Classic car concepts that deserve to be remembered
Italy’s automotive heritage is often celebrated – and rightly so.
With so many manufacturers, both big and small, there are classic cars aplenty for us enthusiasts to get excited about, but what about those extravagant concepts that too often get overlooked?
Here, in chronological order, we’re recalling some of the most outlandish concepts cars crafted by Italian car makers.
How many do you remember and which are your favourites?
1. 1967 Lamborghini Marzal
First presented at the Geneva motor show in 1967, the Lamborghini Marzal was never really intended to be a production car.
It was a pure concept, according to Ferruccio Lamborghini, designed by Bertone’s Marcello Gandini, but elements would end up being used in the production Espada.
It would, however, live forever in the minds of enthusiasts in miniature form, via toys made by Dinky and Matchbox.
2. 1967 Dino 206 Competizione Prototipo
Born from the Dino-engine-powered Ferrari sports cars that were campaigned at Le Mans, this Paolo Martin-penned design was one of his first for Pininfarina.
While there’s an obvious familial link to the looks of the racing Dinos, much of the design was brand-new, aimed at pushing the boundaries of aerodynamics.
It was a fully functioning prototype, and even used an engine that had raced at Le Mans.
3. 1967 Fiat Dino Parigi
This shooting-brake version of the Fiat Dino took its name from the 1967 Paris motor show, where it made its debut.
While it was an exercise in the possibilities of the shooting-brake style, it also experimented with the aerodynamics of Kamm-tail designs.
One of three Pininfarina takes on the Fiat Dino chassis, the Parigi allowed Paolo Martin to develop his aerodynamic ideas.
4. 1968 Alfa Romeo 33 Carabo
As beautiful as the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale was, it was far too expensive to buy and far too difficult for race team Autodelta to build.
That car was intended to be a road car homologated for racing, but in the end Alfa Romeo couldn’t sell five, instead handing the chassis over to the cream of Italy’s design talent.
The Carabo, designed by Marcello Gandini, is arguably the most influential concept car, thanks to the scissor doors that have been a hallmark of supercar design ever since.
5. 1969 Alfa Romeo 33 Iguana
Alongside Gandini, Giorgetto Giugiaro was a pioneer in wedge-shaped design.
You can see elements of this in his 33 Iguana concept, one of the first for his then-fledgling ItalDesign firm.
Again based on a 33 Stradale, it later had its original engine replaced with that of an Alfa Romeo Montreal.
Its brushed-metal roof frame and cabin pillars would go on to influence Giugiaro’s De Lorean DMC-12, while you can see elements of the Alfetta GTV and Maserati Bora elsewhere in the design.
6. 1970 Lancia Stratos Zero
Another Marcello Gandini masterpiece, this Lancia got its name from the stratosphere and it was suitably science fiction.
Based on a crashed Lancia Fulvia HF1600 rally car, it has a maximum height of 84cm (33in), a dashboard you climb up the front of the car to get into, a retractable steering wheel and a then-novel digital control screen.
The later Stratos road/rally car would carry over a few details from this concept, but it would also help to establish the wedge shape as the cutting edge of car design.
7. 1971 Maserati Boomerang
Arguably one of Giorgetto Giugiaro’s most influential works, this one-off made its static debut at the Turin motor show in 1971, and a year later had developed Maserati Bora underpinnings for the Geneva show.
Designed as a functional car, it would inform Giugiaro’s designs for years to come, most notably the Lotus Esprit, VW Golf Mk1, Lancia Delta and De Lorean DMC-12.
If it was wild on the outside, the inside matched it, too. The steering wheel and instruments are part of a single console emanating from the dashboard, with the wheel rotating around the instruments.
8. 1974 Lamborghini Bravo
Unlike many concept cars, which barely top more than 100 miles, even if fully functional, the Bravo did more than 40,000 miles in testing before being put into the Lamborghini museum and later sold.
Designed by Bertone’s Marcello Gandini as the Urraco replacement, it was powered by that car’s 3-litre V8.
Just one was built (though it changed colour several times), and while it didn’t make production, certain elements were incorporated into the Lamborghini Countach.
