Italy Is Known for Beautiful Cars, but These Let the Side Down
Some of the finest cars to ever grace the roads have come from Italy. Manufacturers like Alfa Romeo and Lamborghini are famed for their bold design choices and sense of flair, but as you'll find in this list, even the greats have a few misfires under their belt.
1998 Fiat Multipla
The Multipla was Fiat’s attempt to create a car as compact as possible while still offering sufficient practicality and space to seat up to six people. The result was… well, confused, to put it lightly. Somehow, it won Top Gear’s “Car of the Year” award in 2000, but its awkward design didn’t catch on with many.
1989 Alfa Romeo SZ
Alfa Romeo has made some truly beautiful cars over the years, but even they don’t always hit their mark. The SZ was intended to be a sharp, limited-production halo car, developed in conjunction with Fiat and Zagato. However, its “polarizing” design led to it being dubbed “Il Monstro”-“The Monster”.
2001 Lancia Thesis
The only thesis being presented here was how to create an unappealing car in a luxury package. The Lancia Thesis was intended to revive the brand’s association with “executive” sedans, but its design was inconsistent: it was too conservative in some areas, too outlandish in others, and bizarrely proportioned.
1985 Fiat Duna
We don’t mean to pick on Fiat. To their credit, they’ve always been willing to experiment and adapt their designs to regional tastes. The Duna was primarily marketed towards Brazilians and was warmly embraced in South America, but its “stretched hatchback” design never garnered many fans in the United States.
2011 Lancia Ypsilon
Unlike our previous entries, the Ypsilon is still “going strong”, being a key model in Lancia’s “glorious” return to the market. However, we’re not sure how it’s managed to survive all this time, since its odd fishbowl proportions and faux-premium feel aren’t exactly big draws.
1991 Innocenti Elba
Don’t be fooled by the Innocenti name - we’re sorry to say, but this is yet another Fiat model! The Elba was essentially a rebadged Fiat Uno, a car that, while popular in its native Italy, didn’t appeal to many American tastes. This one lacked any semblance of flair whatsoever, more Soviet in its sensibilities and even less Italian in character.
1969 Iso Rivolta Lele
Rivolta? More like Revolting! Okay, so maybe it wasn’t that ugly, but the Lele’s attempts at a more American-style vehicle were misguided. Unfortunately, despite the best of intentions, only 285 Lele units were sold before Iso went into bankruptcy.
1971 Fiat 130 Coupe
We’re going to have to repent our sins later for dunking on Fiat so relentlessly throughout this list (we’re not even halfway yet!), but it’s not our fault they seem incapable of designing a good-looking vehicle. The ‘71 130 wasn’t necessarily ugly, but for a Pininfarina-inspired vehicle, it was decidedly lacking in any sense of flair or style.
1957 Autobianchi Bianchina Panoramica
Try saying that three times quickly. The 1957 Autobianchi Bianchina Panoramica (let’s just call it the ABP) was proof that sometimes European sensibilities don’t do well with American desires. Dubbed “the rich man’s Fiat”, the ABP was certainly luxurious - but its tiny wheels and upright stance gave it a distinctly “Looney Tunes-y” quality.
1983 Alfa Romeo Arna
The Arna was the result of an ill-fated collaboration between Alfa Romeo and Nissan. It sought to combine the former’s style with the latter’s more economical sensibilities. The end product was totally uninspiring at best and downright dysfunctional at worst.
1984 Alfa Romeo 90
An “executive” sedan intended to bridge Alfa Romeo’s older vehicles and newer models, the 90 was a short-lived and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to capture the attention of new audiences. It was actually pretty advanced in terms of the features it provided, but its bland and boxy design was not really indicative of the brand’s talents.
1976 Maserati Kyalami
Like our previous entry, the 1976 Maserati Kyalami wasn’t necessarily ugly, but it lacked everything that made a Maserati, well, a Maserati - namely, perfectly balanced proportions and sensual styling. Still, only around 200 models were produced, so while not the best-looking vehicle to come out of Maserati, it’s probably much more expensive than some of the other ones on this list so far!
1971 De Tomaso Deauville
Don’t be fooled by cars with fancy-sounding names. The De Tomaso Deauville may have been in production from 1971 to 1985, but only 244 units were ever made. That’s probably because nobody was impressed by its stock-standard design, unbecoming of what should have been a luxury vehicle.
2010 Alfa Romeo Giulietta
The 2010 Giulietta proved that some of Alfa Romeo’s ill-informed design sensibilities weren’t left behind in the 20th century. Though well-intentioned, the Giulietta’s attempts at balancing sportiness and practicality resulted in a strangely proportioned vehicle with a bulbous front end.
1972 Lancia Beta Berlina
The Berlina was the very first model in Lancia’s Beta range, but it wasn’t exactly a positive indication of things to come. Though practical, the Berlina’s bland and uninspired design simply couldn’t compete with some of the more daring vehicles to come out of Italy at the time.
