There is a stretch of northern Italy where the world’s most coveted cars are not simply sold. They are born. Within an hour’s drive of Bologna, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Pagani and Ducati build machines that collectors in Dubai, Los Angeles, London and Shanghai wait years to own. Cross the Apennines and the landscape changes completely: cypress avenues, medieval hill towns, Brunello and Chianti Classico estates, and some of the most beautiful driving roads in Europe.
Few journeys in the world connect so much in so little distance. And few are better experienced from behind the wheel of a supercar.
This guide explains how to plan a supercar rental across the Motor Valley and Tuscany, which roads deserve your time, where to stay, and how Luxury Car Hire Europe builds the entire experience around you, from airport delivery to chauffeured Bentley transfers for the days you would rather sit in the back.
The Motor Valley is the name given to the area of Emilia-Romagna between Bologna, Modena and Parma. It is, quite literally, the birthplace of the Italian supercar.
Starting here is not just symbolic. It is practical. Luxury Car Hire Europe is based in Ozzano dell’Emilia, just outside Bologna, with logistics hubs serving Modena and Bologna. This means the cars in the Signature Collection, including the Ferrari 12Cilindri and the Lamborghini Revuelto, begin their journey a few kilometres from the factories that built them.
For international travellers, the region is also easy to reach. Bologna Guglielmo Marconi Airport receives direct and connecting flights from London, Paris, Stockholm, Oslo, Tel Aviv and the major Gulf hubs, while private aviation terminals across the area make it simple to land from Doha, Riyadh or Abu Dhabi and find your car waiting by the aircraft.
A Motor Valley driving tour is, above all, a pilgrimage. These are the stops that define it:
Museo Ferrari in Maranello, home of the Prancing Horse, where Formula 1 cars and historic road models are displayed a short walk from the factory gates and the Fiorano test track.
Museo Enzo Ferrari in Modena, built around the house where Enzo Ferrari was born, with its striking yellow roof shaped like a bonnet.
Museo Automobili Lamborghini in Sant’Agata Bolognese, where the lineage from the Miura to the Revuelto tells the story of Italy’s most theatrical car brand.
Pagani in San Cesario sul Panaro, the atelier of Horacio Pagani, where hypercars are assembled almost by hand. Visits are generally by reservation and availability should be checked well in advance.
The Ducati Museum in Borgo Panigale and the Maserati showroom in Modena complete the picture for collectors who appreciate the wider Italian engineering story.
Arriving at the Lamborghini Museum in a Revuelto, or at Maranello in a Ferrari 12Cilindri, adds a layer of meaning that no coach tour can replicate. LCHE’s Ultimate Motor Valley Experience is designed precisely around this idea, combining driving time with museum access to the region’s great marques.
The Motor Valley is also one of Italy’s great food capitals. Traditional balsamic vinegar producers around Modena, Parmigiano Reggiano dairies at dawn, and tables such as Massimo Bottura’s Osteria Francescana make this region as rewarding for the palate as for the driver.
For those who want more intensity, the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari in Imola sits on the edge of the region, and the hills south of Bologna offer quiet, flowing roads where a V12 can finally breathe.
The most exciting way to reach Tuscany from the Motor Valley is not the motorway. It is the old mountain road over the Futa and Raticosa passes, once stages of the legendary Mille Miglia road race.
These roads climb through chestnut forests and open ridgelines, with long sequences of curves that reward a car with precise steering and a responsive engine. On a clear morning, the descent towards Florence opens onto the whole Mugello valley, home of the famous racing circuit.
It is generally a two to three hour drive at a relaxed pace, and many clients describe it as the highlight of their trip.
Tuscany is where the supercar becomes a grand tourer. The roads are slower, the views wider, and every stop seems to be a medieval village or a historic wine estate.
Chianti and the Chiantigiana Road
The SR222, known as the Chiantigiana, links Florence and Siena through the heart of Chianti Classico. Greve in Chianti, Panzano, Castellina and Radda follow one another along a route of vineyards, stone farmhouses and family wineries. Castello di Brolio, the historic seat of the Ricasoli family, is one of the most evocative stops for wine lovers.
A convertible such as the Ferrari Roma Spider, the Aston Martin DB12 Volante or the Porsche 911 GTS Cabriolet is particularly suited to this rhythm.
Val d’Orcia: The Most Photographed Landscape in Italy
South of Siena, the Val d’Orcia is a UNESCO World Heritage landscape of rolling hills and isolated cypress trees. Pienza, Montalcino (home of Brunello), Montepulciano, San Quirico d’Orcia and the thermal village of Bagno Vignoni form a natural loop that can be driven in a day, though most travellers wisely give it two.
Bolgheri and the Tuscan Coast
For a different Tuscany, the coast near Bolgheri offers the famous five-kilometre Viale dei Cipressi and the estates behind the Super Tuscan wines. It pairs beautifully with a stop in Volterra or San Gimignano on the way back inland.
Florence and Siena: Arriving at the Door of Your Hotel
Historic centres in Italian cities are generally protected by limited traffic zones (ZTL), and entering without authorisation can result in fines. This is one of the most common concerns among American, British and Australian visitors renting a car in Italy.
LCHE addresses it in two ways. First, hotel deliveries and access arrangements are coordinated in advance wherever possible. Second, plug-in hybrids such as the Lamborghini Revuelto can drive in electric mode, offering a quieter and more discreet way to approach historic districts. Access rules vary by city and by permit, so it is always advisable to confirm the arrangement for your specific hotel with the LCHE team before arrival.
What separates a premium supercar rental from a standard one is not only the car. It is everything that happens around it.
