Most Iconic Italdesign Vehicles From The Past 50 Years
Happy 50th birthday, Italdesign
Khodrocar - Since the late '60s, the aptly named Italian design firm Italdesign Giugiaro S.p.A has been putting its signature styling touches on everything from Lancias to Bugattis. Just recently the iconic shop celebrated its 50th anniversary, and in honor of the occasion, it will debut its new Zerouno Roadster supercar at the Geneva Motor Show. Italdesign also kicked off a design competition that highlights the brand’s "Next 50" philosophy, and is even planning a world tour.
While the future may look bright for the storied Italdesign brand, it’s in the past where we see some of the most stunning, most memorable vehicles the Italian shop has ever imagined. Without spoiling too much, you should be able to recognize a good number of cars on this list. So let’s take a look back at the top 20 cars and supercars that Italdesign has helped imagine.
1971 Maserati Bora
Following Citroen’s takeover of Maserati in 1968, the company quickly went to work on developing a two-seat sports car to compete with the likes of Lamborghini and DeTomaso. Naturally, the company called upon Italdesign to pen the look, and three years later the now-iconic Bora was born. Like the other Italian supercars before it, it was a mid-engined two-seater with as much as 320 horsepower (238 kilowatts) on tap – and it helped cement Italdesign as the go-to source for supercar styling.
1974 Volkswagen Golf
The legend, the icon; the original Volkswagen Golf MK1 was penned by Italdesign, believe it or not. The front-wheel-drive hatchback was boxier than the Beetle that it was replacing, but undoubtedly better suited for mainstream buyers. The firm even helped bring to life the design cues for a hotter GTI version just two years later.
1976 Lotus Esprit
Among the first of designer Giorgetto Giugiaro's polygonal "folded paper" designs, the Lotus Esprit was based loosely on the Maserati Boomerang concept that Italdesign had built a number of years earlier. Though CEO Colin Chapman wasn’t completely sold on the design at first, a full-scale model – displayed at the Italdesign stand during the 1972 Turin Motor Show – helped ease the sharp-looking Lotus into production just a few years later.
1978 BMW M1
Arguably one of BMW’s most iconic vehicles, the M1 was penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro using the 1972 BMW Turbo as inspiration. Admittedly, not much changed design-wise from the original concept to production, but Italdesign’s finishing touches put the performance car over the top in terms of legendary status.
1981 DeLorean DMC-12
Had Hollywood not intervened with a certain trilogy of films featuring a time-traveling DeLorean, it’s quite possible the stainless-steel sports car could’ve faded away into obscurity. Its rear-mounted Peugeot-derived V6 was quite underpowered, but there’s no denying the sleek wedge-shaped styling with massive gull-wing doors was captivating. It was only built for a couple years, but it endures as a definitive automotive icon of the 1980s.
2003 Lamborghini Gallardo
The most successful, best-selling Lamborghini was a byproduct of Italdesign. The Gallardo was based loosely on the Cala concept from 1995, but most of the final design cues for the production version were carried out by Lamborghini designer Luc Donckerwolke. Still, if it weren’t for Italdesign’s initial design input, the Gallardo may not have been the success that it was today.
2005 Alfa Romeo 159
Neither the fastest, nor arguably the best-looking vehicle on this list, the Alfa Romeo 159 is still iconic. The company sold more than 240,000 examples between 2005 to 2011, and in 2006, it took home third place in the European Car of the Year Awards voting. The look was penned by Italdesign with help from Centro Stile Alfa Romeo.
While the future may look bright for the storied Italdesign brand, it’s in the past where we see some of the most stunning, most memorable vehicles the Italian shop has ever imagined. Without spoiling too much, you should be able to recognize a good number of cars on this list. So let’s take a look back at the top 20 cars and supercars that Italdesign has helped imagine.
1971 Maserati Bora
Following Citroen’s takeover of Maserati in 1968, the company quickly went to work on developing a two-seat sports car to compete with the likes of Lamborghini and DeTomaso. Naturally, the company called upon Italdesign to pen the look, and three years later the now-iconic Bora was born. Like the other Italian supercars before it, it was a mid-engined two-seater with as much as 320 horsepower (238 kilowatts) on tap – and it helped cement Italdesign as the go-to source for supercar styling.
1974 Volkswagen Golf
The legend, the icon; the original Volkswagen Golf MK1 was penned by Italdesign, believe it or not. The front-wheel-drive hatchback was boxier than the Beetle that it was replacing, but undoubtedly better suited for mainstream buyers. The firm even helped bring to life the design cues for a hotter GTI version just two years later.
1976 Lotus Esprit
Among the first of designer Giorgetto Giugiaro's polygonal "folded paper" designs, the Lotus Esprit was based loosely on the Maserati Boomerang concept that Italdesign had built a number of years earlier. Though CEO Colin Chapman wasn’t completely sold on the design at first, a full-scale model – displayed at the Italdesign stand during the 1972 Turin Motor Show – helped ease the sharp-looking Lotus into production just a few years later.
1978 BMW M1
Arguably one of BMW’s most iconic vehicles, the M1 was penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro using the 1972 BMW Turbo as inspiration. Admittedly, not much changed design-wise from the original concept to production, but Italdesign’s finishing touches put the performance car over the top in terms of legendary status.
1981 DeLorean DMC-12
Had Hollywood not intervened with a certain trilogy of films featuring a time-traveling DeLorean, it’s quite possible the stainless-steel sports car could’ve faded away into obscurity. Its rear-mounted Peugeot-derived V6 was quite underpowered, but there’s no denying the sleek wedge-shaped styling with massive gull-wing doors was captivating. It was only built for a couple years, but it endures as a definitive automotive icon of the 1980s.
2003 Lamborghini Gallardo
The most successful, best-selling Lamborghini was a byproduct of Italdesign. The Gallardo was based loosely on the Cala concept from 1995, but most of the final design cues for the production version were carried out by Lamborghini designer Luc Donckerwolke. Still, if it weren’t for Italdesign’s initial design input, the Gallardo may not have been the success that it was today.
2005 Alfa Romeo 159
Neither the fastest, nor arguably the best-looking vehicle on this list, the Alfa Romeo 159 is still iconic. The company sold more than 240,000 examples between 2005 to 2011, and in 2006, it took home third place in the European Car of the Year Awards voting. The look was penned by Italdesign with help from Centro Stile Alfa Romeo.
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