Torino in the early 1900s—a city already buzzing with industrial ambition, where the scent of oil and metal mixed with the crisp Alpine air. Italy’s former capital had traded its political crown for a new identity, one shaped by film, fashion, and—most importantly for us—automobiles.
At the heart of this mechanical renaissance were the carrozzieri, the skilled artisans who transformed bare chassis into rolling works of art. These weren’t just body shops; they were ateliers, where metal met imagination. While giants like Fiat cranked out chassis and engines, it was the carrozzerie that clothed them in elegance, much like a tailor fitting a bespoke suit.
One such artisan was Serafino Allemano, a man whose name might not have rung bells like Pininfarina or Bertone, but whose work spoke volumes. Born in 1898 in the small Piedmontese town of Villadeati, Serafino came from a family of precision craftsmen. His father, Ernesto, ran a metalworking business, and like any good Italian son, Serafino cut his teeth in the family trade. By the late 1920s, what began as simple repairs and modifications evolved into full-fledged custom coachbuilding.
The first real proof of Allemano’s budding reputation came in 1935 at the Concorso d’Eleganza di Torino. Now, this wasn’t just any car show—it was a glamorous affair where automobiles strutted their stuff, adorned with flowers in a kind of high-society automotive pageant. Among the winners in the “open sports car” category was a Delage bodied by none other than Carrozzeria “Allemano Serafino.”
Unlike some of his contemporaries, Allemano wasn’t interested in rapid expansion. He believed success didn’t require a massive factory, but rather a signature style and an obsessive focus on quality. It was a philosophy that would serve him well—for a while, at least.
The Postwar
The war had left deep scars, but Italy was eager to rebuild, and the passion for automobiles was stronger than ever. In this climate of renewal, Serafino Allemano seized a golden opportunity by bringing a young, talented designer into his workshop. Giovanni Michelotti, just twenty-five years old, had recently left Stabilimenti Farina and joined Carrozzeria Allemano in 1946. Though his time there lasted only about eighteen months, his influence was undeniable. His touch was likely behind the Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 with its distinctive grille, a design that bore similarities to the FIAT 1500 “Vittoria,” a car he had previously worked on for Carrozzeria Balbo. While Michelotti soon moved on to independent work, his relationship with Allemano remained strong, and he continued shaping nearly all of the atelier’s designs until its closure.
As postwar Italy embraced motorsport with renewed enthusiasm, Enzo Ferrari was looking for a skilled yet affordable coachbuilder to dress his new chassis. Through a connection with Ferrari’s trusted collaborator Enrico Nardi, the opportunity fell to Allemano. The result was two Ferrari 166 S models that would leave a lasting mark on racing history. The first, chassis 001S, was delivered in late 1947 and was purchased by Prince Igor Troubetzkoy, the French / Russian noble more famous for being the fourth husband of the American heiress Barbara Hutton than for his racing abilities. Despite that, the car, entered by the “Gruppo Inter” team, won the 1948 Targa Florio, driven by Troubetzkoy and Clemente Biondetti. The second, chassis 003S, went even further, winning the Mille Miglia the following month with Biondetti and Navone at the wheel under the official Ferrari banner. For Allemano, this was an invaluable endorsement. His small workshop had just built two race-winning Ferraris, proving that Turin’s coachbuilders could compete with the best.
Allemano’s work, however, was not confined to the racetrack. His production philosophy became clear by 1948, focusing on three core areas: bespoke luxury vehicles for clients who wanted exclusivity, competition cars for privateers eager to test their skills, and limited-production models that straddled the line between one-offs and small-scale manufacturing. This strategy was evident in projects such as the FIAT 1100 Coupé built for the Ficai brothers of Parma, which followed the styling trends set by the Cisitalia 202 and even previewed design elements later seen on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta SS. In 1950, Allemano also bodied the Nardi 750 Coupé, a tiny, beautifully streamlined sports car powered by a BMW-derived twin-cylinder engine. Road & Track praised it as “one of the best streamlined designs ever built on a short wheelbase,” further cementing Allemano’s reputation for elegant, well-balanced design.
