Italians have a reputation for making some of the most beautiful cars with automakers like Ferrari, Lamborghini, Alfa Romeo, and Bugatti leading the way, just to mention a few. But, not even Italians are immune to making mistakes.
The truth is that Italian car manufacturers have also created some ‘unfortunate’ cars over the years. The following are 10 Italian car design that show that even they can mess up their car design now and then.
Fiat 600 Multipla
The 1957 Fiat 600 Multipla belonged to a series of cars manufactured between 1956 and 1965 and was the first-ever Fiat car to have a rear-engine. It also featured a distinctively ugly look, the kind that’s normally associated with hauling people around amusement parks instead of city streets. For starters, the rear of the car looks like it was initially supposed to be the front but then was changed at the last minute. Then there’s the low roof and cramped up seating that made it look like a clown car. When looking at it, it’s hard to believe that the Fiat 600 Multipla was the most widely used taxi in Italy in the 70s.
Ferrari 308 GT4
Nobody would expect to find a Ferrari on a list like this, but you don’t become one of the most revered automakers of all time without a few faux pas along the way, and the Ferrari 308 GT4 was exactly that. What started as Enzo’s idea of a sensible, cheap supercar for everyday boring people ended up looking like something designed by a sleepy student for their science project. Even with its stretched-out cabin, the wheelbase was awfully short, with overhangs that were just too tall. The front was boring. The back was boring, everywhere it was boring. The only thing the 308 GT4 had going for it was the pop-up headlights.
Fiat 500L Living
The Fiat 500L Living is a true testament to the fact that some Fiat designers need to rethink their career choices. The van looks like what would happen if a Mini Cooper and a 1996 Chrysler Town & Country got married and had a hideous child. Its headlights and taillights are poorly designed and positioned, its front end looks unfinished, and its roofline looks irregular with plenty of zigs and zags. On top of that, the car appears to stretch a bit too far to accommodate the extra seating. However, despite how horrible the 500L Living looks, Fiat has sold more than 1 million of them and continues to produce more today.
Lancia Ypsilon
The Lancia Ypsilon is just as ugly as anyone would expect a car called ‘Ypsilon’ to be. Although Lancia has made multiple versions of the Ypsilon since its production started in 1995, one thing consistent in all of them is how unsightly they are. To be fair, the car’s front end looks decent, almost like a smiling cartoon face. However, most people can’t get past how it looks from the back, with its cheese-wedge-shaped taillights that seem awfully misplaced under the lip of its oversized tailgate.
Alfa Romeo 166
Seeing a 166 can have anyone seriously questioning whether it was made by the same company that made the iconic Tipo 33 Stradale or the sexy Disco Volante. Introduced in 1996, the Alfa Romeo 166 was a big, wide executive car that the Italian automaker intended to be the ultimate competitor to the more popular German cars. Unfortunately, it failed terribly in its mission, largely thanks to how ugly it was. They chose headlights that were too small for such a wide car and then put them too far wide apart, leaving its front end looking like a sloth. The grille was also too small and looked out of place from all angles.
Ferrari 512M
The Ferrari 512m was a failed attempt at recreating one of the most iconic supercars of the 80s, the Ferrari Testarossa. Looking at a picture of the 512m, one can easily think that it’s a poorly designed toy car or one of those sports cars found in budget animation films. Its headlights were ill-positioned and too big, the front bumper had too much going on, the round taillights looked like they were forcefully crammed into the car’s square holes, and the wheels looked like they belonged in a different car. Thankfully, only 500 of these awful cars were ever made, and certainly not for exclusivity.
Lancia Thesis
The Lancia Thesis was initially designed to be the ultimate luxury car of the 2000s, the kind that dignitaries use to get to and from the airport. Sadly, it ended up being one of Lancia’s ugliest and least successful vehicles, thanks to the terrible design features it had. The front end looked weird and too minimalistic, featuring a grill that resembled a medieval shield and headlights that looked totally out of place. The side profile was just as depressing, with the car’s distinctive nose and tail sandwiching a dull-looking center section. Thankfully, the car’s tastefully designed interior full of leather and wood accents made up for its horrid exterior.
Fiat Multipla
Ever since the Fiat Multipla was launched in 1998, it has won multiple awards. Unfortunately, all the awards were for having the ugliest features found in any car. The car looks like it was made ugly intentionally as if the designers were trying their best to make it look as atrocious as possible. The car looks like it’s made up of two different ugly cars chopped up and glued together, with each retaining its own headlights. To make matters worse, the interior is just as bad as the exterior with all controls and gauges crammed on a small center stack.
1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica Ghia
Designed by Ghia, the 1956 Ferrari 410 Superamerica concept was Ferrari’s take on American car design that went south. Looking at the car, there was just too much going on in its design, making it hard even to tell which type of car it was. It had an ugly heavy chrome front grille that looked like nothing found in a typical Ferrari, a weird chrome panel running along its waistline, and a wraparound windshield. The worst part of the design was the tailfins that housed its headlights. Fortunately, the car was never put into production, and Ghia never collaborated with Ferrari again.Ferrari FF
The Ferrari FF was a couple of firsts for the automaker: first all-wheel drive, first wagon, and the first Ferrari made in the 21st century that everyone hates to look at. Introduced in 2011 in Geneva, the Ferrari FF was detailed with cliches and crutches. It had an oversized grill that seemed too high from the ground, ridiculous air intakes, headlights that appeared to be too far up the front fenders, and a back end that looked like something taken out of a cheap Chinese car.
