30 jaw-dropping classic Italian coupés

La dolce coupé

Italy has produced more than its fair share of delectable cars of all shapes and types.

For many, the coupé is the ultimate expression of car design purity, and Italy’s car manufacturers have made many of these eye-catching fastbacks to pick from.

Here’s our choice of 30 of the most beautiful Italian classic coupés, listed in chronological order.

1. Alfa Romeo 8C – 1931

Any Alfa Romeo 8C is a car to covet, but when it’s dressed in a svelte berlinetta coupé body by Touring it becomes unmissable.

Using its Superleggera method of construction, Touring complemented the Alfa’s performance with a body light enough not to blunt the power of the straight-eight engine.

Other coachbuilders offered coupé bodies on the 8C chassis, and Touring built Corto and Lungo models with short and long wheelbases, respectively.

Even so, the Touring-bodied 8C coupés are among the rarest and most collectible pre-war classics thanks to the combination of potent performance and stunning looks.

2. Lancia Astura – 1931

The Castagna body on this Lancia Astura began life on an Alfa Romeo chassis, but this sleek coachwork is said to have been transferred at the behest of Benito Mussolini for his youngest son.

The car was used in competition, but endured a chequered history between 1936 and 1956 when it was acquired by Ronald ‘Steady’ Barker, who then passed it on to another enthusiast to restore.

A 65bhp 2.6-litre V8 seems like a modest engine for a car of such beauty, but its refinement was key to this car’s success.

3. Fiat 508 CS Berlinetta Aerodinamica – 1935

The Fiat 508 CS Berlinetta Aerodinimica shows how a humble mainstream model can be elevated into one of the most eye-catching coupés.

When Fiat wanted a streamlined coupé to use in competition, it based the car on its 508 Balilla, albeit using the racing CS chassis. The firm’s own Carrozzeria Speciale made the sleek body and only 11 were produced.

The idea of the coupé body came about for use in the Mille Miglia, where a hardtop offered more protection from the elements than an open car.

With only 36bhp, the Fiat still proved handy and finished second in class and 14th overall in the 1936 Mille Miglia driven by Alberto Comirato and Lia Dumas, his wife who was known as ‘Queen of the Mille Miglia’.

4. Cisitalia GS – 1946

Pierre Dusio’s firm rightfully earned a reputation for building fine sports cars and many came with svelte bodies designed and created by Pinin Farina.

These shapes were not just easy on the eye. They also proved to be very good at scything through the air to make the most of the GS’s modest 50bhp 1.1-litre engine. In this form, the GS could hit 105mph, while tuned cars could top 120mph.

Underneath the fashionably fully faired bodywork, Pinin Farina used a multi-tube frame to keep weight to a minimum, which further helped the GS’s performance.

5. Lancia Aurelia B20 GT – 1951

Lancia got its post-war coupé line-up off to a superb start with the launch of the Aurelia B20 GT in 1951. It retained the traditional upright radiator, yet there were modern fully faired headlights, too, that came together in a delightfully simple and tasteful coupé.

The clean lines of the B20 were the work of Ghia, but it was Pinin Farina that built the bodies.

A total of six series of Aurelia B20 were made, with 3424 cars built altogether. It enjoyed considerable competition success in period, helped along by a V6 engine which was the first production motor of this configuration.

6. Lancia Appia – 1956

Most Lancia Appia coupés were made to a design by Pinin Farina with a distinct three-box shape. These cars used steel for their main bodies, but had a glassfibre bootlid.

Other carrozzerie also produced Appia coupés, including Viotti that made an identical car to the Pinin Farina style, Vignale and Zagato.

The Zagato Appia coupés are the most sporting and low-slung in their design, with more than a hint of the Aurelia B20 GT’s style. There were four Zagato coupés based on the Appia, the GTE (pictured) being the most numerous, with around 300 built.

7. Abarth 750 Zagato – 1957

By removing the dull Fiat 600’s body, Abarth freed up coachbuilder Zagato to create an amazing and compact coupé shape.

The tiny 750 Zagato had just two seats, but what it lost in practicality it more than made up for in performance with the addition of a 747cc engine from Abarth producing 44bhp. That was plenty in the lightweight Zagato-bodied car, which could hit 95mph.