Beyond racing and special commissions, Allemano found another way to gain visibility: Concours d’Elegance events. These postwar competitions were more than just car shows; they were elite gatherings where the wealthy could admire the latest automotive creations in luxurious settings. In 1949, the Turin Auto Show was canceled, but the prestigious Coppa d’Oro at Villa d’Este still took place. Allemano’s FIAT 1500 Berlina earned second place in its class, a success he repeated a month later with a class win at the Venice International Concours d’Elegance with a FIAT 1100 Trasformabile. These awards demonstrated his ability to create refined and stylish automobiles, reinforcing his growing reputation.
While other independent coachbuilders pursued contracts with high-end manufacturers, Allemano took a more pragmatic approach by aligning himself closely with FIAT. This decision was both strategic and practical. His workshop at Via Rosmini 10 was just over a kilometer from FIAT’s massive Lingotto factory, making logistics easier and keeping him within the sphere of Italy’s largest automaker. This proximity, along with the affordability of FIAT chassis, allowed him to position his company between the elite design houses and the smaller firms that would later become FIAT’s dedicated partners. It was a strategy that made sense in the postwar years, giving Allemano stability in an evolving industry. However, as the automotive landscape shifted in the coming decades, this same approach would also contribute to his eventual decline.
The Glory of Auto Salons
The world of auto salons in the 1950s was like a grand fashion runway, but instead of models in couture gowns, it was coachbuilders parading their latest automotive masterpieces. And among them, Carrozzeria Allemano wasn’t just showing up—it was making a statement.
With a sharp eye on the latest releases from FIAT and Lancia, Allemano knew exactly where to place its bets. In 1950, FIAT introduced the 1400, and like any great coachbuilder, Allemano saw an opportunity. The Turin Auto Salon that year witnessed the debut of the “Vittoria”. This two-door sedan, dressed in a deep maroon coat, had a distinctive design featuring large front windows and smaller rear ones—because, let’s be honest, the driver deserves the best view. It went on to steal the show at the Concours d’Elegance in Venice, nabbing the Grand Prix. Not bad for a fresh design, right?
By 1951, Allemano was all-in on the FIAT 1400, rolling out four distinct versions at the Turin Salon. The most jaw-dropping among them? The stylish three-seater coupe “Aurora” and an elegant cabriolet, both featuring Giovanni Michelotti’s signature touch. If his work looks familiar, that’s because this was his “Ferrari period,” when he was also collaborating with Vignale to give Maranello’s grand tourers their aggressive aesthetic.
Another fascinating creation from Allemano was a petite yet sophisticated Panhard-based cabriolet. Described as little French beauty, in a beautiful pale green body by Allemano. It marked the start of a small production run for Milan-based Panhard importer Gastone Crepaldi, who received just over twenty chassis from France, each transformed into something special—sedans, coupes, and barchettas, all with Allemano’s unique flair.
The Italian adventure of these Panhards began in Novara, where the Boroli family first tried their hand at importing them. They even presented a prototype at the 1950 Turin Salon—a small coupe bodied by Carrozzeria Sirio, a company more accustomed to building buses and truck trailers. Unsurprisingly, that particular project didn’t take off. Enter Crepaldi, who, eager to show off Panhard’s potential, founded “Scuderia Italfrance.” With Michelotti’s design expertise, the “Italian Dyna” evolved in several iterations—from a “Farina-style” front grille to a central third headlight, and eventually, a “Studebaker-like” front end by 1954.
Under the hood, Aldo “Tino” Bianchi worked his magic, swapping out the stock single carburetor for a pair of Weber 32mm units. This, plus a quirky umbrella-handle gear shifter mounted on the dashboard, made these lightweight machines a hit in events like the Mille Miglia and the Coppa delle Dolomiti. Despite their success on the track, however, sales couldn’t quite keep pace with the racing expenses. By the end of 1952, Crepaldi called it quits on Italfrance, turning his attention to selling Ferraris instead. Not a bad backup plan.
