The fantastic designs of Italdesign

Now a subsidiary of the Audi Group, Italdesign was formed in 1968 by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani.

Arguably the greatest design house ever, we reckon Italdesign has styled more big-selling production cars than any of its rivals, with legends such as the Fiat Panda and Uno along with the Scirocco on its CV. And it gave us the first Volkswagen Golf, the start of a huge-selling car dynasty.

Here we look at 50 of the landmark cars created by Italdesign, both production and concept. The gallery could easily have been twice as big, as Italdesign has been so incredibly prolific over the past half-century - let's take a good look at its best:

Manta (1968)

This is where it all started for Italdesign; the first concept car designed by Giugiaro as head of his own carrozzeria. Unveiled just 40 days after the incorporation of Italdesign, at the 1968 Turin salon, the Manta packed a 400bhp Chevrolet V8 that could reputedly take the car past 200mph. Originally painted green with orange detailing, for Italdesign's 30th anniversary the car was repainted grey - only to be returned to green again.

Iguana (1969)

First shown at the 1969 Turin motor show, the Iguana was fitted with a 1995cc V8 taken from the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, although this was later swapped for a 2.6 V8 sourced from an Alfa Montreal. With a glazed roof and large rear window the cabin was far better lit than most such cars, while an oversized windscreen ensured excellent forward visibility.

Tapiro (1970)

If you were asked to nominate which car gave its life to create the Tapiro you'd probably be stumped; it was the Porsche 914. By the time Italdesign had finished there wasn't much left of the original design, what with the sharp lines, clear wedge profile and pronounced corners. The car was sold to a collector in the 1980s – who managed to destroy it in a crash.

Alfa Romeo Alfasud (1971)

This was the first production car commitment that Italdesign signed up to. When the Alfasud arrived in 1971 it set a new dynamic standard for small cars – sadly it didn't do the same when it came to durability. Almost 900,000 examples were sold in a production run that lasted until 1983, powered by a range of four-cylinder boxer engines that displaced 1.2 - 1.5 litres.

Cheetah (1971)

Italdesign started to work with Karmann in 1969, on a project that would become the Scirocco. In the early stages the two companies decided to create an affordable convertible powered by a 1.6-litre air-cooled Beetle engine; now this concept is all but forgotten.

Maserati Bora (1971)

Compared with the contemporary models from Ferrari and Lamborghini, the Maserati Bora was always seen as something of a poor relation. Which was rather unfair as it looked gorgeous and had the performance to match the looks, thanks to the 4.7 or 4.9-litre V8 in the nose. The Bora shared some styling cues with the Ghibli, also designed by Giugiaro, and led to the Merak which arrived in 1972 with a 2.0-litre V6.

Caimano (1971)

It looks as though it should feature a hefty V8, but powering the Caimano was a mere 1286cc flat-four borrowed from the Alfasud. Unveiled at the 1971 Turin salon, the Caimano featured a canopy that lifted upwards to allow access to the cabin. The car is now in Alfa Romeo's museum in Arese.

Boomerang (1972)

First shown at the 1972 Turin salon as a wooden mock-up, a running Boomerang broke cover at the 1973 Geneva motor show. Combining elements of the Iguana, Tapiro and Caimano, the Boomerang was fitted with a steering wheel that featured instrumentation in the middle, while safety features included a collapsible steering column and a steering wheel that could accommodate an airbag (but didn't).

Volkswagen Golf (1974)

In the early 1970s Volkswagen realised that it needed to replace its ageing Beetle so it asked its Italian importer Gerhard Guempert to nominate the best designer for the job. Guempert noted down what he considered to be the six most interesting cars at the 1969 Turin salon; four of them were designed by Giugiaro.

As a result he was asked to come up with a Beetle replacement and the car that resulted, the Golf Mk1, went on to sell almost seven million copies, with production in South Africa ending as recently as 2009. Nearly 40 million Golfs have been built to date.

