralli in 2002. At first, their venture was known as Faralli & Mazzanti, but then the business partners split. Luca focused on the Evantra project: the brand’s first full-size car was developed in 2012.
Ferrari
Ferrari is a manufacturer of ultra-reliable sports cars capable of very high speeds. It was named after the Italian designer Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari, who previously raced for Alfa Romeo. The brand’s first cars were exclusively racing cars. They became famous for winning prizes in competitions in the 1950s and 1960s. Currently, the lineup includes luxury sports cars for fast city driving. Ferrari’s parent company is Exor NV, a holding company based in the Netherlands.
Lamborghini
The ultra-expensive, high-performance cars from the Lamborghini brand are produced by the Italian company Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A., which is part of the Volkswagen Group through Audi AG. The founder of this brand is Ferruccio Lamborghini, the owner of a factory that produces tractors based on military equipment. It is rumored that he quarreled with Enzo Ferrari when the latter noticed shortcomings in his Ferrari and suggested improvements. Enzo did not accept the criticism and advised Ferruccio to continue with tractors or make something better. So Lamborghini began producing luxury sports cars that surpassed Ferrari in every parameter.
Maserati
Maserati was founded by brothers who were passionate about cars. They started their business in 1914, but the first sports car, the Grand Prix 1500, was produced only 12 years later. After that, racing cars were produced under the Maserati brand for competition. Everything changed in the 1960s when the company’s management shifted the emphasis to luxury cars. Thus, the Mexico and Quattroporte models were introduced. Then, the no less successful Spyder GT and 3200 GT were added to the lineup.
Alfa Romeo
Alfa Romeo is a luxurious and roomy sports car with a rich history. The company that owns this brand was established in 1910 based on the French automobile factory Darracq. At the same time, the company moved from a settlement near Naples to the suburbs of Milan. The first part of Alfa Romeo comes from the abbreviation A.L.F.A. and stands for Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili. One of the best sports cars from this brand is the GTV, which debuted in the 1990s. Currently, the brand belongs to the Italian-American company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V.
Fiat
The Fiat Group has two major divisions. One (Fiat Industrial) produces industrial machinery, and the other (Fiat SpA) produces passenger cars. This ancient enterprise was founded in 1899 and produced a range of machinery, from tractors and railroad cars to military aircraft. The company specializes in commercial vehicles, and its industrial sites are in many countries worldwide.
Lancia
The Lancia plant is located in the suburbs of Turin. It produces comfortable business-class city cars. Since 2017, the Lancia brand has been represented by only one model, the Ypsilon, which is sold exclusively in the Italian market. In addition to passenger cars, the company previously produced special vehicles, military equipment, buses, trolleybuses, and commercial trucks. Currently, the company’s owner is Fiat S.p.A.
Iveco
Iveco was formed in 1975 by a group of companies that included Magirus-Deutz and various Fiat divisions. In subsequent years, it was joined by automobile plants ITAL (Australia), Pegaso and ENASA (Spain), Astra (Italy), and Ford (British division). The first transport of the automobile concern appeared in 1978. Since then, the era of Iveco-branded trucks has begun. Now, the company is part of CNH Industrial, and until 201,3 it was owned by Fiat.
Abarth
Abarth is refining various Fiat mechanisms and creating modernized cars based on them. At first, it was a small factory that produced mufflers and exhaust systems. It was founded in 1949 by a passionate motorsport enthusiast, Carlo Abarth. In the 1950s, the company began producing small sports cars.
Pininfarina
Pininfarina is an Italian company named after its founder, Giovanni Battista Farina, nicknamed Pinin (“younger brother”). Since 1930, the company has designed and produced bodies for passenger cars. Many automakers, including Ferrari, cooperate with it. In 2009, Pininfarina entered the electric-car market with a concept electric sports car.
Fioravanti
Fioravanti was formerly an architectural firm that designed city building projects in Japan. In 1991, the company abruptly changed its priorities to designing automobiles. This is because the founder of Fioravanti was once an employee of Pininfarina and, for 24 years, created concept cars for various manufacturers.
De Tomaso
De Tomaso Automobili SpA was founded in 1959 and named after its founder. The first models were racing cars designed specifically for championship competition. The serial production of sports cars began in 1963. By this time, the company’s owner had assembled a strong team around him, including the chief designer at Ghia and former Ferrari employees. In addition, De Tomaso Automobili SpA owned the popular Maserati brand (until 1992).
