The 12 best Italian cars ever made

Fiat Panda

Italians make great car builders for many reasons, but above all else, it's the passion that seeps into every machine they build that makes their cars stand out, something that's true of even the humblest machines like the current brio-laden Fiat Panda. While it doesn't look special now, in 50 years, we'll pour love over the Panda with the same enthusiasm the classic Fiat 500 gets now. In the Panda, Fiat's magically made an upright box look pert and interesting, and its unique twin-cylinder engines are exotic in a city-car world filled with fours and triples. Reinforcing this noble car's Italian credentials is the fact that it is deeply flawed, its two-star NCAP rating pointing to the fact that its innovative design sits on an ancient platform.

Lancia Stratos

When the Germans go rallying, they do it sensibly. The Audi Quattro was a relatively conventional front-engine coupé with a stout five-cylinder engine, which – and we're taking nothing away from revolutionary four-wheel drive in a high-performance motor car – had, frankly, none of the flare of the Lancia Stratos. Bonkers doesn't really do the Stratos justice as a rallying proposition. Its Bertone-penned lines were masterful but gave the mid-engined Lancia a tiny wheelbase and a 40/60 weight distribution that spun quicker than DJ Lethal. The job of providing a reliable rally-ready power plant fell to – drumroll – Ferrari, a firm not famed for its durability. Humoured scepticism aside, the Stratos would win three World Rally Championships in a row looking and sounding stunning as it did, ensuring the Italians were the last ones laughing.

Lamborghini Diablo

Replacing the breathtaking Lamborghini Countach – a car whose name literally means 'phwoar' in Italian – was no small task, so it says everything about the Diablo that no one questioned its succession when it went on sale in 1990. The Diablo swapped the geometrics of later Countachs for 1990's curve with a cab-forward wedge that was less try-hard but equally imposing. Early Diablos (without the huge spoiler) look purist of all and are also light, doing without the four-wheel drive fitted to later versions of the standard car. While old supercars tend to mellow with age, the 536PS (394kW) Diablo is still an animal to drive with a relentless V12 bark that'll send tingles up your spine. The odd interior layout – complete with stacked dials – confirms the Diablo is the last pre-VW era Lamborghini.

Abarth 595

Based on the Fiat Panda, the Abarth 595 could never compete with the sporty drive of a Mini Cooper S with independent rear suspension, so how else could sportiness be injected into the 500-based hatch? Stick a ruddy big exhaust on it, of course. Even at idle, the Abarth slurps, coughs and splutters like something far more interesting, burbling at a cruise and crackling on the overrun (without the cynicism of a VW-group product) as the turbo whistles tunefully in the background. Factor in the retro shape and the Abarth's combination of striking colours, big wheels, and decals, and you have a car that oozes character and costs a lot less than its British rival.

Ferrari F40

Happily, the Ferrari F40 is as beloved as it is excellent. It arguably set a standard that is yet to be surpassed of driver involvement and excitement. Yes, there are faster sports saloons now but the F40 in its day was warp-speed fast, both in a straight line and in the twisties. Lightweight, powerful, well set-up. Arguably, with the F40, Ferrari created the first-ever hypercar.

Alfa Romeo Giulia Sprint GTA

Long before BMW M, Mercedes-AMG, and Audi Sport, Alfa Romeo were producing performance variants of their conventional road cars. The 1960s Giulia is perhaps the best example of this pre-super saloon era of tarted-up conventional cars. The Giulia GTA traded steel bodywork for aluminium and ran a twin-plug head on its revvy 1.6-litre engine. The A stood for Allegorita, Italian for Lightened. We don’t need to tell you how brilliant this little car was because you already know.

Pagani Zonda

The odds were entirely against the Pagani Zonda on release in 1999. Pagani was a new relatively unknown name, the car was extravagant and excessive. It could have been fairly described as an Italian TVR. What the Zonda actually wound up being, much to the surprise of the industry and journalists, was one of the best Italian supercars ever made. Yes desirable, yes fast (particularly as subsequent versions were released) but crucially, very, very good. It was reliable and famously, entirely juxtaposing its jaw-dropping looks, reportedly very easy to drive. The Mercedes-AMG V12 engine had mountains of torque, the steering and chassis were well-calibrated, the clutch was light and the cabin was airy. A modern-day Countach it was but only in the very best ways.

Maserati Bora

Some may credit the Honda NSX or even latterly, the Audi R8, as the world’s first usable supercars. By our reckoning, they’re way off. Let us introduce you to the Maserati Bora, a mid-engined supercar engineered in 1969 that offered practicality, comfort and sophisticated design. The usual supercar niceties are there: independent suspension, a rapturous V8 engine and sleek wedge styling by Giugiaro in his Italdesign days. What it had that no other supercar had, was adjustable pedals, an adjustable steering rack, good air conditioning, electric windows, half-decent soundproofing and a decent-sized boot. This was a decent-driving pleasant-driving supercar that was much more amenable in everyday circumstances. A shame then, that it went unappreciated, with just under 600 sold in its seven years on sale.

Ferrari 458 Speciale

Many journalists will tell you the 458 Speciale is the finest Ferrari ever made and therefore, the finest Italian car ever made. You’ve got to admit, the ingredients are mouth-watering. A 600PS (441kW) 4.5-litre V8 that revs to 9,000rpm, a dual-clutch transmission, a soundtrack to humble the gods, and sophisticated electronics, all attached to the already sublime 458 platform. Whatever Ferrari takes your preference is entirely up to you but ask anyone who’s driven one and they’ll say the Speciale is objectively one of, if not the best. 

Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato

The Fulvia like the little Alfa Giulia was a superb little car during its 13-year run between 1963 and 1976. Originally debuting as an unassuming saloon, the Fulvia would grow into a desirable sporting coupe and in the form of the Sport Zagato, a special-bodied fully-fledged sports coupe. Yes, the Fulvia Sport Zagato was a full Zagato, being constructed at the coachbuilder’s Milanese premises. The Sport 1600 had the honour of being the fastest production Fulvia ever produced. 

Fiat 8V

Just as Ferrari was in the first years of its sportscar building life, Fiat joined the fray with the 8V in 1952. Named because Fiat believed Ford had a copyright on ‘V8’, this diminutive little sportscar used a 2.0-litre V8 engine producing up to 127PS (93kW). Crucially also, the 8V would serve as the underpinning for some of the most stunning coachbuilt bodies of the era. Vignale, Zagato and Ghia all had multiple versions of the 8V, with beautiful custom bodywork. Fast the 8V wasn’t but it was an exemplary Italian beauty.

Ferrari F355

Upon his arrival at Ferrari in 1991, Luca di Montezemolo was unimpressed with what he found. A lacklustre line-up of cars that were unreliable, expensive to maintain and far from class leaders in terms of performance. That simply wouldn’t do. Out with the 348, in with the F355, a comprehensively reengineered version of the former with beautiful modernised styling, five-valve heads on its 3.5-litre V8 helping it produce 380PS (279kW). The was the beginning of a return to form for Ferrari in the 1990s, as it found its direction again following Enzo Ferrari’s death in 1988.

So those are our picks of the best Italian cars ever. Do you agree? Are you currently trying to slap us through your phone/computer screen? Let us know where we went wrong in the comments…

Lancia images and Alfa Romeo image courtesy of Bonhams.