Volkswagen Scirocco (1974)

It would be easy to assume that Volkswagen commissioned Italdesign to create the Scirocco, but it wasn't like that. Italdesign came up with a usable 2+2 hatch based on the Golf platform but VW rejected it. Undeterred, Italdesign showed Karmann the design; the latter loved it and agreed to produce it subject to VW being prepared to market it. After a seven-year production run more than half a million examples had been produced.

Hyundai Pony (1974)

In the early 1970s South Korea's car industry was in its infancy, with Hyundai assembling the Ford Cortina for domestic buyers. The company really wanted its own model so it briefed Italdesign to come up with something simple and rugged based on a Mitsubishi Lancer platform; the Pony was the result. Although it looked like a hatchback the original Pony was actually a saloon; a tailgate wouldn't arrive until a facelift in 1982.

Maserati Quattroporte III (1976)

Of all the Quattroportes it's the third-generation car that's the least loved, on account of its uninspiring lines and shoddy build quality. With a design based on that of Italdesign’s 1976 Medici II show car, the Quattroporte was first shown at the end of 1976; production cars wouldn’t arrive for another three years, powered by a 4136cc or 4930cc V8.

Audi 80 (1978)

The original 80 of 1972 was a great success for Audi, so when Italdesign was approached to come up with a successor the stakes were high. Italdesign had already come up with a raft of designs for Volkswagen and with the 80 B2 it created another cracker with its understated good looks. More than 1.5 million saloons would go on to be built, including the larger-engined 90.

Megagamma (1978)

The Megagamma gave an insight of what was to come with mainstream passenger cars; reduced lengths and increased heights to provide more cabin space in a smaller footprint. Based on the Lancia Gamma 2500, the Megagamma was 247mm (9.7in) taller than the donor vehicle and 290mm (11.4in) shorter – yet its interior featured an extra 170mm (6.7in) of space.

BMW M1 (1978)

When BMW decided to enter the mid-engined supercar arena it knew exactly who to go to for the design. The initial plan was for Italdesign to do the styling and the car would be built by Lamborghini. But when the latter went bust it was Italdesign that also undertook the construction. Just 453 examples were made, each powered by a 3453cc straight-six. In turbocharged racing form this as rated at 850bhp; street cars got a mere 273bhp though.

Asso di Fiori (1979)

If the shape looks familiar it's because in 1981 this concept would enter production as the Isuzu Piazza or Impulse, depending on the market. Known as the Ace of Clubs (Asso di Fiori), the concept was based on GM's T-Series Chevette platform and it featured flush glazing, while the rain gutters were dispensed with in a bid to improve aerodynamics.

Fiat Panda (1980)

Designed to sit between the 126 and 127, the Fiat Panda was an exercise in building a practical family car at the lowest possible price. Intended to be utilitarian but still comfortable, the Panda used flat glass all round to cut costs, featured a back seat that could be easily removed and early cars had covers for the seats, dashboard and door trims that could be removed for washing. By the time production ended in 2003, a whopping 4.5 million first-generation Pandas had been built.

DeLorean DMC-12 (1981)

When it comes to ill-fated projects that could have been great, the DeLorean is at the top of the pile. The project started in 1974 and the first cars were sold in 1981, but by the end of 1982 it was all over, with just 8583 cars built. Each one featured stainless steel panels, a 2849cc V6 engine and either a five-speed manual or three-speed automatic transmission.

Capsula (1982)

This was Italdesign at its most innovative; despite being just 3720mm long the Capsula offered interior space superior to a Mercedes-Benz S-Class. The Capsula was inspired by buses, which featured a rolling chassis onto which any bodywork could be transplanted. And so it was with this concept which could be a pick-up, hatchback, taxi, people-carrier, ambulance – or anything else – simply by adding a bodyshell onto the standard chassis.