The company began to lose ground at the end of the 20th century. It fell into decline, after which Gian Mario Rossignol bought it out. The new owner wanted to revive the company, and he received 7.5 million euros for it. He was detained on suspicion of misuse of budgetary funds. The court again recognized De Tomaso as bankrupt. The brand is remembered for its badge, which consists of two symmetrical figures similar to the letters “G.”
Bertone
When creating cars, the Italian company Bertone paid special attention to their appearance since its second specialty is body design. It styled models from Volvo, Opel, Mercedes-Benz, Lamborghini, Fiat, and other famous brands. In 2014, Stile Bertone’s design division went bankrupt. Now, the rights to the brand and the logo with the stylized letter “b” belong to several entrepreneurs. The company Bertone still exists but has significantly expanded the scope of its activities. It operates in railway transport, the fashion industry, and industrial and architectural design.
Innocenti
Innocenti was founded by a blacksmith and named after him. It produced cars, motorcycles, machine tools, and presses. Success in the automobile industry was variable: Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Lancia led the Italian automobile market. The first car under Innocenti’s brand was produced in 1960. It was a sports convertible. In the 1990s, the company became part of the Fiat concern. The new owner liquidated the brand in 1997, stopping production of all Innocenti models. The defunct company used a bold “i” logo inside a black ring.
Autobianchi
Autobianchi was a joint project between Fiat, Pirelli, and Bianchi. The three Italian companies co-produced small cars and tested innovative concepts. The brand used an emblem, such as a large black triangle divided in half and outlined with a dark line. Autobianchi cars were sold in Italy until 1996, after which the brand was discontinued. It became part of the Lancia company.
Iso
The car manufacturing company Iso had different names over time, but shortly before its closure in 1974, it was known as Iso Motors. It began by selling heaters, then moved into two-wheeled vehicles. In 1962, the manufacturer limited its product range to passenger cars. At the same time, it produced its first automobile in 1953. It was something between a motorcycle and a microlight car. For several socio-economic reasons, the company stopped production in 1974. However, in 2017, the Zagato design center revived the Iso brand, giving a second life to its logo with a golden griffin inside a shaped shield on a background of two vertical red-and-green stripes.
Bizzarrini
Bizzarrini, a racing and sports car company, was founded by Giotto Bizzarrini. The Italian engineer, a former employee of Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, and Automobili Turismo e Sport, founded his own company in 1964. He ended his collaboration with Iso to produce sports cars. The success was short-lived: the Bizzarrini company closed in 1969. Later, developers tried to revive the brand and produced single models bearing its logo: a spiky red circle depicting a bird within a ring of the words “BIZZARRINI LIVORNO.” Pegasus Brands eventually acquired the rights to the brand and its legacy.
OSCA
OSCA’s debut project was the development of a competitive racing car. All subsequent models were the same, with the manufacturer increasing the power and speed of its sports cars, giving it an edge in championships. In 1963, the company was sold to Domenico Agusta and went into decline four years later. Its intricate multi-part logo contained a coat of arms in a silver circle, surrounded by a blue ring with the inscription “O.S.C.A. FRATELLI MASERATI BOLOGNA. ”
Cisitalia
The first Cisitalia car was created from Fiat parts in 1946. The company moved away from the original concept and started producing models with original designs and technical know-how. Throughout its existence, it produced several thousand sports cars that participated in races. However, its successful promotion was hindered by financial insolvency: Cisitalia went bankrupt in 1963. The emblem easily recognized the company’s cars, which featured a golden mountain goat inside a blue heraldic shield.
Diatto
Diatto began manufacturing automobiles under license from Clément-Bayard in 1905. However, its history dates back to 1835. At first, carriages were produced under the Diatto brand, but railroad cars replaced them. At the end of its existence, the manufacturer focused on the cars it designed. The last models came off the assembly line in 1929. They were decorated with an oval red emblem bearing the white inscription “DIATTO” and a gold rim composed of many circles.
Cizeta
The history of Cizeta began in 1988 when Claudio Zampolli teamed up with Giorgio Moroder to create a new supercar. At first, their venture was successful, but serial production was not established, and the project investment far exceeded the sales proceeds. Later, it turned out that Cizeta cars did not meet safety requirements, so they could not be operated in the United States. Production was stopped, and the stylish blue-and-yellow logo with three jaguar heads in a circle and the inscription “CIZETA AUTOMOBILI” was never made public.
Fornasari
The Italian automaker was founded in 1999 and ceased operations in 2015. It was headquartered in Montebello Vicentino, in the province of Vicenza, where Giuseppe Fornasari founded it. He gave the brand his family name and emphasized sports cars and SUVs. However, the manufacturer could not withstand the competition and went bankrupt: in the fall of 2015, the Tribunal of Vicenza declared the company insolvent.