A highway explosion near Bologna, Italy, has caused a bridge to partially collapse and has left at least 20 injured, according to the Associated Press. Video purported to be captured from the site shows at least half the bridge destroyed.
I’ve always been deeply interested in Italy. The history, the cars, the food, the people, their unique way of life, I just loved all of it. For years I’ve wanted to go experience it, and recently I spent 12 days exploring most of Northern Italy driving between Milan, Modena, and the northern lakes. I drove the whole…
I like museums as much as the next guy. Yes, even the ones with paintings of people who are most likely dead now and dinosaur skeletons. It’s a glimpse into artifacts from a bygone era and usually one of the few opportunities to see rare and exciting things. Sometimes they can be quite surprising, and also indicative…
In a country with a rich automotive history as Italy, there are bound to be some special automotive museums scattered around the place. On my last trip to Italy I went to some of the more obvious ones such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, and Pagani. This trip I was in search of some lesser known museums. And located in the…
Quite literally around the corner from Italy’s Zagato, in the same Arese industrial complex, in an equally unassuming building is Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Much like their neighbors Touring, is an independent run coachbuilder. The difference is at first glance Touring appears to be a much smaller operation,…
It’s a shame when pioneering companies are left to rot and die. Remember Kodak, Polaroid, and Blockbuster? It happens in the car industry plenty of times— MG, Saab, DeLorean, and Pontiac all come to mind. But perhaps the most tragic of all is Lancia. While still technically around, gone are the days of World Rally…
If there’s one thing I learned on my recent trip to Italy, it’s that style matters. Looking good is more important than looking where you’re going. So it’s no wonder the storied art of coachbuilding—creating customized bodies for cars—is still well and truly alive in the nondescript town of Arese, Northern Italy. Here…
Villa d’Este brings up all those romantic images of Italy. The villa itself is 145 years old and surrounded by a private park and overlooks Lake Como—you know, the place where George Clooney has a house. It’s all very fancy like and the perfect place for a “competition of elegance,” a Concours d’Elegance, if you…
Good morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know.
The first time you see an original Fiat 500, it’s hard to believe that it’s a real car. It’s as small as a toy. But see a Cinquecento in its element, cutting through the tiny Italian streets for which it was designed, suddenly the shape makes perfect sense.
Italy. A country of great food, great culture, and great driving. Well okay, two out of three isn’t so bad. In the five days I spent in Tuscany I fell in love with the country that gave us gelato, bolognese sauce, and of course, some of the best dream cars ever made.
For decades, the most extreme cars you could buy from Italy came from two companies: Ferrari and Lamborghini. And they’re still incredible, no doubt. But these days one upstart automaker makes cars so insane they make the old guard look like they’re cranking out economy cars. Welcome to a rally for Pagani owners.
There are faster roads. There are more famous roads. But I don’t think there are outright cooler roads than this one, the Strada della Forra, so very close to fame.
Rome, Italy is as much of a “car city” as New York- it’s a real pain to park and the roads are rough, but there are a few diehards with sweet rides crammed into back corners of cobblestone streets. Also, every little econobox from Europe looks fresh and exotic if you’re used to American traffic!
No longer are mere cities banning Uber (hi Austin!), now the entire country of Italy has banned the ride-sharing app following a court ruling that it constituted unfair competition to the country’s existing taxi associations.
The lone Abarth at Tokyo Auto Salon proudly displays its Italian loyalty.
A big mean cruise ship physically crushed a sweet and fine marina of lil’ boats in Messina, Italy recently, totally sweeping it over with its propeller wash alone.
Agusta Westland’s AW-609 tilt-rotor crashed in northern Italy
today, killing both pilots onboard. The crash occurred about 30 miles from the company’s airfield in Cascina Costa. The cause of the crash remains unknown at this time. The aircraft involved was the second AW-609 prototype built back in the early 2000s.
For years, there was a rumor that Volkswagen wanted to buy Alfa Romeo from Fiat after acquiring Lamborghini in 1998. That didn’t happen, but it seems like they managed to turn their Spanish brand Seat brand into something sexy enough for Italians. Even the Carabinieri.
After yesterday’s Catalina catastrophe, I began to wonder what the biggest floatplane ever built was. Not a flying boat, where the aircraft’s fuselage also serves as a monohull with pontoons providing sea-keeping stability, but literally a plane attached to floats. Then I came across the obscure Italian-built CANT…
