Mission Impossible III latest film to showcase Italian auto (ANSA) - Rome, May 2 - With Ferrari's return to winning ways on the F1 race track and Fiat battling back into the black, Italy's motor industry is showing signs of revival .

Another indication that things are on the up comes from Hollywood, where Italian cars are increasingly winning prestigious roles in blockbuster movies .

Fiat's new model Panda - the 2004 European Car of the Year - impressed EON film producers so much they considered it fit for the world's greatest spy, 007. James Bond, played by Daniel Craig, dumps his Aston Martin and drives a new Panda in the latest film in the series, Casino Royale, which is scheduled for release in the autumn. But niche sports carmaker Lamborghini is the company that is leading the Italian charge on Hollywood at the moment .



Last year the Lamborghini Murciélago Roadster made its movie debut as the drive of Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) in Batman Begins .

Powered by a 12-cylinder, six-litre, 580-horsepower engine, the Murciélago Roadster can reach 100km/h in 3.8 seconds from a standing start and has a maximum speed of 320km/h .

So it was a natural choice for the Caped Crusader, especially given that 'murciélago' is the Spanish word for bat .

The model followed this up with a starring role in Transporter 2 .

It is used by the film's hero, Frank Martin (Jason Statham), a mercenary with a Special Forces background, to save the day in the dramatic final car chase .

More importantly, silver-screen superstar Tom Cruise gets behind the wheel of a slick, flame-orange Lamborghini Gallardo in the recently released Mission Impossible III .

Lamborghini's cinema success follows in the tracks of that of its sporty red compatriot, Ferrari .

Ferrari models have appeared in a number of classic films and TV series. These include Vanilla Sky, Charlie's Angels II: Full Throttle, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Rain Man, Viva Las Vegas with Elvis Presley, Miami Vice and Magnum PI. Maserati (The Godfather Part III, The Sopranos, Desperate Housewives) and Alfa Romeo (The Graduate, The Godfather, The Day of the Jackal) have also had their screen moments .

The Lamborghini sports car company was founded in 1963 by Ferruccio Lamborghini (1916 1993) as a spin-off of his successful tractor firm, Lamborghini Trattori S.p.A., based at Sant'Agata Bolognese, near Bologna .

Ferruccio Lamborghini reportedly started making cars after an argument with Enzo Ferrari about a problem with the clutch of his Ferrari 250 GT. Enzo Ferrari is said to have sent Ferruccio away, telling him to stick to tractors as he knew nothing about cars. Ferruccio went back to his factory and set about proving him wrong .

The current popularity of Lamborghini cars in the United States is not restricted to Hollywood .

Last year 40% of the 1,600 high-performance autos it sold around the world went to US buyers. In 1987 Lamborghini was taken over by American giant Chrysler. The company diversified, successfully moving into the nautical sector and producing motors for world offshore championship-winning boats in 1990, 1994, 1997, 1998 .

Chrysler sold Lamborghini to its current owner, Volkswagen, in 1998 .