Orca (1982)

It might not look all that special now, but when it arrived in 1982 the Orca was super-slippery and incredibly futuristic. Designed to offer the perfect balance of aerodynamic efficiency with interior space, the Orca was built on a Lancia Delta 1.6 HF Turbo 4WD platform. The Orca featured a brake light on the front as well as the rear – which for some unfathomable reason never caught on...

Gabbiano (1983)

A particularly neat small hatch design, it's a shame nothing like the Gabbiano has ever reached production. Taking its name from the Italian for seagull, the Gabbiano featured a single gullwing door on each side to allow easy entry and exit. Based on a Renault 11, the Gabbiano marked the start of a long-standing relationship between Italdesign and the French car maker.

Hyundai Stellar (1983)

It might not have pushed the boundaries when it arrived in the early 1980s, but the Stellar showed the world that Hyundai was intent on moving upmarket, having produced only the Pony for several years. Inspired by the Audi 80, the no-nonsense Stellar featured rear-wheel drive and a distinct three-box design and while it was unsophisticated, it set Hyundai on a path for greatness. Today Hyundai, with its Kia sister, is the world's third largest carmaker by unit sales.

Fiat Uno (1983)

The Uno would become one of the biggest-selling cars in history with almost nine million built between 1983 and 2014. The brief was to come up with an affordable family hatchback with either three or five doors. The new car would replace the ageing 127 and feature a variety of small-capacity engines. Now largely forgotten, the Uno was the 1984 European Car of the Year.

Lotus Etna (1984)

With the Esprit looking dated the plan was to come up with an all-new wedge-shaped supercar, powered by a 340bhp 4.0-litre V8. Longer than the Esprit, more rounded, more usable and much more modern with its flush glazing, the Etna project was stillborn. Instead we got a revamped Esprit.

Together (1984)

Looking much more grown up than the Megagamma, the Together arrived in the same year as the Renault Espace. A people-carrier with rotating front seats, flush glazing and a choice of two or three rows of seats – all in a car that was just four metres (157in) long.

Machimoto (1986)

Sometimes you're left wondering why a concept never made production – but this isn't one of them. Instead you're left wondering what they were smoking when the idea was conjured up. The Machimoto crossed a barchetta with a motorbike, with passengers (up to nine of them), sitting on continuous motorcycle saddles that ran the length of the cabin. Motive power was provided by a 139bhp Golf GTi 1.8T engine.

Incas (1986)

With four seats, four-doors (two of them gullwing) and a mid-mounted engine, it's easy to see why nothing like the Incas has ever made production. Unveiled more than 30 years ago, the Incas still looks futuristic with its glassy design and sleek lines. With the same cabin space as a Lancia Thema (also designed by Italdesign), there were four generously proportioned seats while power came from an Oldsmobile-sourced 2260cc turbocharged four-cylinder engine rated at 230bhp.

Orbit (1986)

Look closely and you'll see that the lower section of the Orbit is shared with the Machimoto, but in moving from that concept to this, it's definitely a case of from the ridiculous to the sublime. Italdesign was obsessed with monobox designs in the 1980s, along with flush glazing and the Orbit uses these to great effect. Let's face it, even now you'd be happy to be seen in one of these, wouldn't you?

Aztec, Aspid, Asgard (1988)

To mark its 20th birthday, Italdesign came up with a trio of concepts that shared the same 197bhp 2.3-litre turbocharged five-cylinder Audi petrol engine. They were also the same up to the waistline, although the Asgard MPV was 300mm (12in) longer than the open-topped Aztec and its coupé equivalent, the Aspid. The Aztec went into limited production, with anywhere between 12 and 18 built depending on who you believe.

ID90 (1990)

Predating the EB110 by a year, the ID90 was a far more harmonious design than Bugatti's first production post-war model. The ID90 was the first of several Bugatti-branded concepts to come out of Italdesign and arguably the most attractive. Just 4.1 metres (161in) long the ID90 was compact for such a high-performance machine, yet it still packed the same quad-turbo 3.5-litre V12 and four-wheel drive transmission as the EB110.

