If you’re looking to buy a luxury car, you’ve probably considered the brands from Germany and Japan, but did you know that Italy also has some amazing luxury car brands?
While Ferraris are more famous than Maseratis and Lamborghinis, there are plenty of other Italian luxury cars that rival their German and Japanese counterparts in quality and performance. Check out this list of the top 16 Italian car brands to see which one might be right for you!
What is a Luxury Italian Car?
When people think of Italian cars, they often think of high-end, luxury sports or exotic cars, such as Ferraris and Lamborghinis.
The truth is that there are many different Italian auto manufacturers; some you might have heard of (Ferrari), others perhaps not (Iso).
What’s important to remember when looking at Italian car brands is that these companies make everything from high-performance sports vehicles to supercars and even limousines.
If you’re interested in buying an Italian-made vehicle, here are some options we recommend checking out.
What Are Some Famous Italian Cars?
Italian sports car companies like Ferrari and Maserati are world-renowned for their fast, flashy vehicles. But how many Italian car manufacturers are there?
What are some Italian luxury car brands? While all of these questions have a variety of answers (there are plenty of Italian companies to choose from), let’s focus on the top three that produce high-end and high-performance vehicles.
Italian Car Brands List
The Italian car industry has a long history and produced some of the most successful and enduring vehicles in automotive history.
The Italian luxury car industry is a collection of large corporations (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini), small family-owned companies (Lancia) as well as foreign-owned companies (Alfa Romeo, Lancia).
How many car brands are in Italy? Are some of them still relevant today? Which Italian Car Is Best?
Abarth
The Abarth & C. company was started by Carlo and Adele Bertone, who built parts for Lancia, Cisitalia, and Fiat in the late 1920s.
The company began selling complete vehicles in 1947 and is most famous for its performance models like its 500 Series, 124 Series, 595 Series, and 695 series which are created to compete against various Italian sports car manufacturers like Ferrari, Maserati, and Lamborghini.
It is currently a subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). In 2012 they introduced their new 1.4 L turbocharged engine with direct injection technology named Tigershark that produces 170 bhp at 5500 rpm along with 185 lb-ft of torque at 2500 rpm.
Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio
It’s hard to beat a well-tuned Italian sports car. The 2017 Alfa Romeo Giulia Quadrifoglio was designed in collaboration with Ferrari, so it has some serious power.
A 6-liter V6 engine means 450 horsepower and 510 pound-feet of torque. All that power is put to the road through an 8-speed automatic transmission with paddle shifters on either side of the steering wheel for manual control.
With a little effort, you can achieve 60 mph in only 3.9 seconds before topping out at 191 mph!
Carbon ceramic brakes bring it all to a stop when necessary, but you might not want to slow down too much because you’ll just want to speed up again as soon as possible!
Ferrari F12
The Ferrari F12 is an Italian sports car that was introduced in 2012 as a successor to its famous predecessor, the Ferrari 599.
What’s interesting about it? Well, it boasts a total of 731 horsepower and can reach top speeds of over 217 mph.
It’s not bad, is it? And that’s just one of many reasons why people love Italian cars like Lamborghini and Ferraris so much. There are more Italians on our list of top-rated sports vehicles!
Covini Engineering
The company that brought you one of today’s most stunning, fast, and engaging supercars, has done it again. It’s hard to believe that Covini is only a small manufacturer with just under 50 employees.
In fact, Covini works closely with other Italian car companies for components such as engines and braking systems, but their expertise lies in their extraordinary ability to conceive and design their own parts.
As an example, they have designed and manufactured everything from gearboxes to drive shafts.
They also work on many different levels of design and build prototypes that are then evaluated for further development or actual production.
Fornasari
The Fornasari model is an Italian sports car that was designed and built by brothers Rino and Massimo Fornasari.
As a result of their knowledge of aerodynamics and automotive design, they’ve been able to develop a stylish, high-performance vehicle that features some unique innovations.
Many people like to call it one of Italy’s best sports cars. The most striking feature of their vehicle is its V-shaped windshield, which provides superior protection against wind drag, yet still allows for clear visibility for drivers.
It was a successful start for these entrepreneurs; Fornasari has already gone on to produce several other models and has sold nearly 2,000 vehicles in total.
Fiat
The Fiat brand is as well-known and as respected as Italian luxury car brands come. Italian style, performance, and reliability are some of its hallmarks, but perhaps Fiat’s biggest achievement is that it’s able to do all that at a competitive price—especially when compared to its primary competitor Ferrari.
Of course, even if you’re familiar with Italian sports car brands in general and Ferrari in particular, there are plenty of other notable producers in Italy to investigate.
Ferrari GTC4Lusso
The Ferrari GTC4Lusso is a beauty with an engine to match. At about $263,750 for a used model and $360,000 for a new one, it’s not exactly an affordable Italian car brand.
The company’s flagship is basically an extension of its most luxurious offerings. It comes equipped with leather-covered trim and controls, A/C vents that are almost as big as iPads, and a 12-speaker Bose audio system.
What’s more impressive? The GTC4Lusso is built like a tank to withstand any type of weather in style.
It boasts 599 horsepower — making it one of the fastest accelerating production vehicles on earth — and can go 0-60 mph in under three seconds.
