Giovanni Michelotti

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Michelotti at right, with Enrico Nardi and the 1960 Plymouth Silver Ray.
1957 Marinella, based on Fiat 600 Multipla, bodied by Fissore
Aston Martin DB2/4 Bertone Drophead Coupé

Giovanni Michelotti (6 October 1921 – 23 January 1980[1]) was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati and Triumph marques. He was also associated with truck designs for Leyland Motors, and with designs for British Leyland (including the Leyland National bus) after the merger of Leyland and BMC.

Born in Turin, Italy, Michelotti worked for coachbuilders, including Stabilimenti Farina, Vignale, Allemano, Bertone, Ghia, Ghia-Aigle,[2] Scioneri, Monterosa, Viotti, Fissore and OSI, before opening his own design studio in 1959. He also cooperated with manufacurers producing their own cars based on Fiat or other mechanicals, like Siata, Moretti, Francis Lombardi and Nardi.[3] From 1962, Michelotti concluded cooperation with Carrozzeria Vignale and began his own coachbuilding activities.[4]

Towards the end of his life, asked whether he had ever designed anything other than cars, Michelotti acknowledged that virtually all of his design work had involved cars, but he admitted to having designed a coffee making machine shortly after the war.[5]

Alfa Romeo[]

Lancia[]

Ferrari[]

  • Ferrari 166 MM Coupé and Spider for Vignale
  • Ferrari 166 Inter Coupé and Cabriolet for Stabilimenti Farina; Coupé for Ghia; Coupé for Vignale
  • Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta, Spider, Cabriolet and Coupé for Vignale
  • Ferrari 212 Inter Coupé, Spider and Cabriolet for Ghia; Coupé, Spider and Cabriolet for Vignale; Coupé for Ghia-Aigle
  • Ferrari 225 S Coupé and Spider for Vignale
  • Ferrari 250 S Coupé for Vignale
  • Ferrari 250 MM Coupé and Spider for Vignale
  • Ferrari 250 Europa Coupé and Spider for Vignale
  • Ferrari 250 Europa GT Coupé for Vignale
  • Ferrari 340 America Coupé and 2+2 Coupé for Ghia; Coupé and Spider for Vignale
  • Ferrari 340 Mexico Coupé and Spider for Vignale
  • Ferrari 340 MM Spider for Vignale (one later uprated to 375 MM spec)
  • Ferrari 342 America Cabriolet for Vignale
  • Ferrari 625 TF Coupé and Spider for Vignale
  • Ferrari 375 MM Coupé for Ghia
  • Ferrari 375 America Coupé for Vignale
  • Ferrari 330 GT Michelotti Coupé
  • Ferrari 275 P2 Speciale (1968 re-body of an existing 1963 250 P, converted to 275 P and 330 P specification, commissioned by Luigi "Coco" Chinetti Jr. and Robert Peak)[9][10]
  • Ferrari 365 GTC/4 Beach Car for Felber, 1976
  • Ferrari 400i Meera S ,1983[11][12]
  • Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Michelotti N.A.R.T. Spider (re-body of an existing Ferrari 365 GTB/4 commissioned by Luigi Chinetti, 4 built for road use)[13][14]
  • Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Michelotti N.A.R.T. Spider Competizione (re-body of an existing Ferrari 365 GTB/4 commissioned by Luigi Chinetti, 1 built for N.A.R.T.'s entry in the 1975 24 hours of Le Mans)[15]

  • Ferrari 212 Inter Vignale Coupé

  • Ferrari 225 S Vignale Berlinetta

  • Ferrari 340 MM Vignale Spyder

  • Ferrari 375 America Vignale Coupé

  • Ferrari 330 GT Michelotti

  • 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 NART Spider Competizione, bodied by Michelotti

Maserati[]

  • Maserati A6G 2000 Vignale Coupé, Paris Show car.
  • Maserati A6G/54 2000 Allemano Coupé.
  • Maserati A6GCS/53 Vignale Spider Corsa, commissioned by Tony Parravano and rebodied by Scaglietti in 1955.[3]
  • Maserati 3500 GT Allemano Coupé, 2 units; Spyder, prototypes and series production cars for Vignale.
  • Maserati 5000 GT Coupé for Allemano; One-off Coupé realised by Carrozzeria Michelotti, commissioned by Briggs Cunningham.
  • Maserati Sebring 1962, prototype and series production cars for Vignale.[16]

Standard Triumph[]

From the late 1950s Michelotti was responsible for all new models produced by the British company Standard Triumph, starting with a facelift of the Standard Vanguard and going on to design models for Triumph such as the Herald, Spitfire, GT6, TR4, 2000, 1300, Stag, and Dolomite. He also created a number of prototypes which did not go into production, such as the Fury. The only Triumphs after 1960 that were not his work were the TR6 and the TR7, plus the Honda-based Acclaim.

