Silence from Italdesign lately. Audi dumped them last year. They’ve been quiet. Too quiet. Then, out of nowhere, the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile hosted a reveal. The Itala Automobili 35.
A ghost from 1903. Defunct by 1934? Maybe. Now it’s back. Or rather, the nameplate is.
Resurrection costs less than you’d think when the chassis is already paid for.
This isn’t a ground-up engineering feat. It’s a face lift. DR Automobiles Groupe ordered the cup of coffee. Italdesign served the art. The soul underneath? A GAC Trumpchi GS3. Plain Jane. Boring. Now wearing a bespoke Italian suit.
Light on details, as usual. Fracchia talks about “visual identity” and “coherent approaches.” Translate that: they swapped the plastic bits. Bumpers gone. Bonnet fascia new. Tailgate reshaped. The lights stay. Just integrated differently. Same bulbs. Different neighbors.
The look is… aggressive. If aggressive means borrowing heavily from SEAT’s book of parts.
Large grille. Swept-back eyes. Huge Itala badge screaming for attention. Central intake. Rounded lower lip. It works, in a sort of noisy, bold way.
Move to the side. Streamlined? Sure, if you like flush door handles and angular windows. Plastic cladding remains. The windscreen tilts forward, rakish or just efficient, your call.
Inside. Flat-bottom wheel. Two screens. Gloss black everywhere. A minimalist shifter. Upholstered dash. Metal speaker grilles. It’s not ugly. It’s just… Chinese crossover chic with a European accent.
So why bother?
Mechanically, nothing changes. It’s the same 1.5-liter turbo four. 170 hp. 199 lb-ft. Sent to the front wheels. Seven-speed dual-clutch transmission.
- 0-62 mph in 7.5s. Adequate.
- Top speed 118 mph. Enough for most highways.
- 34.6 mpg combined. Acceptable.
Dimensions don’t lie. 173 inches long. 104 inches of wheelbase. Trunk holds 12 cubic feet normally. 44 when you fold the seats. It’s a box. A well-designed, plastic-covered box.
Is it deceptive? Italy thinks so. They fined DR Automobiles $6.4 million recently for selling Chinese cars as Italian. A nice penalty. Does it stop the 35 from being marketed as premium? Unlikely.
September arrival in Italy. €35,000 start price. That’s roughly $40k. For a rebadged Chinese crossover.
You get what you pay for. Usually. Here, you pay extra for the logo.
What happens next? The 56. A five-seater. Blurring the line between compact and midsize. Then the 61. A seven-seater. Likely a large SUV. More plastic swaps. More badging. More questions about origin.
The machine drives. The paint looks good. The heritage is thin, stretched over a very real, very Chinese chassis.
It runs. It arrives.
Style is everything when substance is outsourced.
Do you care about the VIN? Or just the view in the mirror?