The final Michelotti-designed Panhard, dressed by Allemano, made its grand entrance at the 1954 Geneva Motor Show—just as the coachbuilder was turning heads with another major debut, the FIAT 1100 TV.
New Frontiers
Just when you thought Allemano couldn’t top its FIAT masterpieces, it goes and waltzes with another Italian icon: Lancia. In the early 1950s, Lancia unveiled the Aurelia, a car that made performance and luxury look so effortless, it practically had a velvet rope around it. Naturally, Allemano, never one to shy away from a challenge, decided to add its own twist to this beauty.
At the Turin Auto Salon, Allemano revealed not one, but two stunning Michelotti-designed takes on the Aurelia. First up was a sophisticated four-door sedan, and then a chic coupe-sedan hybrid that would make any designer weak in the knees. Think of it like an Italian suit tailored to perfection, but with wheels. The front-end design, complete with two sleek air intakes sitting pretty between the grille and headlights, had a striking resemblance to Ghia’s version of the Aurelia. No shock there—both were designed by Michelotti, after all. Inside, satin metal, fine wood, and top-tier leather created a luxurious yet understated vibe. The doors? They opened in classic “suicide” style, giving the whole package a dash of pre-war nostalgia while keeping things delightfully chrome-free.
But 1953 was a true game-changer. At the Turin Salon, Italian coachbuilders broke free from the dominance of the “Farina style,” exploring bolder, fresher ideas. FIAT introduced the “1100-103,” and suddenly, a whole new wave of custom interpretations was born. Allemano wasn’t content to sit back and relax, though. They unveiled a coupe and cabriolet with a futuristic “prow” front end. Those round turn signals? Positioned like little watchful sentinels, doubling as aerodynamic deflectors. And the grille? It featured a hood-and-bumper arrangement that eerily prefigured the Ferrari 156 F1 “Sharknose”—eight years before it made its iconic debut.
Never one to rest on their laurels, Allemano also tackled an Aston Martin DB 2/4 project in 1953, designing a body that seemed to predict the design direction of future Newport Pagnell Astons. Meanwhile, Volvo, ever the innovator, tapped coachbuilders like Ghia-Aigle and, of course, Alfredo Vignale, who enlisted Allemano to create a prototype called “Elizabeth I.” This Alfa Romeo-inspired Volvo looked fabulous, though it never went into production. A second attempt, “Elizabeth II,” also failed to materialize as Volvo ultimately decided to stick with the Amazon series.
Through it all, Allemano stayed at the forefront of bespoke automotive design. With Michelotti’s visionary creations and their unmatched craftsmanship, Allemano wasn’t just building cars; they were building automotive history.
The Turning Point
The 1954 Geneva Motor Show was a turning point for Allemano. They presented not one, but two new designs: the FIAT 1100 TV Coupé and the latest version of the Panhard Dyna. While the French model marked the final bow of Scuderia Ital France’s bespoke coachbuilding efforts before the curtains fell on the project, its styling influences were clearly felt in the FIAT coupé. Michelotti continued to refine this sleek two-seater (with a pair of “emergency” seats in the back) over the next few years, gradually giving it more space but losing none of its original slender elegance. The car’s first incarnation was dubbed the “Coupé Filante” (“Streamlined Coupé”) for good reason!
Though the two Geneva debuts shared a similar profile, their front-end designs were distinct. For the Panhard, Michelotti took cues from Robert Bourke’s cutting-edge work on the 1953 Studebaker “Commander Starliner,” which had just come out of Raymond Loewy’s studios. Meanwhile, the FIAT coupé introduced a signature feature: the full-ellipse grille. Initially flat at the base, this grille would evolve into a more balanced shape over the years, incorporating round or rectangular headlights, inner lamps, and horizontal chrome slats. This ellipse would go on to define several Allemano-bodied cars, from the 1955 Maserati A6G 54 to the 1956 Lancia Appia Coupé (though in the latter’s case, it was a little more reserved).
