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1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia)
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Fiat 8V Supersonic Coupe (Ghia), 1953
Иллюстрации: Gooding & Co; Pal Negyesi; Automobile Quarterly - July 1987; Michel Zumbrunn (Studio Photos)
In 1953, the Fiat 8V Supersonic was unlike anything else seen before. Even the most radical Ferrari or Maserati looked dull by comparison.
To consider the Fiat 8V Supersonic, it is first necessary to look at the Conrero-Alfa Romeo. This car was the brainchild of Virgilio Conrero, the Alfa Romeo tuning wizard from Turin. Gentleman driver Robert Fehlmann from Switzerland asked him to build a special car for the 1953 Mille Miglia, based around an Alfa Romeo 1900C Sprint engine with a combination of Fiat 1400 and Lancia Aurelia components. For the coachwork, Conrero went to his friend Giovanni Savonuzzi (of Cisitalia fame), who had just been made head of design at Carrozzeria Ghia.
Savonuzzi came up with the now famous ‘Supersonica’ shape, which still looks spectacular today. Just imagine this car on the streets in 1953: the low waistline, long bonnet, extremely low roof over the compact cabin and rear lights that seem inspired by a turbine jet engine’s exhaust. The rear window/roof was covered by a large, curved Perspex panel to create a light interior. Also notable is the sharp ‘arrow’ that starts above the front wheels and ends in the tail section. The car was shown at the Salone di Torino in 1953, where it was one of the star attractions. Unfortunately, the futuristic Conrero-Alfa’s life was cut short when it was badly damaged during its raison d’être, the 1000-mile road race, Brescia-Rome-Brescia.
Even though the car made only two brief public appearances in Turin and Brescia (at the start of the Mille Miglia), interest in the new design was such that Ghia planned to make a limited run of Supersonics on an existing chassis, and Fiat was chosen as its partner. The fact that Fiat had just added an exciting 2-litre Otto Vu (Italian for V8) to the line-up probably influenced its choice (except for Ferrari’s V12, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Maserati were all using 4- or 6-cylinder engines). The coachwork of the new car was almost identical to the Fehlmann special, the main difference being the removal of the intricate Perspex roof/rear window panel. It was first shown to the public at the Salon de Paris in October 1953, where journalists were again impressed by its looks and named it the most beautiful car of the show.
Philip Leemans - www.classicdriver.com
Eight of Fiat 8V Supersonic were made.
In recent years, one of them has been fitted with a coil spring
427 Cobra competition chassis (chassis # CSX3055) produced for John Willment, this one-off model is called the Willment Ghia 427 Coupe. Also known as the AC Cobra 427 Ghia Supersonic.
fabwheelsdigest.blogspot.com
Из 114 автомобилей Fiat 8V, производство которых длилось всего два года, с 1952 по 1954, около сорока было произведено итальянской кузовостроительной фабрикой Гиа (Ghia), и только восемь из них имели кузова, спроектированные Джованни Савонуцци (Giovanni Savonuzzi) в сверхзвуковом стиле «Supersonic». Экстравагантный стиль, безусловно, был следствием повального увлечения в 50-е годы темой сверхзвуковых самолетов, однако в отличие от многих «реактивных» проектов американцев, Савонуцци очень аккуратно использовал аналогии. Напоминающие сопла реактивного двигателя, задние фонари автомобиля, пожалуй, самые очевидные образы.
Всего было произведено 14 автомобилей Ghia с кузовом Supersonic:
— Alfa Romeo 1900 Supersonic 'Conrero'
— Восемь Fiat 8V Ghia Supersonic, (один Fiat 8V постигла странная судьба: примерно в 1965 году John Willment, известный дилер и владелец гоночной команды из Великобритании, установил кузов Ghia Supersonic на шасси AC Cobra 427, получив таким образом Willment Cobra 427 Ghia Supersonic Coupe.
— 3 Jaguar XK120 Ghia Supersonic
— 1 Aston Martin DB2/4 Ghia Supersonic
И еще одна, более экстремальная версия была построена на шасси Adventurer DeSoto
8.06.2001
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