Over the years some stunning cars have come out of Italy. The most famous being their supercar offerings, but their smaller less powerful sports cars are truly some of their greatest contributions to the automotive world.
Italian cars have an unrivaled ability to stir emotion, automotive journalists from all over the world can’t get enough of waxing lyrical about these gorgeous cars that give us all a chance to own something exotic. The consistent theme; soul. Something impossible to accurately sum up, something that just makes them different, an ability to make a real connection with the driver or owner.
Not always comfortable, and almost never reliable, these are still some of the greatest Italian classic cars ever made.
10 Alfa Romeo Spider
It is the perfect example of what a small two-door sports car should be. There isn’t a whole lot of power, but that isn’t the point, it gets through the corners with ease and grace, then you hit the long straights with the wind in your hair and you will suddenly fall for the car.
The manual transmission will put doubt in your mind with every sloppy change, but the aging suspension and chassis are still good enough to make you feel part of the car. Until it overheats down the road, that is.
9 Lancia Fulvia Coupe
The one thing everyone seems to think of when the Lancia name is thrown around is, well, rust. It is a reputation that won’t ever really leave the brand, even after achieving so much in motorsport. The Fulvia is gorgeous from any angle, its rounded-off boxy design also makes it really unique.
It also came with a very small, very complicated twin-cam V4 engine that delivered incredible performance for the era. It's just a pity so few people could work on the car when things went wrong, as they inevitably did.
8 Fiat Dino Coupe
The car doesn’t look all that distinctive, but lurking beneath the Fiat hood is the beating heart of a Ferrari.
It is without doubt the most significant part of the car, and the thing that simply cannot be conveyed in words alone is the sound that Ferrari engine makes. For this reason, it has become one of the most collectible Fiats on the market.
7 Lancia Delta HF Integrale EVO 2
Quite simply the king of all hot hatches. There might be more powerful hatches around these days, but back in the early 90s, nothing could touch the Integrale, with 215 horses going to all four wheels it is still a beast even by today’s standards!
The Integrale took the WRC by storm winning 6 constructors championships in a row between 1987 and 1992, the Evo 2, which was launched in 1992, is the culmination of all the technology that kept them at the top for so long and makes for a truly special road car.
6 FIAT 124 Abarth Rally
Much like the Spider, the 124 is a bare-bones sports car designed by Pininfarina. With almost no safety features, the Abarth version probably has as much power the car can handle, maybe more than it should in fact. It still has poise and balance in the corners and the 120 horsepower in such a light, well-balanced car is more than enough to get that heart rate up!
In the strange world we live in, the new version will actually be cheaper, which is essentially a Miata sent to Abarth for a few tweaks, tweaks that make it better in every possible way.
5 Lancia Rally 037 Stradale
As a rally car, the 037 was one crazy Group B monster producing a supercharged 325 horsepower, quite possibly the best car to never win a driver’s championship.
As a road car, it produced a more muted, marginally more reliable 200 horsepower. It was made in very small homologation enforced numbers, so finding one today is a pretty impossible, expensive task!
4 Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Sprint GT Veloce
Not long ago, the Giulia was left in the shadows of her more advanced sisters, that has all changed rather dramatically now. It has become one of the most sought-after collector cars, and sadly the price of a car in good condition has gone up alarmingly.
The GT Veloce is the most valuable too, with those doing full restorations and restomods all looking for this as their base. It is also easy to see why - the timeless design will make you fall in love with the car without even setting foot in it.
3 Lancia Delta S4
If rally cars are your thing, and you enjoyed some Group B madness then the Delta S4 might be your favorite on this list. The ridiculous twin-charged beast was able to make 1000 horsepower with the boost turned right up (in a car that weighed less than a ton).
The car was basically a rolling health and safety hazard, playing a key role in the disbandment of Group B rallying. The road car is, to say the least, rare, with less than 100 cars made.
2 Alfa Romeo GTV6 3.0
Once again, racing gave us a unique and highly collectible car. The usual 2.5-liter V6 got bored out and stroked to achieve the 3-liter displacement, this pushed the power up to 180 horsepower and was able to get the car from 0-60 in 7.2 seconds.
Only around 200 of these were made in South Africa, and with growing global demand the prices have moved far beyond reasonable.
1 Lancia Stratos
One of the most beautiful rally cars of all time. It wasn’t just a rally car with the road car being an afterthought though, the road car was just as good.
It received the same Ferrari V6 Dino engine that produced 190 horsepower - more than enough for the little two-door Stratos!