Kensington (1990)

First seen as a non-runner at the 1990 Geneva auto show, by the time the Birmingham motor show opened later that year the Kensington was driveable, powered by a Jaguar 5.3-litre V12. With Jaguar's design languishing in the 1980s, Italdesign attempted to bring the company's styling up to date with the Kensington; this was its XJ40 replacement proposal. Instead we got more of the same with the X300 and it wouldn't be until the arrival of the X351 in 2009 that Jag finally did something completely new with its flagship saloon.

Nazca (1991)

Unveiled in road-going M12 form in 1991, with a 300bhp BMW-supplied 5.0-litre V12, the Nazca evolved into the C2 racer a year later. As such there was more power (now 350bhp) and less weight (reduced by 100kg (220 lb)), along with a wider track and more hard-core wings and spoilers. If you happen to have seen the 1996 Italian film A spasso nel tempo (and let's face it, who hasn't?), you'll have seen the Nazca in action, along with the Machimoto and Aztec.

Lexus GS300 (1991)

One of the few production cars here, the original Lexus GS300 (also sold as the Toyota Aristo in its home market), was another Italdesign confection. Built in saloon form only, the Aristo arrived in 1991 but the GS300 didn't appear until two years later. Offered solely with a 3.0-litre straight-six, Italdesign blended elements of the LS400 and SC400 into a cleanly styled package that looked more European than most Japanese offerings.

Subaru SVX (1991)

Subaru has never been afraid to go its own way; could you imagine a more mainstream car maker putting the SVX into production? Looking like a concept car even in showroom form, just 24,379 SVXs were built between 1991 and 1996, each one powered by a 3319cc flat-six.

Bugatti EB112 (1993)

Inspired by an array of pre-war Bugatti models including the Atlantic, the EB112 could have been Bugatti's first production four-door saloon. With a 6.0-litre V12 and four-wheel drive the car could have been the fastest luxury saloon of the era, but sadly it wasn't to be. Five years later a massive Bugatti two-door coupé broke cover (the 18-cylinder EB118), followed by a four-door version of this car (the EB218) in 1999.

Landau (1994)

Based on a Lexus GS300 floorpan, the Landau was fitted with a 4.0-litre V8 borrowed from the LS400 and four-wheel drive to help put the power down with security. The Landau looks ungainly now, with its raised roofline and stubby proportions; it sat 5cm (2in) taller than the GS300 and was a whopping 60cm (24in) shorter.

Formula 4 (1996)

Showing that sometimes even Italdesign doesn't get it right, the Formula 4 didn't look appealing from any angle, with its stumpy looks, naff wire wheels and bizarre four-seater barchetta configuration. Each occupant got their own cockpit and roll bar while power came from a Fiat Bravo HGT-sourced 2.0-litre five-pot engine rated at 147bhp. The idea was that the car could be converted easily into a pick-up, van, roadster or leisure vehicle by changing the upper body.

Scighera (1997)

First seen at the 1997 Turin salon, Italdesign pondered small-scale production of the Scighera but it never happened. Which is a shame considering this aluminium and carbon-fibre supercar was fitted with a twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6 which drove all four wheels via a transmission derived from that of the 155 Q4.

Structura (1998)

In 1998 Italdesign celebrated its 30th birthday and the Structura was the result. The official line was that "the Structura transcends design to emphasise the architectural form", which is clearly just marketing puff for 'this is an ugly car'. The suicide rear door could only be opened once the front door was open and the windows were fixed. Power came from a 420bhp 5.6-litre W12 engine.

18/3 Chiron (1999)

Whereas the production Chiron packs a near-1500bhp punch, the original concept could muster no more than an embarrasingly weedy 547bhp, from its 6.3-litre W18 engine. As a result it could manage just 205mph while 0-60mph took a positively lethargic 5.3 seconds. This one was penned by Giorgetto Giugiaro's son Fabrizio in conjunction with Hartmut Warkuss, previously head of design at Audi.