Michelotti’s FIAT 1100 TV quickly became the talk of the town. As usual, Allemano showcased it at Italy’s top concours d’elegance, where it scooped up awards in San Remo, Villa Borghese, and Cortina d’Ampezzo. With each win, Allemano’s reputation was climbing, earning rave reviews from true connoisseurs and setting the stage for a game-changing commission from Maserati.
Birth of the Gran Turismo Era
By 1955, Maserati was ready for its next big leap. The goal was clear: shift from pure race cars to regular production Gran Turismo cars. They chose the A6GCS/53 engine, a trusty two-liter twin-cam engine that had already proven itself on the track in 1953 and 1954, as the heart of their new range of coachbuilt models. Michelotti, as always, was up for the challenge, designing a car that echoed his work on the FIAT 1100 TV, especially in the front-end styling. By late summer, Allemano revealed the first iteration of the Maserati A6G 54 at the Paris Motor Show.
This elegant coupé catered to a distinct Maserati crowd. It wasn’t for the speed-hungry racer or the ultra-luxurious jet-set, but for business professionals looking for something prestigious, fast, and, most importantly, discreet. Giovanni Lurani, a renowned automotive journalist, summed it up perfectly in his 1956 Geneva Motor Show report: “At the Maserati stand stood a luxurious Gran Turismo saloon, magnificently bodied by the ever-reliable Allemano in his now-classic restrained style.”
This car quickly found its own identity, moving away from the “flattened ellipse” grille of its prototype and embracing a more definitive Maserati face. Some small tweaks to the roofline eventually transformed the A6G 54 into a refined three-box design, a subtle yet definitive statement of Maserati’s new Gran Turismo era.
The 1960s and the New Workshop
By 1961, Carrozzeria Allemano had outgrown its original home on Via Rosmini. The time had come for a modern, more efficient facility, so the workshop moved to Via Pietro Cossa, a quiet street running parallel to Corso Marche—the same area where Carlo Abarth’s factory was located. Although Allemano was responsible for clothing Abarth’s entire road car lineup at the time, the move was less about proximity to its biggest client and more about practicality. Years of craftsmanship in a workshop surrounded by residential buildings had taken their toll. The lighting was inadequate, the workspace inefficient, and it was clear that if Allemano wanted to maintain its high standards, an upgrade was essential.
One thing Serafino Allemano refused to change, however, was the artisanal nature of his business. He never expanded his workforce beyond twenty highly skilled specialists—master woodworkers, expert upholsterers, and metal-shaping virtuosos who could just as easily assemble a bespoke Maserati for an international businessman as they could build a one-off FIAT coupe for a middle-class banker looking to stand out from the crowd.
The move to the new facility coincided with the launch of the FIAT 1300/1500 in 1961, a model that proved to be a perfect canvas for Allemano’s craftsmanship. Mid-sized production cars had always provided a steady income stream for the company, offering an alternative to mass-market models with a touch of exclusivity. And with Michelotti penning the designs, success was almost guaranteed. His take on the FIAT 1300/1500 was sleek and elongated, featuring large doors and a low-profile roofline that echoed his earlier work on the 1100 TV. As always, Allemano translated the design into production with masterful execution, earning enough recognition to justify another showing at the 1963 Turin Auto Salon.
The coupe’s design was so well-proportioned that Allemano could easily transform it into a cabriolet by simply removing the roof above the beltline. This flexibility proved the soundness of Michelotti’s original concept. Alongside this, Allemano developed a completely different-looking spider version, distinguished by clean lines and understated elegance—qualities that made it a natural fit for Abarth’s growing range of road cars. Unfortunately, poor sales of the FIAT Abarth 1600 Cabriolet and Coupe in 1962 meant the Allemano-designed variant never saw production. Meanwhile, the FIAT Abarth 2400 Coupe continued in small numbers, now featuring a revised front end, a larger rear window, and horizontal taillights.
