England v Italy - the classic encounter
07/11/2021
Tonight, England and Italy will battle it out at Wembley Stadium to decide the winner of the European Championship. Of course, we don't yet know who will win and, as non-football experts, we don't want to venture a prediction. But we can look back a little in history and consider how the "encounter" between the two nations in the automotive sector actually turned out.
After the war, the British car industry was the quickest to pick itself up, but the Italians also made rapid progress. With Greek help, the British invented the Mini with a front transverse engine and unprecedented use of space, while the Italians developed the Autobianchi Primula, the first front-wheel-drive saloon with a hatchback and tailgate.
There was an Italian alternative to many successful English cars. The Ford Cortina competed with the Alfa Romeo Giulia, the Lotus version with the TI Super version and later the Giulia GTA.
Instead of an Aston Martin DB4, you could also buy a Ferrari 250 GT Lusso or a 250 GT 2+2.
And those who didn't like the Italian Fiat 2300 Coupé could perhaps choose the Gordon Keeble? Instead of a Morris Minor, you could buy a Fiat 600, and if you didn't want a Jaguar XJ6, you might choose an Alfa Romeo Sei.
A Ginetta G12 could certainly be compared with the ATS 2500 GT, both had the engine behind the driver and were produced in homeopathic doses.
And the classic Mini was rivaled by the typically Italian Autobianchi A112 (pictured above).
Almost every British car product was opposed by an Italian alternative and if the British benefited from Italian design support, the British helped the Italians to build entire cars, as in the case of Innocenti.
And how did the battle end? Well, at first England often had the edge, later it was more the Italians. What both nations have in common is that today they only have the reins completely in their hands in individual cases when it comes to car manufacturing. So are we (almost) assuming a draw? In football, of course, this should not be the case ...
