One of the few car makers to have survived unscathed through over a hundred years of production, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino debuted with a rear-engined two-cylinder machine in 1899. Coincidentally this was the same layout used for the iconic Fiat 500 launched 58 years later that the company will always be best remembered for. Even today no Italian cityscape is complete without them, though they are quickly being replaced by the ‘new’ 500.

Various licensing deals mean Fiat’s products are built worldwide. Along the way, the company has swallowed up Ferrari, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and the tuning firm Abarth, whose name still graces its sportier models.