Think performance think Italian, or should I say – Ferrari?
Unlike other automobile manufacturers, Italian car brands are well-known for
luxury, design, performance, and especially – limited editions. You can easily check their potential on racetracks and drive on city roads.
Like Germany, Italy has established itself as one of the automobile manufacturer hubs – especially in the performance cars segment. In 2021, Italy produced 795,856 vehicles ranking it 20th Globally.
Since most manufacturers produce limited units, Italy is also famous for its craftsmanship. Over 50 medium and large-scale manufacturers contribute 8.5% to the Italian GDP. In this article, I’ve covered insights about the most popular brands. So, let’s explore!
List Of Italian Sports Car Brands
1. Ferrari
- Logo Name: The Prancing Horse
- Revenue: €4.27 billion (2021)
- CEO: Benedetto Vigna
- Models: Ferrari Purosangue, 812 GTS, 296 GTB, 296 GTS, SF90 Stradale, SF90 Spider, F8 Tributo, F8 Spider, Ferrari Roma, Ferrari Portofino M, etc.
About: Ferrari was founded in 1947 by Enzo Ferrari (Enzo Anselmo Giuseppe Maria Ferrari). Being an automobile Italian motor racing driver, designer, and entrepreneur, Mr. Enzo Ferrari helped in the design and development of 1st Ferrari, known as 125 Sport. This sports car dominated motor racing events, and that’s where the Ferrari brand came into the limelight.
Today, Ferrari is considered a synonym of performance with luxury and is rated one of the world’s most powerful brands. The brand manufactures its limited edition sports cars at a 1,65,000 sq m. highly automated factory headquartered in Maranello, Emilia Romagna, Italy. So far, Ferrari has delivered 11, 155 units globally.
2. Lamborghini
- Logo Name: A bull or Taurus
- Revenue: €393 billion (2021)
- CEO: Stephan Winkelmann
- Models: Aventador, Huracan, Urus & other vehicles
About: Lamborghini is the next Italian sports car manufacturer on the list. The brand is quite famous for its V12 powertrains and history of making tractors.
Lamborghini, also called Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A, was founded by Ferruccio Lamborghini in 1948 and currently operates from Sant’Agata Bolognese, Emilia-Romagna, Italy. In addition, Lamborghini operates under Audi, a Volkswagen group subsidiary.
Seeing other rivals, Lamborghini’s vision was to design and manufacture luxury sports cars with exceptional top speeds. According to sales figures, the brand value of Lamborghini has increased a lot – all thanks to the Urus, Huracan & Aventador.
Lamborghini competes with other sports car brands, such as Ferrari, Porsche, Mercedes Benz, etc. Today, it offers 135 dealerships globally and is acknowledged for manufacturing rare performance and striking looks. In 2021, Lamborghini delivered over 8,405 vehicles with the golden bull logo. Did you know? Dubai police use different Lamborghini in their fleet.
List Of Italian Luxury Car Brands
The cars we drive say a lot about us.
Alexandra Paul
There are different sayings about automobiles, but I think Italian brands top the list for immense luxury. The care and preciseness with which the cars are designed and manufactured make them different from German & India manufacturers.
Apart from luxury, you can expect thrilling performance with good top speeds. Let’s explore these in detail!
1. Maserati
- Logo Name: Trident, designed by Mario Maserati
- Revenue: €2,021 million (2021)
- CEO: Davide Grasso
- Models: Grecale, Ghibli, Levante, Quattroporte, MC20, MC20 Cielo, GranTurismo, Fuoriserie, and special series cars
About: Maserati, Maserati SpA, was founded by Alfieri Maserati and his brothers Ettore & Ernesto in 1914. Their love for mechanics and speed led them into automobile engineering and later converted their passion into a well-established luxury automobile brand.
The brand with the Trident logo introduced its first automobile – Tipo 26. Initially, the Maserati factory was established in Bologna but relocated to the founder’s hometown – Modena, with a product output cap of 75,000 vehicles.
After successfully producing its first sports car and beating German companies in racing. The company earned its space in global sports and racing.
Later, after a significant change, Maserati shifted its focus from sports to luxury cars and produced popular models like Spyder GT, Quattroporte, and Mexico.
Maserati was associated with Ferrari but was later sold to Stellantis [Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA)].
2. Alfa Romeo
- Logo Name: Alfa Romeo
- Revenue: $2,764.00 million (Projected 2022)
- CEO: Jean-Philippe Imparato
- Models: Stelvio, Giulia, Tonale, Stelvio Quadrifoglio
About: The next brand in the list is famous for its logo with a flag and snake. The Alfa Romeo was launched in 1910 by Nicola Romeo, Alexandre Darracq and Ugo Stella.
