From Alfa Milano to Ferrari Roma cars inspired by Italian cities – Mondo Motori

Alfa Romeo Milano, a few hours after the official presentation scheduled for the afternoon of April 10, brings back the theme of Biscione car names, which previously had referred to weather signs (Brera, the famous district of Milan. ) or more recently to Alpine routes (Stelvio and Tonale).
In fact, the new compact SUV is the return of this name to the Alfa Romeo portfolio, because the Milano was already used between 1987 and 1989 with a special edition of 75 sold only on the North American market and today is highly sought after by collectors.
The names of Italian cities – contrary to what one might think – are not particularly used by Fiat, which in the post-war history proposed Maratea 131 (1984-1985) and in Brazil Siena (1996 -2022).
Going back there is also Lancia Aprilia (1937-1949) which was recognized as the city of Lazio.
The name of the capital of Lombardy – undoubtedly the main character in the history of the car – was also used between 2005 and 2010 by Ford, for a sedan from the Mercury range, Milan, which was presented at the 19th Chicago Motor Show.
The Blue Oval house had previously shown a keen interest in Italian city names, naming the rear-wheel drive sedan Cortina in 1962 (later also offered in a Lotus version) and in 1968 the Capri sports coupe built on the Cortina MkII platform. .
The GM brand, Chevrolet instead used the Monza name for a small car – not a sports car at all – produced between 1974 and 1980. The name of a famous town in the Brianza region, home to the race of the same name, is also found. on the high-end Opel manufactured between 1978 and 1986 the same which in England with the Vauxhall brand was called the Royale Coupé.
The city of Imola is connected to an exclusive supercar produced by Pagani. However, if we stay in the world of sports cars we notice that Ferrari is the brand that has used the Italian atlas the most. In fact, the Running Horse is seen in Modena, in Portofino, in Rome and usually in Maranello.
Going through the list of Italian cities that have provided the basis for car names we also find Ssangyong Tivoli, Kiti Arona (the law, however, is the same as in the Spanish region), Kia Forte, which actually refers to Forte. dei Marmi as it is a close ‘relative’ of the lovely area on the coast of Campania, Kia Sorento.
There is no doubt, however, that Nissan borrowed the name Murano from the Venetian island, just as there is no doubt that Renault – for its Lagoon, written in Italian – referred to that of Venice.

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