Description
The Intermeccanica Italia was one of the most beautiful and charismatic sports cars of the late 1960s—a grand touring machine that perfectly embodied the marriage of Italian design artistry and American mechanical strength. Produced between 1967 and 1973, it represented the high point of Frank Reisner’s Intermeccanica company, blending the sensual curves of Italian coachbuilding with the raw, effortless power of a Ford V8. Often described as a “Ferrari with American reliability,” the Italia combined style, speed, and usability in a way that few cars of its era could match. Today, it stands as one of the most compelling and collectible examples of the Italian–American hybrid sports car tradition.
The Italia’s origins can be traced back to the early 1960s, when Reisner, the Hungarian-born founder of Intermeccanica, had already built a reputation for crafting refined, limited-production cars such as the Apollo GT and the Griffith 600. These earlier efforts had been collaborations between Intermeccanica and American entrepreneurs who sought to pair American drivetrains with Italian styling and craftsmanship. The Italia was a natural evolution of these ideas—a project fully under Intermeccanica’s control, conceived and built in Turin, where Reisner had established his company among Italy’s network of small but highly skilled coachbuilders.
The Italia began life as the Intermeccanica Torino in 1966, its name later changed to Italia to avoid conflict with Ford’s Torino model. Designed by the gifted Robert Cumberford and refined by Franco Scaglione and Franco Della Casa, the car was built by Carrozzeria Intermeccanica with bodywork supplied by Turin-based craftsmen who were also building cars for Maserati and Iso. The result was a design of breathtaking grace and balance. The Italia was low, wide, and sensuous, with a long bonnet, compact passenger compartment, and short rear deck—classic GT proportions rendered in beautifully sculpted steel. The front featured faired-in headlamps, an oval grille, and flowing fenders that hinted at both aggression and elegance. The side profile was clean and uninterrupted, with muscular haunches and a gently rising shoulder line, while the rear tapered into twin round tail-lamps and a subtle ducktail spoiler. Every surface expressed movement, yet the car retained a timeless purity.
Under the graceful bodywork lay simple but effective mechanicals. Power came from a Ford 289 cubic inch (4.7-litre) V8 in early cars, later replaced by the larger 351 cubic inch (5.8-litre) Windsor and Cleveland V8s. Depending on specification, output ranged from 271 to over 300 horsepower, providing serious performance. Mated to a four-speed manual transmission (or optional automatic), the V8 propelled the Italia from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in around 6 seconds, with a top speed exceeding 250 km/h (155 mph). Despite its American heart, the car’s character was thoroughly European: the throttle response was immediate, the engine note deep but refined, and the balance between torque and revs ideal for grand touring.
The chassis, designed by Intermeccanica’s engineers, was a tubular steel frame with independent front suspension (using unequal-length wishbones and coil springs) and a live rear axle located by trailing arms and coil springs. Four-wheel disc brakes ensured strong stopping power, while rack-and-pinion steering gave precise control. Weighing just over 1,200 kilograms, the Italia combined the power of an American muscle car with the handling finesse of a true Italian GT. Its road manners were supple and composed, equally at home devouring motorways or carving through the twisting roads of the Piedmont hills.
The interior of the Italia was pure Italian luxury. Every detail was hand-finished, from the rich leather upholstery to the polished wood dashboard and chrome switchgear. The cabin layout was intimate but comfortable, with deep bucket seats, a long wood-rimmed steering wheel, and a full array of instruments housed in elegant oval binnacles. The driving position was low and sporting, the controls tactile and well-weighted. Despite its compact dimensions, the Italia offered a sense of occasion—every drive felt like a grand event, the kind of car one might imagine roaring along the Via Aurelia toward the Riviera.
Production of the Intermeccanica Italia began in 1967, first as a coupe and soon after as a convertible, which became the more popular version. Cars were hand-assembled in Turin, then shipped to the United States for final completion and distribution by the International Motor Company of New York. The Italia was marketed directly against the likes of Maserati, Ferrari, and Iso Rivolta, offering similar style and performance for a fraction of the cost and with far greater reliability. For a time, it found eager buyers among American enthusiasts who wanted Italian flair without the maintenance worries of European exotics.
However, Intermeccanica was a small company, and financial difficulties, combined with the complexities of transatlantic distribution, limited production. Between 400 and 500 examples were built in total, split roughly evenly between coupes and convertibles. Each car was effectively bespoke, with details that varied slightly from one to the next depending on customer preference and available parts. The build quality, though artisanal, was excellent by the standards of boutique manufacturers, and the Italia earned a reputation for being both durable and exquisitely finished.
On the road, the Intermeccanica Italia delivered a unique blend of grace and muscle. The Ford V8 provided effortless power and a sonorous soundtrack, while the Italian chassis tuning gave it agility and poise. Reviewers at the time praised its balance of performance and civility—capable of thrilling acceleration but also of serene high-speed cruising. The suspension absorbed rough surfaces without harshness, and the car felt planted even at autobahn speeds. Unlike many hand-built exotics of the period, the Italia could be driven daily, starting reliably and idling smoothly in traffic, yet come alive on an open road.
Today, the Intermeccanica Italia is regarded as one of the finest and most elegant of the Italian–American hybrids. Its rarity, timeless design, and hand-crafted charm make it a prized collector’s piece, while its robust American drivetrain ensures that it remains usable and enjoyable. Enthusiasts admire it as the most mature and resolved expression of Reisner’s original vision—a car that truly achieved the goal of uniting Italian passion with American practicality.
The Italia’s legacy endures as a symbol of a unique moment in motoring history, when small workshops in Turin could handcraft cars of breathtaking beauty around proven American engines, creating machines that rivalled the great marques of Modena and Milan. It represented the pinnacle of Intermeccanica’s creativity and ambition—a car that looked as sensuous as a Ferrari, drove with the confidence of an Aston Martin, and could be serviced as easily as a Mustang.
To see an Intermeccanica Italia today is to understand the golden age of the Italian coachbuilder: an era of artistry, courage, and mechanical romance. Every curve speaks of craftsmanship, every detail of purpose. The Italia remains Frank Reisner’s masterpiece—an unforgettable expression of what happens when passion, design, and power come together in perfect harmony.