Alfa Romeo is best known for beautiful designs & sport-oriented vehicles. In addition, Alfa also participates in car racing and has won several matches since 1911. Like Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo merged with Stellantis on 16 January 2021.
All models are manufactured in Milan, Italy. The company is also involved in the design and technical innovations such as double overhead cam engines, electronic fuel injection systems, mechanical variable valve timing, etc. In the last 2 years (2021 to 2022 running), Alfa Romeo has sold over 28,063 units.
3. Fiat
- Logo Name: Fiat
- Revenue: €152 billion (Stellantis group)
- President: John Elkann
- Models: New 500, 500, 500X, Panda, Tipo, E-doblo, E-Ulysee, Concept, etc.
- Sub brands: Abarth & Fiat Commercial
About: Fiat (Fiat S.p.A), known as Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, was founded in 1899 by Giovanni Agnelli and a group of Industrialists.
Did you know? Fiat automobiles is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy and 3rd in the world. Apart from being the largest, it is also the most reliable among different automobile brands.
Fiat, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, now a subsidiary of Stenllantis Italy manufactured best-selling models such as the 500 & Panda etc. Noticeably, Industrial automobiles are produced by the Fiat Industrial Group, and passenger cars under Fiat S.p.A.
Fiat group plants are located in several locations, such as Brazil, Argentina, Poland & Mexico. In addition, the brand has received many international awards, including car of the year. In terms of production, Fiat manufactured over 1,330,000 units in 2019.
4. Abarth
- Logo Name: Scorpion
- Revenue: €152 billion (Stellantis group)
- CEO: Olivier Francois
- Models: Abarth 595, 695 & special performance series
- Sub brands: Abarth Racing
About: Abarth is a sub-independent brand of Fiat (Fiat Group Automobiles S.p.A) and a subsidiary of Fiat S.p.A.
The brand was founded by Carlo Abarth in 1949 and headquartered in Turin, Italy. Earlier, Carlo sold Abarth to Fiat on 31 July 1971 and became Fiat’s racing department led by Aurelio Lampredi. Later, Abarth designed Fiat’s in-house rally cars, including the 124 Abarth Rally & 131 Abarth.
Abarth focuses on city cars with racing performance. That’s not all, Abarth models are quite famous for being small and agile, just like the Scorpion logo.
In recent years, Abarth has added some of the best sports cars to the global collection. Today, Abarth delivers vehicles to Europe, Africa, Asia & Oceania.
List Of Italian Supercar Brands
Designed with some of the most unconventional equipment, Italian supercars are made to break speed records. Most of them are track-focused models, yet they can be used for all sorts of work, such as daily city driving.
These cars have set a benchmark for performance and are manufactured in limited numbers at a fancy price. Below is the list of Italian supercar companies with more details:
1. Pagani
- Logo Name: PAGANI Automobili Modena
- Revenue: € 106,914,157 (2020)
- CEO & President: Horacio Pagani
- Models: Zonda, Huayra, Utopia & Grandi Complicazioni
About: Founded by Horacio Pagani in the year 1999, Pagani is an independent Italian hypercar company. Being a dreamer of supercars motivated Horacio Pagani to design a car for Formula 3 when he was only 21.
Juan Manuel Fangio, a 5 times champion of Formula 3, was so fascinated with the work that he gave Horacio references to some esteemed establishments, like Lamborghini. Horacio Pagani worked at Lamborghini’s composite material department and later founded a brand known as Pagani Composite Research in 1988.
Later, he invested all his wealth in constructing the Pagani Automobili Plant. The first model, Zonda, was launched in the year 1999. It was 1st model with a mid-mounted V12 engine designed and developed with the help of Mercedes-Benz AMG.
The Pagani developed more track-focused hypercars, such as Huayra, which could accelerate 0 to 60 mph in 3.2 seconds with a top speed of 235 mph. All hypercars were custom-made and cost over £1,000,000.
- Logo Name: Mazzanti Automobili
- Revenue: $5 Million
- Founder: Luca Mazzanti, Walter Faralli
- Models: Mazzanti Evantra, etc.
2. Mazzanti
About: Luca Mazzanti, known to be a very passionate classic sports car admirer, launched Mazzanti in 2002. The brand designs and manufactures handcrafted, high-performance cars. In addition, Mazzanti holds specialization in the restoration of classic cars.
Mazzanti has magnificently launched some exemplary cars in the marketplace. The Italian logo of the brand symbolizes the elegance and splendour of the brand. Currently, the company delivers handcraft supercars in Europe, Russia, China & UAE.
3. Pininfarina
- Logo Name: Pininfaria
- Revenue: $78.5 Million (2020)
- CEO: Silvio Pietro Angori
- Models: Battista
About: Pininfarina S.p.A., also known as Carrozzeria Pininfarina, is a famous car design company. The brand designs (also includes prototypes), manufactures and assembles vehicles for other automobile brands globally.
