Celebrating the Art of Italian Coachbuilding
Celebrating the Art of Italian Coachbuilding
Imagine strolling into a 1970 auto show and coming face-to-future with a vehicle so low and sharp it could slice the bell-bottoms right off your leisure suit. In the 1970s, Italian design houses like Pininfarina, Bertone, Ghia, and Italdesign were in a feverish race to envision the car of tomorrow – and apparently, tomorrow was shaped like a doorstop.
Explore the full history of the Maserati Quattroporte: from Frua’s royal prototypes to modern luxury icons. Discover the designers, coachbuilders, and unique models that shaped Italy’s legendary sports sedan.
In a decade of neon and excess, one car captured imaginations like no other: the Ferrari Testarossa. Introduced in 1984 as a dramatic departure from Ferrari’s boxy 1970s Berlinetta Boxer, the Testarossa was Ferrari’s answer to the Boxer’s faults – a larger, airier grand tourer with a flat-12 heart. Mid-engined and sculpted by Pininfarina, it quickly became the iconic poster car of the 1980s, immortalized on TV (think Miami Vice), in video games (Sega’s Out Run) and on posters in teenage bedrooms. In short, the Testarossa was Ferrari’s declaration of “maximum style”, blending raw power with outrageous fashion. Below we dive into its genesis, styling, engineering, cultural impact, and some fun behind-the-scenes tidbits – all backed by authoritative sources (and a wink or two for humor).
Italy in the 1950s was a place where wrecked roads and rationed fuel couldn’t stop a design revolution. Post-war Italians approached car design with the same gusto they applied to opera and espresso – loud, passionate, and utterly original. The result was the birth of the fuoriserie movement, a golden age of custom-built cars crafted by master carrozzieri (coachbuilders) that turned everyday chassis into rolling art. This was the era when a humble Fiat could don a bespoke suit of aluminum and when driving your one-of-a-kind coupe to the local café made you a minor celebrity. In this long-form road trip through history, we’ll explore how Italy’s coachbuilders redefined automotive artistry in the ’50s, blending technical innovation with cultural flair in a way that was as humorous and engaging as it was groundbreaking.
The concours d’elegance (French for “competition of elegance”) began as a rolling aristocratic fashion show. Long before cars existed, 17th-century Parisian blue-bloods paraded their ornate horse-drawn carriages in the city’s manicured parks. As the age of horsepower gave way to horsepower of a mechanical sort, the contests transformed into competitions between owners of extremely expensive automobiles. It was less about speed and more about style: finely crafted coaches—and later cars—were paraded alongside impeccably dressed ladies and gentlemen, with judges taking stock of every shimmering detail.
What do you do when you’ve got a brilliant V6 race engine, big dreams for Formula 2, and no way to build 500 road cars fast enough to satisfy the FIA? If you’re Enzo Ferrari, you knock on Fiat’s door, flash a charming smile, and ask for a favor that ends up creating one of the most unexpected—and glorious—partnerships in Italian automotive history.
When we visited designer Paolo Martin for a retrospective on his extraordinary body of work, one particular shape in his archive stood apart from everything else—low, razor-sharp, almost extraterrestrial in its geometry. More than fifty years after its debut, the Ferrari Modulo still looks like something plucked from the future. And in many ways, it was.
Discover the remarkable story of Pininfarina’s bold move at the 1946 Paris Auto Show. Despite Italy’s ban, Battista Farina and his son Sergio showcased their stunning Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 and Lancia Aprilia, captivating crowds and earning international acclaim.
Discover the history of the Fiat 1100 TV Trasformabile, the Italian Corvette that blended American-inspired design with European charm. Explore its evolution, design features, and legacy as one of Fiat’s most stylish classic spiders.
Few cars in Ferrari’s history hold as much intrigue as the 250 GT Interim—a rare and fascinating link between two legends, the 250 GT Berlinetta and the 250 GT SWB (Short Wheelbase). Produced in the late 1950s, this model embodied Ferrari’s transition from early grand tourers to race-bred sports cars, blending cutting-edge engineering with unmistakable Italian craftsmanship.
2025 marks a significant milestone for the Lancia Ypsilon, celebrating its 40th anniversary as one of the most iconic city cars in Italian automotive history. Since its debut at the Geneva Motor Show in 1985, the Ypsilon has gone through five generations, 36 special editions, and has won the hearts of over three million drivers. Today, with the New Ypsilon, the brand continues its legacy by blending elegance, technology, and innovation.
The shooting brake: part coupé, part wagon, all class. It’s the kind of car that makes you want to throw on a tailored jacket, grab a pair of fine leather driving gloves, and pretend you’re en route to a countryside estate—whether you own one or not. Originally designed for aristocrats who needed room for hunting gear (and possibly a few hounds), the shooting brake evolved into a rare breed of automobile, blending performance with just enough practicality to convince yourself it’s a reasonable purchase.
