The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
An elegant convertible, built in 1949 on the popular Fiat 1100 B chassis by Stabilimenti Farina in very few speciments, remains the emblem of this extraordinary coachbuilding of cars in the early 1950s. The resemblance to Ferrari’s 166 Inter is surprising, which let to controversy between Giovanni Farina and Enzo Ferrari.
In 1960 the entrepreneur and importer Renato Bornigia commissioned Pietro Frua and Francis Lombardi to carry out a project to mass-produce (1000 cars) a variant of the Studebaker Lark in 2-door coupe and 4-door sedan versions.
The Fiat 600 was undoubtedly the car that accompanied Italy through the economic boom. When it was presented it was very popular thanks to its modern lines, the brilliant engine and a cockpit large enough to fit the whole family. The demand for the 600 was so high that Fiat was unable to meet the waiting times, so that many relied on the coachbuilders in order to get its small family car sooner, even at the cost of a higher price.
The story of Carrozzeria Vignale represents one of the many somewhat forgotten success stories born against the backdrop of an Italy that was torn apart by the Second World War and which, starting from the end of the 1950s, was able to recover enough to know a real miracle. economical just a few years later.
The Lancia Flaminia was born as the Lancia flagship model of the 50’s and 60’s with the aim to replace the glories of the…
The Abarth Zagato Winner of the Compasso d’Oro design prize
Like Vignale, Enzo Ferrari had founded his small factory based in Maranello in 1946 and had come into contact with the Turin coachbuilder through Franco Cornacchia, well-known owner of Scuderia Guastalla and trustee of the Cavallino brand in Milan. The two manufacturers were united by some peculiar personal characteristics, which saw them both excel in the exasperated dedication to their work.
There are in the history of companies, just as in the history of nations, certain fateful episodes, which have an influence on the course of events well in excess of their actual importance. Chrysler’s request to Ghia to build for them, to their design, a special body on a Plymouth chassis, is one of these episodes.
The De Tomaso Vallelunga was presented as a concept car at the Turin Motor Show in 1964. De Tomaso initially intended to sell the Vallelunga project to some other car group, primarily Ford. However, no car manufacturer was interested in the purchase, so De Tomaso decided to build the car at its own expense. Production of the model was then assigned to Ghia. The design was instead the work of the Fissore bodywork.
Moretti Motor Company was founded in 1925 by Giovanni Moretti in order to design and build motorcycles, both of his own design and with agreements with other companies. Using the same motorcycle engines, Giovanni Moretti also dabbled in microcars in the late 1920s and early 1930s…
The beginning In the first post-war period, Ernesto Pavesi (1901-1974), a young carpenter specialized in bodywork, opened a small business: a craft workshop for…
Peugeot and Pininfarina have been working together since 1951 when Peugeot decided to call in an independent design house to create its new 403…