Abarth went on to offer a twin-cam 1.0-litre engine for this car that could see it reach a maximum speed of 120mph. Little wonder this tiny coupé managed a class win in the 1957 Mille Miglia.

8. Alfa Romeo Giulietta SS – 1957

Alfa Romeo stunned the world when it launched the Giulietta SS in 1957 with bodywork by either Bertone (pictured) or Zagato.

The Zagato model is the rarer of the two and has a squared-off rear, while the arguably even prettier Bertone has a more sloping line at the back.

Whichever takes your fancy, they are amazing to look at while also packing plenty of performance thanks to a 106bhp 1290cc four-cylinder engine and five-speed gearbox in later cars.

The slippery shape and power meant the Giulietta SS would reach 120mph, and the last 30 cars made came with disc brakes to make sure they could stop just as ably.

9. Maserati 3500GT – 1958

While Vignale took care of the Maserati 3500 Spyder’s looks, the coupé was left to Touring and the coachbuilder made a superb job.

This was the car that took Maserati from the fringes of the luxury GT class to its heart, and core to that was the 3500GT’s perfectly balanced styling.

The looks were not just for show, either. The 3500GT packed a 220bhp 3485cc straight-six that could carry this handsome GT to a 145mph top speed.

That put the Maserati firmly in the top echelon of coupés at the time for performance, as well as for its coachbuilt design.

10. Ferrari 250GT SWB – 1959

The elegant simplicity of the 250GT SWB stems from Ferrari’s motorsport intentions for this compact coupé.

Pinin Farina was charged with the styling and got it just right, while Scaglietti constructed the bodywork. Both road and race cars were made, the former with a 240bhp 3.0-litre V12 and the latter getting 280bhp.

Road cars were built using steel for the body, while race cars benefited from aluminium to reduce weight.

As well as its near-perfect exterior design, the 250GT SWB was a big step forward for Ferrari technically when it became the first of its GT cars to use disc brakes.

11. Lancia Flaminia Sport Zagato – 1960

Lancia used the chassis of the already very pretty Flaminia GT to create the ultimate version of this family of cars when it commissioned Zagato to make a low-slung coupé.

The result was nothing less than brilliant, with a purposeful air and more than a few hints of the B20 GT in its swept-back shape that was constructed from aluminium.

As well as the overall look, the details of this coupé are delightful, such as the flush-fitting doorhandles and recessed rear lights.

The Sport became the Super Sport in 1964 when Lancia increased the original 2.5-litre V6 engine’s capacity to 2.8 litres, upping its top speed to 130mph.

12. Fiat 2300S Coupé – 1961

Sometimes referred to as a ‘poor man’s Ferrari’, this unjustly suggests Fiat’s 2300S Coupé was not as good looking as the more illustrious make’s cars.

In its own right, the 2300S was a sensational looking car, with bodywork the result of Ghia’s pen. It’s impressive how handsome the coupé is next to the rather dowdy saloon it’s based on.

The 2300S was impressive in other ways, too, such as being sold with electric windows as standard. It also came with four-wheel disc brakes, which was something Ferrari was only just beginning to offer on its GT cars of the period.

13. Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ – 1963

If there’s a similarity between the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ and Ferrari 250GTO in looks, it’s because both were conceived for motorsport use.

However, the Alfa was styled by Zagato, with its name standing for ‘tubolare Zagato’ that describes the construction method and who built it.

The more extreme TZ-2 was the first Alfa Romeo to have a body made from glassfibre, with 10 of these produced.

Power for the TZ came from Alfa Romeo’s 1570cc four-cylinder engine tuned to 170bhp, which equated to 150mph in the featherweight 630kg TZ.

14. Iso Grifo – 1963

The Grifo did not sell as well as the previous Rivolta, but it did more to put Iso’s name among the elite of Italian high-performance car makers.

Much of this was due to the coupé’s shape styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro while working at Bertone. As well as the pure coupé models, Iso built eight Grifos with twin removable roof panels and 13 targa-roofed cars.

Underneath the Grifo’s pure Italian looks was a Chevrolet Corvette V8, initially a 5.4-litre motor and then a 7.0-litre unit. The larger engine was claimed to take the Grifo all the way to 170mph.

