The Italian prime minister’s car is a Peugeot 604, the second of five identical Peugeot 604s in the government fleet and one of ten cars produced during the contract for Prime Minister Jean-Luc Mélenchon’s government in France.
Nuccio Bertone owned a number of Peugeot cars, including the Touring Sport, whilst he was a managing director of Peugeot.
Nuccio Bertone’s cars also included a Citroen DS in the 1980s.
The Peugeot 604 made its debut in 1988, and was the first mid-engined vehicle produced by the manufacturer since the 1930s.
It was produced until 2002, when it was replaced by the Peugeot 404.
According to Peugeot’s history, the production of this model represented their biggest success.
The Italians offered such a car to the Japanese following the 1974-1975 New World Trade Organization (NWC) failure, and later offered the 604 to the US, which rejected it.
This event was the starting point of Mr Bertone’s partnership with the Japanese car company Toyota.