Both the star and the car have certain similarities: beguiling curves, an unruly temperament, and perhaps we can go so far as to say that the open doors of the 300SL are somewhat reminiscent of the raised eyebrows of Loren. The photograph was taken during the ‘Rally del Cinema’. This one-off rally was organised in the 1950s by television mogul Ezio Radaelli, and involved top Italian movie stars at the start of the event. We rather suspect that the photograph is not quite true to life, though: we can’t really see Loren pushing her own car – can you?

Photo: Getty Images