15. De Tomaso Vallelunga – 1964

It seems incongruous that such a delicate shape as the De Tomaso Vallelunga has a humble Ford Cortina engine lurking underneath.

Even so, the Vallelunga stands as one of the best-looking coupés to come from Italy thanks to the styling that came from Fissore with aluminium bodywork.

Production shifted from this firm to Ghia after just three cars had been made, with the body then produced in glassfibre.

Only 55 Vallelungas were made, but its light weight, sleek shape and a punchy 135bhp from that 1500cc Ford motor meant it could reach 155mph.

16. Ferrari 275GTB – 1964

The ‘B’ in the Ferrari 275GTB’s title stood for berlinetta to describe this coupé, which was styled at Pininfarina and built by Scaglietti.

Most cars were built with steel bodies, using aluminium only for the doors, bonnet and boot. However, customers could pay extra to have the full shape made in aluminium.

A ‘long nose’ version arrived in 1966, along with more power and a higher top speed.

Today, the alloy-bodied 275GTB models are the most coveted and can command prices up to 50% more than the steel-bodied cars.

17. Lamborghini 350GT – 1964

When Ferruccio Lamborghini decided to build his own luxury sports cars, he went straight to Touring to style the 350GT.

The outcome was an instant success and features superbly sleek coupé lines with very little embellishment needed beyond some chrome trim.

The 350GT is easily spotted by its single rectangular headlights, while the later 400GT came with twin round headlights as well as its larger engine.

The 400GT used an extended wheelbase version of the 350GT’s chassis, freeing up space for two rear seats to make this later car even more of a GT at the small expense of some purity of line.

18. Lancia Fulvia Coupé – 1965

It’s hard to believe the Lancia Fulvia Coupé and its saloon sibling share the same base, albeit with a shortened floorpan for the two-door model.

Where the saloon is all sober, the Coupé is a delicately styled machine that shares no body panels with the four-door car. The Coupé was styled in-house by Piero Castagnero and he made a fine job – the Coupé lasted in production until 1977.

There were three generation of Fulvia Coupé and the ultimate model was the rally-bred HF that came with aluminium doors, bonnet and boot, as well as Plexiglass windows to save weight.

The HF also had a tuned 87bhp 1298cc version of the V4 engine, which helped the car to the 1972 World Rally Championship for Lancia.

19. Lancia Fulvia Sport Zagato – 1965

Based on the already incredibly pretty Lancia Fulvia Coupé, the Zagato model was considered by some to be quite challenging in the looks department when it was launched in 1965.

However, a combination of its exotic title, low-slung design and keen performance won over many buyers, and Lancia sold more than 6000 of this model.

The Sport Zagato has a number of unusual styling touches, such as the side-hinged bonnet, and a rear ’screen that can be opened electrically a few centimetres to help with cabin cooling.

Also, the spare wheel is accessed through a panel behind the rear numberplate.

20. Fiat Dino – 1967

An understated way to enjoy the same V6 engine that powered the Ferrari 246 and Lancia Stratos, the Fiat 2000 and later 2400 Dino Coupés enjoy a gently muscular appeal.

Although it shares the same mechanical package as its open-top Spider sister, the body was styled by Bertone, whereas the convertible was penned by Pininfarina.

The earlier 2000 and later 2400 look very similar at first glance, but only the bootlid is a direct swap between the pair.

The Dino Coupé is easier to seek out today as almost four times as many coupés as convertibles were built, with 6068 Coupés made to 1583 Spiders.

21. Maserati Ghibli – 1967

While Ferrari used Pininfarina, Maserati sought out Ghia for the Ghibli’s shape, which was the work of Giorgetto Giugiaro while he worked for the styling house.

The simple profile of the Ghibli gives it a long bonnet and steeply raked windscreen, though perfecting such a clean look took great restraint and the Ghibli was originally intended as a two-seater.

However, production models were 2+2s.

By the time the curtain came down on Ghibli production in 1973, 1170 coupés had been built.

22. Ferrari 365GTB/4 Daytona – 1968

The Daytona marked a big shift in Ferrari’s road car styling, moving away from the curves of earlier cars to a much sharper-edged look as the 1960s drew to a close.

