Itala 35: Italdesign Gives a Historic Italian Name a New Face

The reborn Itala brand returns with a compact SUV designed by Italdesign, combining an international industrial base with a carefully built Italian visual identity.

More than a century after its foundation, the Itala name is returning to the road. The first model of this new chapter is the Itala 35, a compact SUV that opens the Historic Italian Brands project promoted by the DR Group, an initiative created to revive some of the most recognisable names in Italian motoring through a mix of shared industrial platforms, Italian automotive expertise and international partnerships.

For enthusiasts of Italian design, the most interesting part of the story is not simply the return of a badge, but the way in which that return has been shaped. The Itala 35 is not presented as a nostalgic replica or a retro-inspired show car. It is a modern production project built around an existing technical base, with Italdesign entrusted with the task of giving the first model of the revived brand a strong and coherent exterior identity.

The new SUV is based on shared industrial platforms from Asian partners of the DR Group, specifically GAC Group, while the Italian contribution extends to exterior design, electronics, suspension systems and overall vehicle integration. Within this framework, Italdesign’s role was not to create a car from a blank sheet, but to reinterpret an existing structure through targeted design work, turning a defined industrial base into something visually recognisable as Itala.

Cristiano Fracchia, Exterior Project Leader at Italdesign, explained that the team worked from a clearly defined technical base and within established design constraints. Several elements were already fixed, including the lighting units, so the challenge was to create a new identity through the components that could be redesigned. That makes the Itala 35 a particularly modern design exercise: not a complete reinvention, but a careful intervention where the front and rear ends become the main tools for building brand character.

Italdesign focused primarily on the non-structural plastic parts, redesigning the bumpers, upper bonnet fascia, tailgate and spoiler, while integrating the existing lights into the new exterior language. It is the kind of work that may appear less spectacular than a full concept car, yet it says a great deal about how automotive design often works today. Identity is not always created by changing everything; sometimes it comes from knowing exactly where to intervene.

The brief given to Italdesign revolved around two key ideas: strength and elegance. The Itala 35 needed to appear assertive enough to introduce a returning brand, but also refined enough to respect the historical image attached to the Itala name. Fracchia described the result as a balance between sharp lines, dynamic surfaces and sculpted volumes, while preserving formal clarity and coherence.

The grille became the expressive centre of the project. Italdesign gave particular attention to its mesh pattern, conceived to combine uniqueness and heritage through symbolic references to the Itala brand and to the city of Turin. In a project where some major components were already defined, details such as the grille became essential in creating a sense of identity and continuity.

The name “35” also creates a link with the marque’s past, recalling the Itala 35/45 HP, the car that won the 1907 Peking to Paris race and helped establish Itala as one of the great names of early Italian motoring. The new model obviously belongs to a very different world, but the reference is not accidental: the revived brand is trying to connect a pioneering heritage with the practical demands of the contemporary SUV market.

In terms of dimensions, the Itala 35 sits in the compact crossover segment. It measures 4.41 metres in length, 1.85 metres in width and 1.60 metres in height, with a wheelbase of 2.65 metres. The cabin offers five seats, while luggage capacity is listed at 341 litres, rising to 1,271 litres with the rear seats folded.

Under the bonnet is a 1.5-litre turbocharged petrol engine producing 170 hp and 270 Nm of torque, paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission and front-wheel drive. The declared performance figures include 0–100 km/h in 7.5 seconds and a top speed above 190 km/h, positioning the Itala 35 as a compact SUV with a reasonably lively character rather than a purely urban crossover.

The equipment list is expected to be generous, with the model presented as a highly specified proposition rather than a basic entry-level SUV. Reported features include 20-inch wheels, a panoramic opening roof, darkened rear glass, automatic climate control, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a 360-degree camera, wireless smartphone charging and Level 2 driver assistance.

The Itala 35 is expected to arrive on the Italian market from September 2026, with a starting price of around €35,000. Assembly is planned at the Fabbrica Italia facilities in Macchia d’Isernia, in Molise, as part of a broader strategy that aims to combine international technical partnerships with a progressively stronger Italian industrial footprint.

This is perhaps the most delicate aspect of the project. Reviving a historic Italian marque through a modern SUV based on shared international architecture will inevitably divide opinion. For some enthusiasts, the idea of an Itala crossover may feel far removed from the marque’s pioneering years. For others, it may be the only realistic way to bring a dormant name back into actual production instead of leaving it confined to museums, archive photographs and old racing stories.

The Itala 35 should therefore not be read as an attempt to recreate the past. It is better understood as a reinterpretation. Italdesign itself describes the project as positioned between heritage and future, with the objective of creating a strong perception of renewal without pretending that the vehicle comes from another era.

The 35 will also establish the visual direction for the models that follow. The same design language is expected to extend across the wider Itala range, including the Itala 56, a compact/mid-size five-seat SUV, and the Itala 61, configured for seven passengers. This makes the 35 not only the first model of the reborn brand, but also the foundation of a broader family identity.

For Italdesign, the project highlights another side of its long-standing expertise. The Moncalieri-based company is often associated with complete vehicle design, concept cars and major engineering programmes, but the Itala 35 shows its ability to work at a more focused scale, transforming an existing product through targeted exterior changes while maintaining a coherent and recognisable result.

Whether the revived Itala brand can earn its place among modern buyers remains to be seen. What is certain is that its return begins with a project that openly reflects the conditions of today’s car industry: global platforms, Italian design direction, shared know-how and carefully managed heritage.

The Itala 35 is not a romantic return to the age of heroic road races. It is something more pragmatic, and perhaps more revealing: a historic Italian name re-entering the market through the language of the contemporary SUV. The past is present, but it is not being copied. It is being reinterpreted, one design decision at a time.