In 1963, Allemano embarked on one of its most groundbreaking projects: the ATS 2500 GT. This mid-engine Gran Turismo was a direct result of the infamous “Palace Revolt” at Ferrari in 1961, when eight key engineers—including Giotto Bizzarrini and Carlo Chiti—walked out and founded Automobili Turismo e Sport (ATS). While Bizzarrini took his talents to ISO and Lamborghini, Chiti focused on ATS, designing a high-performance road car alongside the ATS Formula 1 effort.
The ATS 2500 GT was a marvel of its time. Chiti’s 2.5-liter V8 was mounted in a mid-engine layout—revolutionary for a production GT car. The chassis was designed to optimize weight distribution, with fuel tanks cleverly positioned beside the seats for perfect balance. Franco Scaglione’s sleek bodywork, somewhat reminiscent of the Alpine A106 but with its own distinctive touches, featured a wraparound rear window that doubled as an engine cover.
Why did ATS choose Allemano to build the 2500 GT? Most likely because Allemano was the only top-tier coachbuilder in Turin that hadn’t yet set up an in-house design studio. By commissioning a “freelancer” like Scaglione, ATS ensured they weren’t tied to a single stylistic identity. The result? A beautifully executed, high-quality, limited-run masterpiece. Though only a handful were built, the ATS 2500 GT gave Allemano a unique claim to fame—it was the world’s first mid-engine GT. That is, until Bertone and Marcello Gandini’s Miura arrived and stole the spotlight.
Meanwhile, Allemano continued refining its FIAT 1500 coupe and cabriolet designs, the latter distinguished by diagonal headlight placement—a unique feature that set it apart from its fixed-roof sibling.
The Decline
By 1963, Italy’s economic boom was slowing down. The golden era of rapid postwar growth was fading, and the domestic auto industry was about to feel the impact. Demand for consumer goods had surged past supply, but now exports were declining, resulting in Italy’s first significant trade deficit. The government, caught off guard, responded with a series of drastic and, in hindsight, counterproductive economic measures.
First came a sharp rise in interest rates, with the cost of borrowing soaring to 18%. Then, a new tax on gasoline drove up fuel prices. But the real blow to the automotive sector arrived in February 1964 with a special tax on car purchases. This tax wasn’t just based on the price—it also factored in a car’s footprint in square meters (seriously!) and engine displacement. Making matters worse, a new law on installment payments forced buyers to put down a mandatory 25% deposit on any durable goods purchase. Suddenly, owning a car was a far more expensive proposition.
These policies created an immediate crisis. Car sales plummeted, and smaller coachbuilders were among the first casualties. In a desperate attempt to mitigate the damage, the government repealed the car tax by November 1964, but the damage was done.
Banks, fearing instability, tightened their lending policies, and businesses found themselves struggling to stay afloat. Allemano was no exception. The failure of its FIAT 850-based sedan and coupe prototypes, unveiled in 1964, dealt the final blow. With no sustainable path forward, Serafino Allemano made the difficult but pragmatic decision to close shop. By October 1965, the Turin court officially declared Carrozzeria Allemano bankrupt, bringing an end to a remarkable chapter in Italian automotive history.
Serafino Allemano handled the closure with dignity. He ensured that all outstanding debts were settled, allowing him to walk away with his reputation intact. He quietly lived out the rest of his days in a small town outside Turin, passing away in August 1973.
The legacy of Carrozzeria Allemano endures not just in the stunning cars it created, but in the spirit of craftsmanship it embodied. Serafino’s meticulous approach to coachbuilding, paired with Giovanni Michelotti’s design genius, resulted in some of the most elegant and innovative automobiles of the 1950s and early 1960s. While industrialization and mass production ultimately left little room for boutique coachbuilders, Allemano’s contributions remain an irreplaceable part of Italy’s rich automotive tapestry.
In an era where every car had a story, Allemano’s story was one of quiet excellence—never the loudest, never the flashiest, but always executed with precision, passion, and timeless style.
If you enjoyed the story of Carrozzeria Allemano, we highly recommend the book *Carrozzeria Allemano Torino* by Giuliano Silli. This book provides in-depth insights, photographs, and further details, offering a comprehensive overview of the history of the coachbuilding company founded by Serafino Allemano.