It was founded by Battista Farina in 1930 and is currently headquartered in Cambiano, Italy. Like Tata Motors bought JLR, Mahindra & Mahindra acquired a major stake in Pininfarina in December 2015.
Below is the list of famous cars designed by Pininfarina:
- Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina
- Alfa Romeo Brera
- Ferrari 456 GT
- Ferrari 412 & 412 GT
And many more.
So far, Pininfarina has worked with major automakers such as Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Fiat, GM, Lancia & major Korean manufacturers – Daewoo and Hyundai. In 2019, the company introduced its first electric car and earned itself a spot as one of the best Italian electric supercar producers.
Other brands
1. Lancia
- Logo Name: Lancia
- Revenue: $1,222.00 million (Projected 2022)
- Founder: Vincenzo Lancia
- Models: Mazzanti Evantra, etc.
- Models: Delta, Kappa, Autobianchi Y10, Lambda, Lybra, Appia, Motecarlo, etc.
About: Lancia is another subsidiary of the Stellantis group (FCA Italy S.p.A). The brand was launched in 1906 and focuses on rallying heritage and strong tech innovations. Despite the low sales of Lancia & before being acquired by Fiat group, the company has tried its best to improve the brand’s image.
Besides passenger cars, Lancia plays an important role in commercial vehicles such as light & heavy vehicles, engine manufacturing, etc. The brand manufactured over 43k vehicles in 2020.
2. Iveco
- Logo Name: Iveco
- Revenue: € 12,600,000,000 (2021)
- CEO: Gerrit Marx
- Models: Mazzanti Evantra, etc.
- Models: Delta, Kappa, Autobianchi Y10, Lambda, Lybra, Appia, Motecarlo, etc.
About: Iveco, also known as Industrial Vehicle Corporation, is well-known for Italian passenger and commercial vehicle manufacturing companies. The brand was launched in 1975 by a merger of Italian, French & German brands.
Other Current Manufacturers
| Alkè | Gruppo Bertone |
| Auto EVO | Intermeccanica |
| Automobili Estrema | Iso |
| Automobili Mottola | Italcar |
| Ares Design | Italdesign Giugiaro |
| B. Engineering | Manifattura Automobili Torino |
| Bizzarrini | Mazzanti Automobili |
| Casalini | Osella |
| Cizeta | Pambuffetti Automobili |
| Corbellati | Picchio |
| Covini | Puritalia Automobili |
| De Tomaso | Spada Vetture Sport |
| DR Automobiles | Tazzari EV |
| Effeffe Cars | Wolf Racing Cars |
| Fioravanti | Zagato |
| FV-Frangivento | Giotti Victoria |
Former Manufacturers
| Manufacturers | Operating Time |
|---|---|
| ALCA | 1947 |
| ALFA | 1910 to 1918 |
| APIS | 1903 |
| Ali Ciemme | 1986 to 1992 |
| Amilcar Italiana | 1925 to 1928 |
| Ansaldi | 1904 |
| Ansaldo | 1921 to 1931 |
| Anzani | 1923 to 1924 |
| Aquila | 1906 to 1917 |
| ASA | 1962 to 1967 |
| Aurea | 1920 to 1933 |
| Autobianchi | 1957 to 1987 |
| Bandini | 1946 to 1992 |
| Barosso | 1923 to 1924 |
| Beccaria | 1911 to 1916 |
| Bernardi | 1899 to 1901 |
| Biagini | 1990 to 1993 |
| Bianchi | 1899 to 1939 |
| Brixia-Zust | 1906 to 1911 |
| Calafiore Automobili | 2017 to 2021 |
| Cantono | 1900 to 1911 |
| Ceirano | 1901 to 1904 |
| Chiribiri | 1910 to 1928 |
| Cisitalia | 1946 to 1965 |
| Conrero | 1951 to 1961 |
| De Tomaso | 1959 to 2004 |
| De Vecchi | 1905 to 1917 |
| Diatto | 1905 to 1955 |
| Dora Electric | NA |
| Ermini | 1948 to 1962 |
| Esperia | 1905 to 1910 |
| FAST | 1919 to 1925 |
| Ferves | 1965 to 1970 |
| Fides | 1905 to 1911 |
| Fimer | 1948 to 1949 |
| Fissore | 1971 to 1982 |
| FLAG | 1905 to 1908 |
| Florentia | 1903 to 1912 |
| Fornasari | 2001 to 2015 |
| FOD | 1925 to 1927; 1948 to 1949 |
| Franco | 1907 to 1912 |
| Ghia | 1915 to 1973 |
| IATO | 1989 to 1992 |
| IENA | 1921 to 1925 |
| Innocenti | 1961 to 1996 |
| Isetta | 1950 to 1970 |
| Isotta Fraschini | 1900 to 1948 |
| Itala | 1904 to 1935 |
| Junior | 1905 to 1910 |
| Lanza | 1895 to 1903 |
| Lawil | 1967 to 1986 |
| LMX Sirex | 1968 to 1974 |
| Lombardi | 1969 to 1974 |
| Maggiora | 1905 |
| Majocchi | 1898 to 1906 |
| Marca-Tre-Spade | 1908 to 1911 |
| Marchand | 1898 to 1909 |
| Martin | 1990 to 2015 |
| Mazzieri | 1993 to 1994 |
| Menon | 1897 to 1902 |
| Monterosa | 1959 to 1961 |
| Moretti | 1945 to 1984 |
| Nardi | 1947 to 1964 |
| Nazzaro | 1911 to 1923 |