Buran (2000)

Luxury hatchbacks never too off until the Tesla Model S, but this was Italdesign's attempt at creating one. Using a 370bhp 3.2-litre Maserati V8, the Buran was almost five metres long, was fitted with sliding rear side doors and featured a cabin designed for maximum versatility, so it could double as an office as the occupants were whisked along at high speed to their next high-power meeting.

Aston Martin 20/20 (2001)

If ever there was a car that'll split opinion it's this one. It's not easy improving on the looks of the Aston Martin DB7 Vantage and it's fair to say that Italdesign didn't really manage it with this one-off that made its debut at the 2001 Geneva salon. The body was made from extruded aluminium, plastic and carbon fibre with power for the fully functioning prototype provided by a 6.0-litre V12.

Moray (2003)

Created to pay homage to the Corvette on its 50th birthday, the Moray was quite the looker. That was partly down to the sleek nose design while the domed roof also helped; this incorporated gullwing mechanisms for the side windows. By removing these windows the car was transformed into a convertible, albeit with a single central arch for added strength. Power was provided by a 400bhp 6.0-litre V8.

Kubang (2003)

The Kubang name would be revisited in 2011 for the concept that would evolve into the Levante, but this is the original SUV proposal which doesn't look nearly as sharp. Italdesign paid attention to the dynamics by lowering the centre of gravity by 100mm (4in) compared with a conventional SUV, and to ensure Maserati-like performance there was a 390bhp V8 at the sharp end. Designed for on-road use (despite the fitment of permanent four-wheel drive), the Kubang took its name from a Javanese wind.

GG50 (2005)

The name says it all; the GG50 was created to mark 50 years of Giorgetto Giugiaro designing cars. For this one-off a Ferrari 612 Scaglietti gave its life to be remodelled into a 2+2 pillarless coupé with a hatchback for added practicality. All of the mechanicals were carried over unchanged, which meant that in the nose there was a 532bhp 5.7-litre V12.

Quaranta (2008)

The monobox Quaranta was Italdesign's 40th birthday present to itself, so it was no surprise that its silhouette aped that of the very first concept to come from the design house, the Manta. As with some previous Italdesign concepts (but not the Manta), the Quaranta featured a canopy that lifted up for cabin access, while the roof incorporated solar panels to top up the battery.

Brivido (2012)

Parcour (2013)

Parkour is a training discipline that allows people to get from one place to another as quickly and efficiently as possible, whether that's running, climbing, swinging, vaulting, jumping or rolling. Influenced by this, the Parcour featured four different settings to enable it to cope with its environment, from track driving to tackling winter roads, with off-roading also possible. Fitted with a 550bhp Lamborghini 5.2-litre V10, the Parcour could despatch 0-62mph in just 3.6 seconds. Both roadster and coupé editions were built.

Gea (2015)

Italdesign's proposal for a luxury EV of the future, the Gea was a neat four-door saloon that wore 26-inch spoked alloys milled from aluminium blocks. Constructed from carbon fibre, magnesium and aluminium, the Gea tipped the scales at a relatively light 2019kg (4442 lb)and featured autonomous tech. When being driven the car's headlights shone white, but switched to blue in self-driving mode. Inside there were two 19-inch drop-down screens to enable work on the move, while the front seats could be spun round or turned into tables.

Zerouno (2017)

In 2016 Italdesign created a new subsidiary to build low-volume cars for wealthy collectors. Called Italdesign Automobili Speciali, its first product was the Zerouno, limited to five units. A Lamborghini Huracan donated its 5.2-litre V10 engine to give 0-62mph in just 3.2 seconds and a top speed of 206mph. To mark Italdesign’s 50th birthday, a Zerouno roadster was revealed at the 2018 Geneva motor show; as with the coupe, just five were built.

If you enjoyed this story, please click the Follow button above to see more like it from Autocar