Wings, pistons, and high-altitude DNA: when the car is born among the cloudsThere’s a very specific moment in automotive history when someone — probably with airplane grease still under their nails — looked at an engine and thought:
“Alright. Now let’s make it drive on the road.”And that’s how it happened: between dismantled propellers, repurposed landing gear, and technicians used to working with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker on steroids, some of the most iconic car brands in the world were born.Yes: plenty of the cars we pull up next to at traffic lights owe their existence to a past spent in the skies.Here are the protagonists of this mechanical double life — brands that used to fly, and now run.
“Alright. Now let’s make it drive on the road.”And that’s how it happened: between dismantled propellers, repurposed landing gear, and technicians used to working with the precision of a Swiss watchmaker on steroids, some of the most iconic car brands in the world were born.Yes: plenty of the cars we pull up next to at traffic lights owe their existence to a past spent in the skies.Here are the protagonists of this mechanical double life — brands that used to fly, and now run.
Saab: from the F-35 to the 900 Turbo, it’s a short hop (more or less)
Saab was founded in Sweden in 1937 as Svenska Aeroplan AktieBolaget (even the name is a puzzle), with one goal: building military aircraft.In 1947, with the war over and a few hangars to clear out, it reinvented itself. The Saab 92 was born: an aerodynamic, lightweight car built by engineers who were used to designing jets.The mindset stayed the same: original technical solutions (like the ignition placed between the seats), a borderline-obsessive focus on safety, and wind-tunnel testing… meant for airplanes.When mechanics talk about Saab, they do it with respect. And a little nostalgia.
BMW: from propellers to coupés, via two wars
Does the BMW logo represent a spinning propeller?Yes — and it’s not an urban legend. Bayerische Motoren Werke was founded in 1916 building aircraft engines.During World War I, it supplied Germany’s Luftstreitkräfte. But after the conflict, the Treaty of Versailles forced the company to reinvent itself: first motorcycles, then cars.During World War II, BMW went back to aircraft engines. The famous BMW 801 powered the Focke-Wulf Fw 190.After the war, BMW became a symbol of sporty, refined cars. But every now and then, behind the kidney grille, you can still hear the echo of an engine ready to take off.
Bristol: the aristocratic descent from bombers
The Bristol Aeroplane Company was a cornerstone of the British aviation industry: bombers, engines, structural innovations.In 1945, with plenty of engineers suddenly surplus and an aerospace know-how that was off the charts, Bristol Cars was born.Hand-built cars, elegant coachwork, and mechanics partly derived from BMW (irony at its finest). Limited production, no public price lists.If you had to ask the price, you couldn’t afford it.
Piaggio: from fuselage to Vespa
Piaggio was founded in 1884, but it really took off in the early decades of the 20th century: seaplanes, Jupiter engines built under license, and the P.108 bomber in 1938.After the war, with Italy in pieces, the company pivoted to a simple, brilliant idea: a cheap, reliable vehicle.That’s how the Vespa was born — designed by engineer Corradino D’Ascanio (an aeronautical engineer, obviously), with recycled components and a body that feels like a tiny urban aircraft.In the 1980s it climbed back into the sky with the Piaggio P.180 Avanti, a pusher-config turboprop still in production today: three lifting surfaces, low fuel burn, and the kind of look you’d expect from an art-plane.
Rolls-Royce: between engines that fly and engines that shine
If your Rolls-Royce imagination is made only of walnut veneer interiors and mufflers plated in white gold, know this: there’s a lot more to the story.From the very beginning, Rolls-Royce Limited built aircraft engines. The legendary Merlin V12 powered Spitfires during World War II.Today, the brand’s two souls live separate lives: Rolls-Royce Motor Cars (cars) is controlled by BMW; Rolls-Royce plc (aerospace engines) is one of the most advanced propulsion companies in the world.Two different roads. Same engineering DNA.
Zagato: handcrafted aerodynamics
In 1919, Ugo Zagato — with a background at Officine Aeronautiche Pomilio — founded a coachbuilding studio that would change the racing car forever: light, lean, technical.No frills. Just aerodynamics.The first Fiat Zagatos were basically airplanes without wings.In the 1930s came the Alfa Romeo 6C and 8C Zagato: real sculptures on wheels, designed to cut through the air with the grace of a fighter plane.That spirit is still there, at the historic headquarters in Arese. And you can tell.
Spyker: back from the hangar
The Dutch company Spyker built carriages and automobiles in the late 1800s.Then, in 1914, it launched the Netherlands’ first military fighter aircraft. After a century of silence, it resurfaced in 2000 as a supercar brand with a strong aviation obsession: aluminum interiors, cockpit-style controls, titanium levers.Forward-looking design and horsepower in generous quantities. If Batman were Dutch, he’d drive a Spyker.
Hayabusa: the Japanese falcon that doesn’t fly (but almost does)
It wasn’t born from aerospace, but the Suzuki Hayabusa — introduced in 1999 — is the motorcycle that gets closest to low-altitude flight.Its name means “peregrine falcon,” the fastest animal in a dive. And the Hayabusa lived up to it: 312 km/h, a stealth-jet silhouette, and an engine that pulled with surgical anger.It’s not airplanes + bikes = Hayabusa.It’s more like: a bike that dreams of being a jet. And sometimes, it pulls it off.
Alfa Romeo, Honda & co.: honorable mentions
- Alfa Romeo: in the 1930s it built aircraft engines for the Regia Aeronautica, including the RA.1000 (the Italian version of the Daimler-Benz DB 601).
- Honda: it took the reverse route — starting on two wheels, then heading for the sky with the HondaJet, a business jet in service since 2003.
- Ferrari and Maserati: not aviation-linked, but they share the same obsession with the engine as a mechanical heart — a concept borrowed from flight.