| Officine Meccaniche | 1918 to 1939 |
| OSCA | 1947 to 1967 |
| OSI | 1963 to 1968 |
| Panther | circa 1956 |
| Prinetti & Stucchi | 1898 to 1902 |
| Qvale | 2000 to 2003 |
| Rapid | 1905 to 1921 |
| Savio | 1965 to c.1983 |
| SCAT | 1906 to 1923 |
| Scirea | 1910 to 1927 |
| Serenissima | 1965 to 1970 |
| SIAM | 1921 to 1923 |
| Siata | 1948 to 1970 |
| Siva | 1967 to 1970 |
| SPA | 1906 to 1926 |
| Standard/FAS | 1906 to 1912 |
| Stanga | 1948 to c.1952 |
| Stanguellini | 1946 to 1966 |
| Storero | 1912 to 1919 |
| Taurinia | 1902 to 1908 |
| Temperino | 1919 to 1924 |
| Titania | 1966 |
| Turinelli & Pezza | 1899 |
| Urbanina | 1965 to c.1973 |
| Vaghi | 1920 to 1924 |
| Vespa | 1957 to 1961 |
| Zust | 1905 to 1918 |
List Of Famous Car Personalities From Italy
- Enzo Ferrari – Founder of the eponymous sports car brand Ferrari and one of the most influential figures in the history of the automotive industry.
- Ferruccio Lamborghini – Founder of the luxury car brand Lamborghini and a pioneer of high-performance sports cars.
- Ettore Bugatti – Founder of the car company Bugatti and a leading designer of luxury cars and race cars in the early 20th century.
- Gianni Agnelli – Former CEO of the Italian automotive company Fiat and a prominent figure in the Italian business world.
- Sergio Marchionne – Former CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and a leading figure in the global automotive industry.
- Luca di Montezemolo – Former chairman of Ferrari and a prominent figure in the world of motorsports.
- Vittorio Jano – An Italian automotive engineer and designer who worked for Alfa Romeo and Lancia and is credited with developing some of the most successful racing cars of the 1920s and 1930s.
- Nuccio Bertone – Founder of the Italian car design firm Bertone and a leading figure in the world of automotive design.
FAQs
Are Italian cars reliable?
One can easily trust made-in-Italy automobiles by seeing the history and engineering behind automakers.
How many Italian car brands are there?
As of 2021, there are over 50 small, medium, and large-scale manufacturers. These include Lamborghini, Ferrari, etc.
Which is the biggest car manufacturer in Italy?
With 16 car brands, Stellantis is the biggest car manufacturing group in Italy. It owns Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Fiat Professional, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Mopar, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, and Vauxhall. With multiple plants and locations, Stellantis can produce over 6 million passenger and commercial vehicles.
Why Italy Is Famous For Automobiles?
Italy is famous for its cars for a number of reasons. First, the country has a long history of automotive manufacturing, with many of the world’s most iconic and prestigious car brands originating in Italy. These include Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, and Alfa Romeo, all of which are known for their high-performance sports cars and luxury vehicles. In addition, Italy is home to several major automotive design and engineering firms, which contribute to the country’s reputation as a leader in the automotive industry. Finally, Italy is known for its love of cars and car culture, with car ownership and racing being an important part of the country’s national identity.
Conclusion
From Jeep to Maserati, FCA is a true Global leader in Automobile manufacturing.
So far, I’ve covered all luxury, expensive & famous Italian car companies available in Italy. Most brands design and manufactures in Italy only and export to other countries. I’m not surprised that 90% of brands focus on performance/beautification, and a max of them are owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.
Let me know your favorite brand in the comment section. You can also explore the resources used in this article’s research.
Sources:
https://www.audi-mediacenter.com/en/press-releases/2021-lamborghinis-best-year-ever-for-sales-turnover-and-profitability-donation-to-unhcr-in-support-of-the-ukrainian-population-14570
https://media.lamborghini.com/english/latest-news/heritage
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Automotive_industry_in_Italy
