The Online Magazine for Italian and French Classic Car Enthusiasts
Story by Graham Gauld
From time to time I go through photographs that have been taken years ago, printed up and then forgotten in boxes. Obviously, some get ditched as they are unlikely to be relevant to anything I intend to write in the future, but others come as interesting surprises. As VeloceToday seems to attract people who appreciate and admire coachbuilding I set aside one or two which I thought might be worth mentioning. These are two such examples.
As we have seen in Part 2, about 156 Vignale Ferrari bodies were built, and after 1954 Vignale gradually stopped producing bodies for Ferrari and instead concentrated on the new Maserati 3500 as Ferrari teamed up with Pinin Farina for a new line of Ferraris.
Vignale would quickly win over the Orsis at Maserati, helping establish the 3500 as a serious contender to the Pinin Farina designed Ferrari 250GT series. And by the time it was over, Vignale produced over 2,400 bodies for Maserati. Despite the loss of Ferrari, Vignale had some very good years to come before his untimely death.
By Pete Vack
Heads Up! Be the first to identify the ultra-rare Vignale in the photo below by make and serial number and win a signed Paul Chenard 8×10 poster!
The Good Years
In some respects, Alfredo Vignale was much like Ferrari. He had humble beginnings and like Ferrari relished in having total control of his growing enterprise. He traveled rarely, and according to his brother, never set foot in Maranello.
What is this? Click to enlarge to see details. If you are the first to properly identify this car by make AND serial number, we’ll send you a free 8×10 art poster by artist Paul Chenard. Send your guess to me at vack@cox.net. Photo by Jonathan Sharp.
Alfredo Vignale, who at one time didn’t drive or even like to ride in cars, died in an automobile accident in November of 1969. According to his brother Giuseppe, interviewed in 1956, “Alfredo’s passion for automobiles begins and ends with his coachwork. He doesn’t own a car, won’t drive a car, and only rides in one with great reluctance.” It is perhaps ironic, but the man who was Vignale and Company was responsible for some of the finest and fastest automotive sculptures of our the twentieth century.
By Pete Vack
From 1946 to 1969, the workshop of Alfredo Vignale of Turin, Italy, was among the vanguard of a number of illustrious and creative Italian carrozzeria which included Allemano, Bertone, Ghia, Motto, Pininfarina, Touring, Viotti and others. In 1947 he created the amazing and advanced Cisitalia MM from the drawings of Giovanni Savonuzzi and by 1950 became Enzo Ferrari’s primary coachbuilder, usurping Touring for the honor.
The unusual Cisi Ford..no match for the classic 202. Photo by Hugues Vanhoolandt.
By Brandes Elitch
A few years ago, the organizers of the Pebble Beach concours, in an effort to dispel the image of the entrants as so called trailer queens, initiated a drive for the entrants around the Monterey Peninsula.
In the event of a tie in class, the car that has completed the drive gets the nod in the judging. As part of this procession, the cars are parked in downtown Carmel for a few hours in the middle of the day, and in the middle of the street, for everyone to see. As I was threading my way through them, I saw something I had never seen before. It was obviously an early fifties car, obviously Italian, and the script said “Cisitalia.” I approached the owner, Urs Jakob, and said, “I’ve never seen a Cisitalia this big before,” he replied. “This isn’t a Cisitalia; it’s a Ford!” Boy, was that a shock.
Interior is similar to the early Corvettes. Photo by Brandes Elitch.
He went on to explain that in the early 1950’s, Ford was considering the idea of what we now call a personal luxury car, which later became, of course, the two-seater Thunderbird. Keep in mind that, unlike GM and Chrysler, up until then, Ford did not really have any dream cars except the three cars made for Edsel Ford for his own personal use, which were never displayed for the public to see. In the early 1950s, Ford commissioned the building of six prototypes: two were bodied by Ghia, and four by Vignale, including Mr. Jakob’s car. Ford shipped 6 stock Ford chassis to Vignale; this particular car had a straight six, some of the others had the V-8. The current owner told me that he owns two of the cars, and he is hot on the trail of a third.