Leonardo Fioravanti of Pininfarina was the designer responsible for the Daytona’s dart-like profile. Early cars had their headlights behind a clear Perspex nose, while later versions came with pop-up headlights.

Ferrari also produced 15 aluminium-bodied Daytona coupés for motorsport, though none were entered directly by the factory in races.

23. Fiat 130 Coupé – 1971

Now being appreciated again for its proportions and charm, the Fiat 130 Coupé was a very different prospect from the 2300S that went before it.

Pininfarina came up with a chiselled set of crisp edges for the 130, as well as a much better resolved front end than the saloon on which the coupé was based.

The generous dimensions of the 130 Coupé meant it worked as a four-seat express, helped along by a 3.2-litre V6 engine with 165bhp on tap.

24. Maserati Khamsin – 1973

The Maserati Khamsin was the first production car to be styled by Bertone under Marcello Gandini.

He gave the entry-point front-engined Maserati a wedge profile, and used pop-up headlights to make sure the front of the car remained low and neat.

Despite its handsome lines, the Khamsin only sold 421 cars in a nine-year life.

25. Lancia Gamma – 1976

From an unpromising saloon base, Lancia plucked the Gamma Coupé to give the world one of the defining two-door shapes of the 1970s.

The styling was by Pininfarina, who shortened the saloon’s wheelbase by 4.5 inches (11.4cm) to create the right proportions while still retaining a comfortable four-seat cabin.

The Gamma Coupé didn’t go on sale in the UK until two years after it was launched in Italy, and UK buyers were only offered the larger 2.5-litre flat-four engine option.

26. Ferrari 456GT – 1992

The 456 four-seat coupé heralded a return to a more rounded, soft-edged style for Ferrari as it moved into the 1990s.

As was usual for the company, the styling was by Pininfarina – and it was spot on.

While some said it was a little dull for a front-engined V12 Ferrari, the 456 has stood the test of time and aged very well, helped by proportions that hide its considerable size very ably.

At its launch, the 193mph 456 was comfortably the fastest front-engined car you could buy.

27. Lancia Hyena – 1993

The Lancia Hyena oozes Italian style and aggression from its compact dimensions and looks that hark back to the Fulvia Zagato.

However, this car was commissioned from Zagato by Lusso Service Holland and built on the Delta Integrale platform.

Twenty-five Deltas were shipped to Holland, where the interiors and bodies were removed before the bare chassis were sent to Zagato for the transformation into the Hyena coupé. They were then returned to Lusso for finishing.

Weighing 200kg less than an Integrale, the Hyena offered 0-60mph in 5.4 secs with the same 2.0-litre engine and four-wheel-drive transmission.

28. Fiat Coupé – 1994

Chris Bangle is usually associated with BMW’s flame-surfaced cars of the early 2000s, but he was also the stylist behind the 1994 Fiat Coupé while working at Fiat’s Centro Stile.

His design won against a rival proposal from Pininfarina, though the Italian design company went on to build the car.

While based on the Tipo floorpan, you would never know it from looks that incorporated a clamshell bonnet that left the headlights in place when it was raised.

Other styling flourishes for the Coupé included the slashed wheelarches, inset rear lights, and doorhandles hidden in the B-pillar to give a cleaner look.

29. Alfa Romeo GTV – 1995

Pininfarina came up with an unusual but superb shape for the Alfa Romeo GTV and its Spider sibling.

The wedge profile was emphasised by a deep slash that ran from the rear window to the front wheelarch, yet there was still space inside the car for four people.

The shape also found space for the traditional Alfa grille without looking at odds with the sharp lines.

At the rear of the GTV, the Pininfarina shape made a virtue of the stubby tail to offer decent boot space, while the thin light strip added yet more visual appeal.

30. Maserati 3200GT – 1998

After the angular Biturbo era, the 3200GT was a welcome return to curves and rounded lines.

Even the rear lights were curved, with their now famous ‘boomerang’ design that marked out the 3200GT from its later 4200 successor.

The shape was the work of Italdesign, under the watchful eye of Giorgetto Giugiaro.

A mark of how balanced the 3200GT’s looks are is that it offers a full four-seat cabin and large boot, while still appearing perfect from every angle.