Italian muscle cars… Want more?
Americans have their own cars to be proud of, but based in Europe we have Ferrari and Alfa Romeo that made automobiles that gained popularity in the USA also.
In the early 1960s muscles cars were on the rise! This was when everything muscle absolutely boomed!
The trend was highly popular which continued for a solid decade into the 70s.
American muscles cars were a huge success however some would say they were missing what luxurious featured Italian automobiles had.
What Italian muscle cars had were the American V8 engine power plants under an Italian-design.
Here are a number of our favourites that came about throughout this era and why we absolutely love them!
DeTomaso Pantera
In 1959 Alejandro De Tomaso in Modena, Italy, manufactured this wonderful vehicle.
Initially built for racing purposes, DeTomaso eventually developed sports and luxury cars.
Iso Grifo
Iso Revolta, another small manufacturer following three years after DeTomaso’s Pantera, developed what is known as its most impressive creation, the Iso Grifo.
The Grifo gained four different American powertrains: 5.4, 7.0-litre V8s from Chevrolet and the same Ford-sourced 5.8-litre V8 fitted in the Pantera.
Only 413 examples of the Iso Grifo were produced. So this is a little hidden gem!
Bizzarrini 5300 GT
Word on the street is Bizzarrini used lessons he learned while building the famous Ferrari 250 GTO and pushed the Chevrolet Corvette V8 engine far back into the engine bay to perfect the weight balance.
The Bizzarrini 5300 GT had more power than the Ferrari 275 GTB and the road version offered several standard features.
Monteverdi Hai 450
This last vehicle did quite make it to production, let’s just say it was awkward in more than one aspect.
The Mondeteverdi Hai 450 was introduced to the world in 1970 and debuted at Geneva Auto Show.
Powered by a 7.0 litre Chrysler Hemi V8 engine mated to a five-speed ZF transaxle.