Gruppo Bertone
Founded in Turin, Italy in 1914, Bertone has been synonymous with Italian automotive design for more than a century. Originally crafting coach bodies for private automobiles, as any good firm would do at that time.
By 1975, Bertone began building limited-production supercars and by 2000 it sold off its commercial vehicle construction division to focus on sports cars.
Today they still offer some of the most exotic production cars in existence and are regarded as some of the best-looking luxury vehicles around.
With all of their contributions to automotive history and culture, no list of Italian car manufacturers is complete without Gruppo Bertone’s name on it.
IVECO
No one will be surprised to learn that Iveco has supplied a truck to a major event; after all, they make some of Europe’s most popular trucks.
Recently though, Iveco had its first real break-out moment when it became an official partner with Ferrari for Champions League football.
Now, apart from football fans in Italy and across Europe, many fans also now recognize Iveco as a top-tier Italian automotive brand too.
A great achievement gave that over 60% of Iveco’s sales are outside of Europe! If you want to know more about these Italian automotive wonders – don’t miss our Italian car companies list post!
Lamborghini Aventador S
Lamborghini is famous for producing some of the most extravagant and expensive supercars in existence.
Despite a sharp drop in sales following an economic crisis, Lamborghini managed to earn a strong recovery thanks to its release of numerous vehicles that appealed to a wider market and more budget-friendly customers.
While models like their Huracan don’t quite match up to their more exclusive counterparts, they’ve still considered luxury cars in every sense of the word.
When you consider models like its famous Aventador S and realize just how many variations are out there, it’s easy to see why Italians can feel justifiably proud about their Italian car brand names when it comes time for driving on exotic Italian roads.
Lanci
When it comes to Italian carmakers, Lanci might not be a household name—yet. The relatively young company has made waves in Europe and beyond with its super-fast hypercar, LaFerrari.
LaFerrari’s predecessor, Enzo Ferrari, is named after its founder and was dubbed as one of Time’s greatest cars of all time (all time!). If you’re considering an Italian vehicle, check out Lanci’s other offerings to see what else they have in store.
Mazzanti Evantra
The Mazzanti Evantra is a stunning Italian supercar that packs a ton of power into its sleek exterior. If you’re looking for speed and performance, look no further than the Evantra.
Although it has been on sale in Europe since 2011, it is just now hitting American markets, starting with California in 2015.
Made in Milan by Mazzanti Automobili Srl, there are only 50 examples available on U.S. soil for 2015 due to limited availability and licensing issues; however, if demand exceeds supply, more Events will be made available to America at a cost of $2 million each.
Maserati Granturismo MC
The Maserati Granturismo MC is a mid-size luxury sports coupe, named after its two predecessors – Granturismo S and Granturismo.
The GranTurismo model has previously launched in 2007 and 2011. And now it’s finally here, with a brand new generation.
Featuring all of Maserati’s traditional high-end design, technology, and comfort amenities, and an incredibly powerful engine, to boot. So what are some Italian car brands? This just might be at number one of your top ten.
Pagani Huayra
The Pagani Huayra is one of those hypercars you simply must see and hear to believe. Everything about it, including its price tag, screams Italian exoticness—and with a starting MSRP of $1.4 million, you’ll certainly get your money’s worth.
Whether your choice is for aesthetic reasons or due to its AMG-sourced twin-turbo V12 engine, there’s no denying that Pagani has managed to produce an exquisite work of automotive art.
Where other top-of-the-line supercars might focus on performance or utility, Pagani made sure that beauty was at least as important as performance in its latest model.
Pininfarina
Although most people are aware of Ferrari and Maserati as Italian automotive companies, far fewer recognize Pininfarina.
Yet few auto designers have garnered more respect over time. Giuseppe Nino Pininfarina designed beautiful automobiles for his family’s company since 1946, including Ferraris and Rolls-Royces, along with plenty of other European makes.
He also influenced generations of designers by creating schools in Turin that focused on vehicle design.
In 2004 he was named a Knight Commander of Britain’s Order of St. Michael and St. George—one step below full knighthood—in recognition of his efforts to promote understanding between Britain and Italy during World War II; he even saved Queen Elizabeth II’s life at one point when she was still a princess!
DR Motor Company
Based in Bologna, DR Motor Company is a small operation that’s only produced three vehicles since being founded in 1999.
The first two were concept vehicles, but they broke into production with the third, or so it seems—the Ghezzi Rolex Replica 2012 Replica Carrozzeria Ghia was built on existing Ford components and sold under license.
DR has plans to produce other models for sale in limited numbers, making them difficult to come by.
Summary:
Which are, in your opinion, the best Italian Car Brands? If you’re passionate about Automobiles and love to see/read about amazing cars, then you should definitely check out our list of the top 16 Luxury Cars From Italy!
So today we’ve decided to put together a list of top Italian car brands. The following table is a compiled ranking based on research done by experts within the automotive industry.
Please note that for consideration for our Top 16 ranking it had to be an actual brand (no one-off models) and made by an Italian manufacturer… (that alone eliminates most Fiat Chrysler offerings).
We also have excluded any vehicles that are no longer in production. So if you’re not too familiar with these great Italian marques – get ready because you’ll learn something new!
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