Ercole Spada
Ercole Spada (26 July 1937 – 3 August 2025) was an Italian automobile designer. His most notable designs were produced in the 1960s, for the Zagato design studio house, where Spada was chief stylist. During this period some of the most notable sports cars by Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Maserati, as well as Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Fiat and Lancia were clothed by Spada's designs.
Ercole Spada
[1] · Public domain
- Born
- 1937.
- Died
- 2025.
- Nationality
- Italy.
- Occupation
- designer.
- Known for
- Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato and Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ.
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Documentary summary
Ercole Spada (26 July 1937 – 3 August 2025) was an Italian automobile designer. His most notable designs were produced in the 1960s, for the Zagato design studio house, where Spada was chief stylist. During this period some of the most notable sports cars by Aston Martin, Ferrari, and Maserati, as well as Alfa Romeo, Abarth, Fiat and Lancia were clothed by Spada's designs.
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Note VALÉORINE
Ercole Spada (1937–2025) was a designer, of Italian nationality. The designer was born in Busto Arsizio and died in Sestriere.
Among the works are Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ and Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato. Languages used include Italian.
Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026
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In this article
Background and early days
Background and early days
Spada was born in Busto Arsizio on 26 July 1937. He earned a degree in industrial engineering from Istituto Tecnico Feltrinelli in 1956. Following a military service, he joined Zagato in February 1960. The first design created by Spada for Zagato was the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato. One example of Spada's work was the Mazda MX-3, which aimed to capture the Alfa Romeo Giulia TZ design, according to its creators. Shortly before leaving Zagato, Spada designed the Alfa Romeo Junior Z, as well as the Lancia Fulvia Sport. Spada joined Ford in 1970 to become chief designer at the Italian Ghia design house. This led to the creation of the Ford GT70, which did not enter production at the last moment.
BMW
BMW
After leaving Ford and following a short stay at Audi, Spada joined BMW's design center as chief stylist in 1976. During his stay with BMW, Spada created two major all-new designs with Claus Luthe, the 7-series (1986–1994), and the BMW E34 5-series (1988–1996).
I.DE.A
I.DE.A
In 1983 Spada returned to lead an Italian design house, this time I.DE.A Institute, where he designed a string of compact and luxury cars, for Fiat – the Tipo and Tempra siblings, the Lancia Dedra and Delta II, and the Kappa. Other projects included the Alfa Romeo 155 and the Daihatsu Move. During his stay in I.DE.A Institute, Spada competed and won over major design contracts from Fiat, putting him in direct competition with his fellow Italian designer, Giorgetto Giugiaro.
Spadaconcept
Spadaconcept
Spada continued to work as a designer. He joined his son, Paulo Spada, to create Spadaconcept, a new design house aimed at automotive and industrial design.
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 2 entries
1937
Ercole Spada born at Busto Arsizio.
2025
Ercole Spada died at Sestriere.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Malpensa24. È morto il designer di auto Ercole Spada: «Ha reso grande Busto fuori dai confini». 3 August 2025.
- 2.Ercole Spada (1937-2025). The Automobile. 43. 8. 10. October 2025.
- 3.Rare classic 1965 Lamborghini could be only survivor. Hagerty Media. 26 February 2015.
- 4.1967 ZAGATO LANCIA FLAVIA SUPER SPORT PROTOTIPO. archivioprototipi.it.
- 5.1993 ZAGATO FERRARI FZ93. archivioprototipi.it.
Bibliography printed in the source article · 12
- Ercole Spada himself
- ERCOLE SPADA – 40 Years Devoted to Car Design, Car Styling Magazine, Volume 131 (July 1999)
- Penny Sparke, A Century of Car Design (2002)
- Paolo Tumminelli, Car Design (2004)
- Robert Edwards Aston Martin: Ever the Thoroughbred (2003)
- Michele Marchianò, Le Zagato – Fulvia Sport / Junior Z (2005)
- Carlo Stella and Bruno Vettore, Zagato Fulvia Sport Competizione (2003)
- Hilton Holloway and Martin Buckley, A–Z of Cars (2002)
- Winston Scott Goodfellow, Iso Rivolta: The Men, the Machines (2001)
- Zagato design studies
- Zagato. The Origins
- World Premiere - Spada TS Codatronca. Classic Driver Magazine. 17 April 2007.
References
Citations
References
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The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 14 August 2026.
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