If the Italians know how to do one thing, it is style. For decades, no matter the industry, that is one area they always shine in.
None more so than the automotive industry, with a star-studded lineup of designers throughout the relatively short history of automotive design. We have been blessed with some incredible designs that made it into full production, from small people carriers to limited edition supercars, we have had it all.
Sadly there will always be a few that slip through the cracks, these 10 are just a small sampling of the dozens of concept cars that never get made.
10 Alfa Romeo 2600 Pininfarina Special
At the time, Alfa Romeo had a contract with Bertone, so it is uncertain if there was actually a contractual issue or if they had lost interest in the underwhelming 2600 platform.
For all intents and purposes this was destined for production, and if it was made, we think the world would have been better for it.
9 Bizzarini Manta
Like most of Giugiaro's cars, this was completely functional. It was based on a steel tubular chassis and powered by a big American V8 mounted mid-ships.
This radical design would have made for a truly special road going car but unfortunately even if they wanted to make it, which it is uncertain if they did, Bizzarini shut shop the following year.
8 Alfa Romeo 155 GTA
In reality, this really should have been made, but unfortunately Fiat once again stepped in and bungled the whole operation.
Not content with the already impressive Lancia Delta Evo running gear, they wanted the Busso V6, but couldn’t find an affordable way to get it to work. Most Alfisti will agree, we would have been quite content with the Lancia turbo.
7 Lancia Fulvia HF Competizione
In a bid to lure Ford into a bidding war with Fiat, Lancia developed this concept car with the help of Alejandro De Tomaso. As history tells us, Ford didn’t bite, but the whole experiment did leave us with this interesting scaled down front drive supercar.
The Fulvia was a truly fun little platform and this concept, although maybe not to everyone’s taste, does beg the question as to why more cars were not developed on this platform.
6 Alfa Romeo Mito GTA
From a purely practical standpoint, this could have been the first ever accessible GTA, cars that are usually completely unobtainable for most of us.
The Mito is a bit of a hit-and-miss platform, so we do understand why it never materialized, but oh what could have been.
5 Lamborghini Cala
You could lump this in with the P140, another prototype that was very much destined for production were it not for the decline in sports car sales.
The wedge design of the P140 was modernized and, in this context, improved upon, but it still wasn’t enough to get the car into production.
4 Alfa Romeo Iguana
The 33 was a versatile platform back in the late 60s, and this was one of six different concept cars that made use of it.
This was radically different from what all the others looked like though, this was an early wedge design that kick-started something of a design showdown between the Italian coachbuilders.
3 Maserati Boomerang
By the early 70s the wedge was in, and this Maserati may not have made it into full production, but it is pretty easy to see which wedge it inspired.
The most striking part of this car’s design isn’t actually on the outside though, it is on the inside. Unlike the yoke steering wheel we have today, this strange take on what should be a functional item clearly wants to highlight the dials mounted, err, within it, but might have had the negative effect of distracting the driver.
2 Alfa Romeo 33/2 Coupe Speciale
Another one of the six different concept cars developed using the 33 chassis is this glorious work of art.
No words really do this car justice, to think this was designed in the late 60s boggles the mind. If the wedge didn’t take off like it did back then (not at all a bad thing) we might have actually seen this one go into production.
1 Iso Grifo 90
The Grifo 90 represents the rather unfortunate tale of a company so determined to resurrect itself it just went and built a car almost out of spite.
Initially conceptualized in the late 80s and early 90s, the project stalled, then got revived in the hope of doing a limited run only to fizzle out once more in 2010. It is a shame, especially considering that it was going to be based on the Corvette C5 Z06.