Italian Cars

This volume traces more than 150 years of Italian automotive history from the Maserati 3500GT, the Lamborghini Countach, and the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale all the way up to the electrified supercars and new hypercars of our future, like the Pagani Utopia, Pininfarina Battista, and Estrema Fulminea. The automobile is one of the symbols of Made in Italy around the world. Its success is the result of the genius and creativity of a select group of Italians, and a culture and history that has allowed the country to set the standard for good taste through great intuition and revolutionary creations. It is true that the automobile was born in Germany, but it was in Italy that the first internal combustion engine was invented, in 1853, thanks to Eugenio Barsanti and Felice Matteucci. This book tells the story of the Italian automobile through ever-changing conditions. The chapters follow a chronological format that reviews social, economic, and political factors, both in Italy and internationally, as well as the various eras of the Italian car and its development based on design generations and mechanical innovation.

Enzo Rizzo is a professional journalist. He is a contributing editor for two magazines, Monsieur and Spirito diVino, and he also works for Il Giornale and Flotte&Finanza. Together with his colleague, Giuseppe Guzzardi, he compiled the multimedia production Alfa Romeo: A Century of Racing, and he has written Convertibles: History and Evolution of Dream Cars and Motor Racing: The Drivers and Their Machines, which were both published by White Star.

Giorgetto Giugiaro, one of the most famous Italian designers, works in many fields, but became internationally renowned largely as a result of his work in the automotive field. He has designed exclusive sports cars and popular road models such as the Alfetta GT/GTV, the Ferrari 250 GT Bertone, the Fiat Panda, and the Fiat Punto. In 1999 Giorgetto Giugiaro was honored with the title “Car Designer of the Century,” and in 2002 he was admitted into the Automotive Hall of Fame.