9. 1974 Maserati Medici
Replacing the original Maserati Quattroporte was to be a challenging prospect, one that resulted in several concept cars and just a handful of road cars before Alejandro de Tomaso ditched the II and moved on to the III.
One of the steps on the way was the Medici concept car project, which saw two concepts from Giorgetto Giugiaro.
The Medici I, seen here, featured six seats, with the middle row not facing the direction of travel.
This Maserati Indy-based machine made its debut at the 1974 Turin motor show. Two years later it was revived, with just four seats, but also a bar, fridge, desk and file holder, as well as a TV and radio.
10. 1976 Ferrari 308 Rainbow
Marcello Gandini’s Ferrari 308GT4 is one of the most controversial Prancing Horse V8s ever made, and has only recently begun to be appreciated for the stylish design it always was.
The negative reception to the car in period meant that we were probably denied something like the Rainbow, which uses 308 underpinnings.
It features a novel, one-piece, targa-style roof, that rotated 90 degrees before being stored between the seats and the engine.
11. 1978 Fiat Ecos
This might not seem like such an outlandish car, but this was Pininfarina’s take on an electric car way back in 1978.
Launched at that year’s Turin motor show, it had a 26kW electric motor driving the front wheels, 12 6V batteries at 30kg (66lb) each and an 80kph (50mph) top speed.
While electric cars were decades away from a production reality, the design would evolve into the ICE-powered city cars of the 1980s.
12. 1978 Lancia Sibilo
This Bertone design reimagined the Lancia Stratos as a GT car for maximum ergonomic comfort.
The steering wheel was designed to more easily fit the hand, while the digital dashboard was placed close to the bottom of the windscreen to minimise distractions.
It also had an electronically controlled porthole and retractable headlamps.
While not quite as well appreciated as Marcello Gandini’s other designs, it certainly prompts an engaged response.
13. 1983 Alfa Romeo Zeta 6
This Alfa Romeo GTV6-based creation was designed by Giuseppe Mittino for Zagato, and would prove influential for one of the more controversial Aston Martins ever made.
Unlike many concept cars, a handful of Zetas were sold to the public, one of whom was a certain Victor Gauntlett, Aston Martin chairman.
In a few months, Aston Martin and Zagato set about the lightened, faster V8 Zagato, designed by Mittino and displaying some of the cues from the Zeta 6.
14. 1987 Lamborghini Portofino
Conceived during Chrysler’s stewardship of Lamborghini, this four-door saloon was styled by Kevin Verduyn.
It was a development of his Chrysler Navajo concept, and was built by Coggiola of Turin on a stretched Lamborghini Jalpa chassis.
Powered by the Jalpa’s 3.5-litre V8, it has dual, pillarless scissor doors, with the fronts pivoting upwards.
Though Lamborghini wouldn’t produce anything like it, the design would influence Chrysler products through the 1990s, most notably the Dodge Intrepid.
15. 1989 Ferrari Mythos
Using the Ferrari Testarossa as its base, the Mythos was Pietro Camardella and Lorenzo Ramaciotti’s take on an ultra-exclusive drop-top hypercar.
Though initially a one-off Pininfarina concept car, it is believed three examples were commissioned by the Sultan of Brunei.
Its design would ultimately go on to influence the Ferrari F50, which made its debut only a few years later.
16. 1990 Maserati Chubasco
This Marcello Gandini-designed hypercar was to use the twin-turbocharged V8 from the Shamal, but mid-mounted.
Despite the hype around the car, from the outset it was always too expensive for Maserati to produce, so it only existed as a static exhibit.
That didn’t stop Alejandro de Tomaso from ‘parking’ the Chubasco in the car park next to production cars for press launches…
17. 1992 Fiat Cinquecento Rush
Inspired by the dune buggies of the 1960s, the Fiat Cinquecento Rush was a Bertone project that stripped Fiat’s stubby little city car down to its very basics.
Although it looked far too out of this world to ever be productionised, it was apparently fully functional – but we wouldn’t want to be caught in the rain with no roof.
