Vignale

Vignale was an Italian automobile design and coachbuilding company that existed from 1946 to 1974 and created exclusive bodies for many automakers the variety of categories, produced and occasionally marketed under their own name.

History

The company was founded by Alfredo Vignale (1913-1969) in 1946 under the name Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale in Turin. Alfredo Vignale had been at the company Stabilimenti Farina (not to be confused with Pininfarina, once separated " Pinin Farina " is written ) professional experience and wanted to now offer their own bodies. The vast majority of all built in Vignale cars, however, are designed by his personal friend and self-employed designer Giovanni Michelotti, with whom he always maintained a close working relationship.

The first own body based on a Fiat 500 Topolino was produced in 1948, followed by a Fiat 1100 in a special version.

In the 1950s and 1960s originated in Vignale regarded as shapely and elegant bodies on a commercial basis, among others, Fiat, Cisitalia, Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, BMW and for De Tomaso. Besides single pieces and small series production vehicles were also spanned, for example, the Appia and Flavia convertible and the Maserati 3500 Spider, I Sebring, Sebring II, Mexico, but also small cars like the Daihatsu Compagno. Vignale built a few aluminum bodies, but most of his bodies were made ​​of sheet steel.

The main business of Vignale was for many years is to produce small series of solid models and special versions of models of famous Italian car manufacturer. From beginning to end of the 1960s some small series of sports cars built on different platforms by Fiat as the 600, 850 and 1300/1500 under the name Vignale, who were to have a pleasing convertibles in the case of the Fiat 600 and 850 optional. Vignale built a stylistically successful four-door version of the Fiat 850 sedan. Trying to become permanently established its own brand, had no success.

In Germany, the Vignale Gamine was remembered as a small car with a completely open body in the manner of a roadster based on the Fiat 500, which had to be ordered for a short time when Otto mail order.

An unusual cooperation emerged in the second half of the 60s with the Czech automobile manufacturer Tatra, for Vignale, the modern body of the Tatra 613 recorded and also the first three prototypes anfertigte hand. In 1968, the contracts were signed in December of the same year the political events ( Prague Spring ) delivered despite the first three chassis to Turin and the beginning of 1969 already completed the first prototype. The third prototype, a coupe, but was not unlike the limousine version later in series.

The collaboration between the Italian car designer and the economic end according to plan motor vehicle manufacturers from the former Czechoslovakia saw his time in the automotive world for a great sensation. However, this design came from neither the spring of Alfredo Vignale itself nor by Giovanni Michelotti, but was the work of a little-known Vignale employee named Varesio (his first name is not known ), who was not a designer, but a trained body builder. However, this design is one of the longer used in automotive history, since the T613 was built changed only slightly from 1974 to 1996. His successor, and so far the last car Tatra, who until 1998 was built in small numbers Tatra 700, based in 1996, despite some self-designed Tatra changes especially on the front, and later at the stern still clearly visible on the body of the T613.

End of the 1960s came Vignale, like many other body corporate and, in economic difficulties. The automotive series and mass production made ​​to create coachbuilders world. Alfredo Vignale sold his company in 1969 to the Carrozzeria Ghia, another Turin design studio, but the last few years, De Tomaso was and died a few days after the sale on November 16, 1969 in a car accident, the cause of which remained unexplained.

In 1974, the company was dissolved under the direction of Ghia and De Tomaso.

Even today, winning Automobile with Vignale bodywork prices, for example, at the Concorso d' Eleganza Villa d' Este and they achieve as a function of the technical components occasionally high collector's prices.

Known own models

Fiat base

• Vignale 600 Coupe and Spider
• Vignale 1300/1500 2 2 coupe with a notchback
• Vignale 1300/1500 2 2 coupe with a notchback, redesigned body
• Vignale 1300/1500 Coupe hatchback
• Vignale 850 sedan
• Vignale 850 Coupe
• Vignale 850 Spider
• Vignale 124 "Eveline"
• Vignale 125 "Samantha"
• Vignale 500 " Gamine " only as a roadster

The name in the Ford company today

1970 Ford adopted the Carrozzeria Ghia and thus the naming rights to Ghia and Vignale. Ghia referred to as an additive since the upscale amenities of Ford models.

In 1993, the British sports car maker Aston Martin on the Motor Show in Geneva a design study called the Lagonda Vignale ago. This comes from the fact that Aston Martin was acquired by the U.S. carmaker Ford in that year and so also was able to use the name Vignale.

Ford introduced the Focus Vignale Concept concept car at the Paris Motor Show in 2004 to revitalize the familiar names again. From March 2007 to July 2010, the study was built as a Focus Coupé-Cabriolet in series. At the IAA 2013, Ford from the Ford Mondeo Vignale, which is to stand for a more upscale trim line with additional services. Early as 2014, this should go as an equipment designation in series.