A Lamborghini Temerario can go from 0-100 km — that’s 62 miles — in 2.7 seconds. A Ferrari SF90 Stradale gets there in around 2.5 seconds. A FIAT 500 from the 1960s, while not known for its speed, is the quintessential way to navigate Italy’s narrow medieval streets. (Admittedly, this last one is also my dream car.)
It doesn’t take a car enthusiast to understand that Italy is known for its iconic cars — some of them fast, some of them design legends, and some both. Even if the brands behind these famous cars may no longer be entirely “Made in Italy,” the names are still key pieces in the Italian cultural jigsaw. Walking through Rome, Milan or Turin, you’re likely to spot some of these head-turners on the street, but if you’re a car fanatic and want a closer look, there are a few places and activities you can’t miss. The next time you (or the gearheads in your life) are headed to Italy, be sure to take this list along for the ride.
Take a spin around Monza’s F1 track
Serious F1 fans likely already have the Italian Grand Prix — in action since 1921 — on their radars for the first week of September. During all other times of the year, its host town of Monza is a quiet suburb north of Milan where there’s little going on beyond leisurely Sunday strolls along the Lambro River. For that one weekend in September, though, fans head for the stands of Monza National Autodrome to watch drivers from all over the world rev up for practice, qualifying rounds and race day. If you can’t make it to Monza in September, there are still (less-crowded) ways to get a peek at the cars and drivers that heat up the autodrome. The track is open year-round for tours, and there are even set “track days” where visitors can take a spin — however, drive here at your own risk. Rally shows in December also fill the track with a party vibe where you can mingle with other fans.
Tour the Lamborghini factory in Sant’Agata Bolognese
Building a race-worthy car is a complex process and at Manifattura Lamborghini in Sant’Agata Bolognese, about an hour northwest of Bologna, you can see this firsthand. Across more than a dozen stations, humans and robots along the assembly line work on more than just mechanical function. They’re customizing cars by buyer; Lamborghini purchasers can choose from 400 available colors to be used in the hand-stitched interiors, and have another rainbow of options for the exterior. It’s all part of a carefully orchestrated, meticulously regulated art, and seeing what goes into each piece helps explain the Lamborghini prestige (and price tag). After a tour, a walk through a two-level Lamborghini museum showcases the history of the brand started by Ferruccio Lamborghini in Sant’Agata Bolognese in 1963 — from the first car to today’s electric hybrids.
See two sides of Ferrari in Modena and Maranello
If you need further proof that northern Italy, and particularly Emilia-Romagna, is where Super Car enthusiasts should focus their time when in Italy, take the two Ferrari museums just down the road from each other in Maranello and Modena.
At Maranello, a 10-minute drive south of Modena, tours that get into the production (though not on the production line, unless you are buying or are an F1 sponsor) also include a trip to the Fiorano track, Ferrari’s site for testing and development. The museum in Modena, Fondazione Casa Natale di Enzo Ferrari, is where the Ferrari family lived next to the mechanical workshop founded by Alfredo, Enzo’s father. Today, the workshop hosts exhibits, including a collection of motors and a few of Ferrari’s iconic cars.
Walk through car history at the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile in Turin
The widest collection of Italian cars is in Piedmont, in Turn, where FIAT — an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino, or literally “Italian automobile factory, Turin” — was founded in 1899. FIAT is now part of leading global car manufacturer, Stellantis. That makes Turin an apt place for the Museo Nazionale dell'Automobile (MAUTO, or National Auto Museum), where not only FIATs but also more than 75 other brands from across the globe are on display. The collection includes more than 200 cars such as a Benz Motor Velocipede from 1898 — and, yes, my favorite FIAT 500 from 1962.