18. 1993 Ferrari FZ93
This one-off Zagato design used the Ferrari Testarossa as its base, with Ercola Spada – the man behind the Aston Martin DB4 Zagato and several infamous ’60s Zagato Alfas, as well as the E34 BMW 5 Series – responsible for the design.
Its original two-tone look didn’t go down well with Geneva motor show visitors, but Zagato has since painted the car red all over.
With the lines more clearly visible, you can certainly see where it might have informed the Enzo hypercar a decade later.
19. 1995 Castagna Vittoria
Making its debut at the 1995 Geneva show, Gioacchino Acampora’s design for Carrozzeria Castagna certainly made headlines.
Derived from the Alfa Romeo 75 but with a 3-litre Busso V6 that – according to Castagna – made 320bhp, it would remain a one-off, but a functional one.
To cope with the extra power it had beefed-up brakes, magnesium-alloy wheels and SZ-inspired suspension.
It sold via an online auction in 2023.
20. 1995 Lancia Kayak
Lancia’s big coupé of the 1990s – the Kappa – has a certain outsider appeal, but it’s not warmly remembered by the majority.
However, it could all have been so different if Bertone’s Kayak concept had been taken up.
Based on the Kappa, this stylish GT could have had a variety of four-, five- and six-cylinder engines, but the design epoch was moving towards the retrospective, and the Kayak ran aground as a one-off concept.
21. 1996 Fiat Barchetta Coupé
The Fiat Barchetta was a great success for its maker, but this Maggiore-built masterpiece hints at what could have been.
Maggiore’s head of product development sought inspiration from British two-seater coupés such as the MGB GT, but because the car would have posed a threat to the Fiat Coupé of the same era, it didn’t reach production reality.
22. 1997 Alfa Romeo Scighera
Fabrizio Giugiaro’s Scighera was designed to evoke Alfa Romeo’s racing cars of the 1950s and ’60s, but with a distinctly modern twist.
Entirely functional, its Alfa Romeo 164-based mechanicals used a twin-turbo 3-litre V6 Busso engine.
The doors opened conventionally, with electrically operated gullwing windows.
While it’s probably most famous for its appearance in the video game Need For Speed III: Hot Pursuit, there were hopes for a racing version and small-scale production, which sadly came to nothing.
23. 1997 Lamborghini LM003 Borneo
In the mid-1990s, Lamborghini’s Indonesian owners, Megatech, had led the company to break-even point.
However, it was also looking to the future, engaging Zagato to conceptualise the next generation of the Diablo – and this, the LM003.
Styled by Nori Harada, it was Lamborghini’s interpretation of a V8 Range Rover.
Intended as a collaboration between Lamborghini and Timor (the car maker, not the island), both the joint-venture company and the Indonesian financial market collapsed, leading to Lamborghini’s takeover by VW-Audi.
Both the Zagato Diablo and the Borneo were early casualties.
24. 1999 De Tomaso Nuova Pantera 2000
De Tomaso had spent much of the 1990s in the doldrums with the Guara and the Bigua, but with the Pantera concept of 1999, the grand old name was brought back to life.
Designed by Marcello Gandini, this was only ever a static concept car, and it would be the last ever produced by the De Tomaso company; it folded in 2004.
There is no interior, window or running gear – just one prototype was officially finished.
It’s now believed to be in a private Swiss collection.
25. 2000 Maserati Buran
Mercedes-Benz’s R63 AMG is famed for putting the potent 6.2-litre V8 engine into an MPV; the results are fast and, according to reports, somewhat frightening.
However, the hypercar SUV could have come earlier, and we’re not talking about the Renault Espace with an F1 engine, which was nowhere near production reality – unlike this.
The Maserati Buran concept, designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro, blended a 3.2-litre twin-turbo V8 from the Maserati 3200 with a four-wheel-drive system, and sliding doors for easy access.
26. 2003 Lancia Fulvia Coupé
Arguably the biggest what might have been – for the car and for the brand – has to be this concept car, designed by Alberto Dilillo and Flavio Manzoni for Lancia Centro Stile.
Though conceived with one eye on production, this Fiat Barchetta-based machine wouldn’t reach showrooms.
Which is a huge shame, given the massive positive reaction to the car at the 2003 Frankfurt motor show.
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