LCHE delivers directly to five-star hotels, private villas, marinas and airports across Italy and Europe, including Bologna, Florence, Pisa, Milan and Venice, as well as private jet terminals where the car can be waiting at the steps of the aircraft. At the end of the trip, it can be collected from a different city or even a different country through a one-way rental, with a transparent quote that includes the return logistics.
Several details matter enormously to experienced travellers:
Guaranteed plate. On cars from the Signature Collection, LCHE confirms the exact vehicle, colour and specification before departure. There is no “or similar” clause. The car you book is the car you drive.
Direct ownership. Because LCHE owns its Signature Collection fleet, communication is direct and decisions are fast, without the delays typical of brokers.
Luggage transport. Supercars have limited luggage space. On multi-day tours, luggage can be transferred separately between hotels, so you travel light and drive freely.
Discretion. For high-profile clients and families from the Gulf, Europe and North America, privacy is treated as part of the service, not an extra.
Driving requirements such as minimum age, licence seniority and security deposit vary by model. Visitors with a licence issued outside the European Union are generally advised to carry an International Driving Permit alongside their national licence, and it is recommended to verify the latest requirements with the LCHE team when booking.
Not every day of a Tuscan holiday is a driving day. After a long wine tasting in Montalcino, a gala dinner in Florence or a family transfer from the airport, a chauffeur is simply the most elegant solution.
LCHE offers a dedicated private chauffeur service with a fleet that includes the Bentley Bentayga EWB, the Mercedes-Maybach S 580 and Maybach GLS, the Range Rover LWB, and the Mercedes S-Class and V-Class for larger groups. Chauffeurs are multilingual, generally speaking Italian, English, French and Spanish, and the service includes airport meet and greet, luggage handling and concierge support.
Many clients combine the two worlds. A family from Riyadh or Kuwait City might travel in a chauffeured Bentayga while one family member drives a Lamborghini Urus SE or a Ferrari Purosangue alongside. A group of friends from Stockholm or Toronto might drive supercars through the Apennines and use a V-Class for the evening in Florence. The logistics are coordinated as a single experience.
A supercar journey through the Motor Valley and Tuscany deserves a sequence of places to stay that matches the cars. These are some of the addresses that fit naturally into the route.
In the Motor Valley
Palazzo di Varignana, a resort and spa set in the hills between Bologna and Imola, is a refined base for the first nights, with quiet roads on its doorstep.
Casa Maria Luigia, Massimo Bottura’s guesthouse in the Modena countryside, offers an intimate, art-filled stay a short drive from Maranello.
In Florence
Four Seasons Hotel Firenze, set within a Renaissance palace and private garden, and Belmond Villa San Michele in Fiesole, overlooking the city from a former monastery, remain two of the most requested addresses in Tuscany.
In Chianti and Southern Tuscany
COMO Castello del Nero in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa, Rosewood Castiglion del Bosco near Montalcino, Belmond Castello di Casole near Siena and Borgo Santo Pietro near Chiusdino combine historic estates, vineyards and contemporary luxury. Il Borro, the estate of the Ferragamo family in Valdarno, is another destination in itself.
Medieval Villages Worth the Detour
San Gimignano and its towers, Monteriggioni with its intact walls, Pienza and its Renaissance square, Montepulciano’s wine cellars carved into the rock, and the hilltop silence of Volterra. Each of these is best approached by car, early in the morning, before the day visitors arrive.
For many clients, the real value lies in not having to organise anything at all. LCHE designs bespoke supercar tours that go well beyond rental.
Every itinerary can be adapted to your dates, pace and style. Depending on the format, a tour may include fuel for the journey, five-star hotels and resorts, Michelin-starred dinners, private winery visits, guided access to museums, a support team and full concierge assistance.
Clients can also rotate cars along the way, driving a Ferrari one day and a Lamborghini or Aston Martin the next, which is particularly popular with groups of friends and corporate incentive programmes.
A Tuscan sunrise in a Ferrari deserves to be remembered properly. On request, LCHE coordinates a private photographer and drone pilot to capture the drive in cinematic quality.
For travellers who want to cover long distances in style, supercar rental can also be combined with private helicopter transfers, for example linking the Riviera, the Alps and the Motor Valley in a single itinerary.
LCHE organises private group tours, rallies and corporate experiences, from regularity challenges in the Emilian hills to gala dinners and coordinated chauffeur fleets for weddings, conventions and official events.
Yes. LCHE offers one-way rentals, so you can collect the car in Bologna or at your Motor Valley hotel and return it in Florence, Milan, Rome or another European city. The return logistics are included in a transparent quote.
Yes. Door-to-door delivery is available to hotels, villas, marinas, airports and private jet terminals across Italy and Europe.
Yes. Chauffeured vehicles such as the Bentley Bentayga EWB, Mercedes-Maybach S 580 and Range Rover LWB can be booked for transfers, wine tours or entire days, and can travel alongside self-drive supercars.
In many cases, drivers with a licence issued outside the EU are advised to carry an International Driving Permit together with their national licence. Requirements can change, so it is best to confirm with the LCHE team and your local licensing authority before travelling.
Late spring (May and June) and early autumn (September and October) generally offer the best balance of weather, light and traffic. October is harvest season, which makes it especially rewarding for wine lovers.
The Motor Valley and Tuscany are two of the most extraordinary regions in the world for anyone who loves cars, food, wine and beauty. Together, they form a journey that moves from the factory floor of Maranello to the cellars of Montalcino, from the roar of a V12 in the Apennines to the silence of the Val d’Orcia at dusk.
Whether you are flying in from New York, London, Dubai, Kyiv, Sydney or Shanghai, the experience can begin the moment you land, with the exact car you chose waiting for you, a route designed around your interests, and a team that takes care of every detail.
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