2003 Fiat Panda Mk2
Again, sometimes what works in Europe doesn’t translate into success across the pond. 2003’s Fiat Panda Mk2 won the European Car of the Year award in 2004, but its tall proportions and narrow body didn’t suit the hatchback style it was going for, and looked more like a minivan in, well, miniature.
1956 Fiat 600
The ‘56 Fiat 600 came just before the original Multipla, whose 1998 descendant clearly took after it in terms of design. Simply put, it was rather hideous. However, just like the ‘98 model, the ‘56 600 was still embraced by some for the practicality it provided, with many people choosing to overlook its odd design due to its historical significance.
1989 Lancia Dedra
Even when their name isn’t on the package, somehow, Fiat still manages to make a mess. The Dedra was based on the Fiat Type Three platform. While it wasn’t totally hideous, it was also overly bland even by 90s standards, without any semblance of character or personality (things which even some of Fiat’s worst models still retain).
1985 Alfa Romeo 75
Don’t get us wrong, “ugly” does not necessarily mean “bad”. The Alfa Romeo 75, for example, was celebrated for its stellar performance capabilities (achieved through a near-perfect 50/50 weight distribution ratio), but its boxy, uninspired looks simply weren’t reflective of its fantastic driving dynamics.
1985 Fiat Croma
The Croma was first released in 1985 and remained on the market through 1996. The second Croma was introduced in 2005 and remained in production until 2010. Both generations share one thing in common: they’re totally boring to look at.
1978 Fiat Ritmo
At the very least, the Ritmo was unique. Designed to compete with the VW Golf, it gave drivers another economical hatchback option. Unfortunately, folks were none too taken with the vehicle’s grilleless front end, which gave the vehicle a robotic visage.
2008 Alfa Romeo MiTo
There’s something oddly endearing about the MiTo. Don’t get us wrong, its design is strange at best and downright ugly at worst, but its chubby proportions and odd front end give it a kind of childlike quality that almost makes us want to forgive the folks over at Alfa Romeo.
2015 Fiat Tipo
Look, as this list has demonstrated, Fiat isn’t exactly the greatest Italian stylist, but they get it right now and then. Unfortunately, while the Tipo isn’t outright ugly, it is bland, with almost no trace of Italian flair on it whatsoever. This looks like it was made in Eastern Europe for cheap.
1994 Lancia Zeta
The Zeta is kind of like what the weird kids in class come up with when they’re made to work on a project together. Developed between Lancia, Fiat, Peugeot, and Citroën, the Zeta offered practicality with its modular interior, but it looked more like a washing machine on wheels than an actual car due to its tall, narrow body.
1962 Alfa Romeo 2600 Berlina
Considering that the ‘62 2600 Berlina was Alfa Romeo’s flagship, and hugely successful to boot, it couldn’t have been that ugly, right? Well, yes and no - while its coupe and convertible trims were beautiful, the sedan version was totally bland in comparison.
1990 Fiat Tempra
In all fairness to Fiat, the Tempra was never supposed to be a stylish vehicle. As a family car, it worked just fine, but coming out of Fiat’s dark ages, its angular design and uninspired aesthetics overall weren’t doing them any favors.
1990 Innocenti Mille
The original Innocenti Mille (released in 1974 and then known as the Mini) was fairly successful, but its 1990s iteration was not. Surprise, surprise, Fiat was largely to blame here, and the Mille came to resemble a cheaper, uglier Fiat Uno.
1972 De Tomaso Longchamp
The ‘72 Longchamp was another failed attempt by an Italian automaker to produce something that was “classically luxurious”. While not poorly made, the Longchamp’s proportions were unfortunately awkward and clumsy.
1999 Lancia Lybra
1999’s Lancia Lybra looks like what would happen to your average sedan if it were left in the sun for too long. Its ovular headlights and overall “droopiness” made it look as though it were melting, but it wasn’t anything remarkable beyond that.
1988 Bertone Genesis
The Bertone Genesis was never released - and that’s a good thing, because this combination of Lamborghini performance and minivan aesthetics was offensive to behold. It may actually be the ugliest thing on this list, essentially a transforming shoebox with wheels (and a Lamborghini engine, for some reason).
2004 Covini C6W
A true aberration in every sense of the word, the 2004 Covini C6W is where you land when seemingly foolproof logic takes you for a spin. Adding a pair of extra wheels will surely allow this supercar to go faster, right? Wrong. The extra wheels only weigh it down further, and make what is otherwise a very beautiful car look toyetic, tacky, and totally ridiculous.
1996 Zagato Raptor
To the Raptor’s credit, it was never produced en masse and was rightly sent back to the oven for further cooking. It actually looks pretty great - from a distance. Up close, you start to notice its asymmetrical proportions and bizarre cutouts that detract from the supercar look it was aiming for.
