In the USA, at least, the Fiat 124 Coupe dwells in the long shadow of its Spider sister, but globally, the closed car may have been the more important vehicle. It was also the better…
Posts tagged Italian Cars
Lamborghini Espada: Sant’Agata’s Four-Seat Masterpiece
There are few things finer than a Lamborghini that you can take friends along in, and I don’t mean the (ahem) Urus. It’ll cost you plenty now, but for many years the Lamborghini Espada was…
Fiat 127: The Birth of the Supermini
In the 1970s, the Supermini was king of European car dealerships, and the Fiat 127 was arguably the first of the breed. The new wave of space-efficient front-drive small cars traced back to the Mini…
Alfa-Romeo Tipo 916: The Next Generation
It was the summer of 1995 and finally, a new Alfa Spider had arrived – at least for Europeans. After 27 years, the last of the old 105-series Spiders rolled off the line in April…
AlfaSud Ti: The Pocket Rocket
If Starsky and Hutch had been from Napoli instead of Bay City, this is how they would have rolled – in a striped, souped up AlfaSud Ti. The front-drive AlfaSud wasn’t quite as tail-happy as…
Fiat 132: Familiar but Forgotten
It wasn’t originally meant to be a “flagship.” When the Fiat 132 was new, it was just the latest iteration of Fiat’s large family car – descended from the old Fiat 1400/1500 and its immediate…
Alfa-Romeo Junior Z: The Far Out Future
Zagato-bodied Alfas in the 1960s were built for speed. Although Carrozzeria Zagato was generally known for outrageous styling, much of it was modeled on function – Alfa’s TZ and SZ Giulias were beautiful, but they…
Fiat Brava: Could’ve Been a Contender
A trip to the film archives takes us back today to OldMotors’ very own 1981 Fiat Brava, then just an unloved old car from a largely forgotten make. Better known as the 131, Fiat changed…
Flashback: Alfa 1900 Berlina in Ascona
Greetings from 1950s Switzerland! From Ascona, on the north end of Lake Maggiore, to be exact. A pair of Simca Arondes (a Berline and a Grand Large hardtop) face away from us and a Hillman…
Moretti 850 Sportiva: Dino in Miniature
Moretti as a manufacturer came to an end thirty years ago this month, after 64 years of producing motorcycles, sports cars, and what it was best known for by 1989 – Fiat based specials. The…
Glorious Swan Song:
Iso Lele
It ended up being the company’s last new production car, although nobody could have known that when the Iso Lele debuted in 1969. Meant to replace the original Iso GT, the Iso Rivolta IR300 that…
Last Call for the Maserati Brothers: OSCA 1600 GT2
There were seven Maserati Brothers in all – Carlo, Bindo, Alfieri (I), Alfieri (II), Mario, Ettore, and Ernesto. Carlo, the eldest, died in 1910 but worked for Fiat and Isotta-Fraschini. The third Brother, Alfieri (I)…