British Leyland[]

After Triumph's parent company Leyland Motors became a part of British Leyland, Michelotti undertook a facelift of the BMC 1100 – which became the Spanish-built Austin Victoria and also the South African-built Austin Apache. He also designed the Leyland National bus and the Australian-made Leyland P76.

BMW[]

BMW 02-series (1966)

Giovanni Michelotti's BMW association started with the BMW 700 (1959) and later the successful BMW New Class series of designs of which the most notable is the BMW 2002. His sport sedan designs later became the BMW design language, that was continued and refined by Ercole Spada well into the 1980s.[3]

DAF/Volvo[]

DAF 46, in design a nearly unchanged 44

Michelotti also worked with the Dutch firm DAF, starting in 1963 with redesigning the ageing Daffodil 31 model into the Daffodil 32. The Shellette beach car was also originally developed to use DAF underpinnings.[17] The DAF 44 (1966) was a completely new design from his hand and he also helped form its derivatives, which culminated in the Volvo 66 (1975).

Own work[]

1969 Michelotti Shellette

Michelotti did present a few cars under its own name. The "Shellette" was a beach car with wicker seats and dashboard, in the spirit of Ghia's Fiat 500 and 600 "Jolly"s, but designed in a collaboration with yacht designer . Originally constructed with DAF underpinnings, it was later built with Fiat 850 mechanicals. Unlike the Ghia Jolly, the 47 PS (35 kW) Shellette was a reasonably useful car capable of a 60 mph (97 km/h) cruising speed and had a heater and various other creature comforts. Only about 80 were built, with around ten still extant. Famous buyers include the Dutch Royal Family, who used an early DAF-based Shellette at their summer property in Porto Ercole, and Jacqueline Onassis, who employed a later model Shellette on the Onassis' private island Skorpios.[17]

Around 1980, the Fiat 127-based "Every" appeared, a light buggy-styled vehicle. Michelotti also marketed a luxurious version of the Daihatsu Taft.[18] In 1985 the Michelotti PAC was presented, a one-off citycar prototype (PAC = "Project Automotive Commuter") based on the Daihatsu Cuore.[19]

Scammell[]

In the 1960s, Michelotti designed a glass-reinforced plastic (GRP) cab for certain lorries made by Scammell, who had become part of Leyland Motors in 1955. The cab was used for the Routeman, Handyman and Trunker models.[20] The Townsman also had a Michelotti designed cab.

Other manufacturers[]

Fiat 8V Demon Rouge
Reliant Scimitar SS1

For other companies he designed the following (incomplete):

References[]

  1. ^ "January 23, 1980 – Designer Giovanni Michelotti passes away". Automotive History.
  2. ^ "Carrosserie Ghia Aigle - Cars". ghia-aigle.info. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  3. ^ Jump up to: a b c d "Elenco delle Vetture progettate da Giovanni Michelotti conosciute al momento". archiviostoricomichelotti.it (in Italian). Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Vignale, Alfredo Zanellato (2009). Vignale con Michelotti Designer. ASI. p. 66.
  5. ^ Mazzocchi, Gianni, ed. (March 1978). "Conversazione con Giovanni Michelotti: Tante, tante automobili" [A conversation with Giovanni Michelotti: Many, Many Cars]. Quattroruote (in Italian). Milan, Italy: Editoriale Domus. 23 (268): 114. Archived from the original on 1 July 2007. Retrieved 11 March 2012. Disegna sempre solo vetture? "Soppratutto, ma .... doppo la guerra anche una macchina per fare il caffe." (Q: Have you always designed only cars? A: Almost exclusively, but ... after the war also a machine for making coffee.)
  6. ^ "Carrosserie Ghia Aigle - Alfa Romeo 1900 Coupé Lugano 1957". ghia-aigle.info. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  7. ^ "1961 Alfa Romeo Giulietta Goccia (Michelotti)". carstyling.ru. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Vignale Lancia". vignalegamine.net. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  9. ^ Easthope, Alex (31 March 2015). "10 more odd Ferraris we almost forgot". www.classicdriver.com. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  10. ^ "250 P s/n 0812". barchetta.cc. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
  11. ^ "1982 Ferrari 400i Meera S One off Michelotti Prototype – RonSusser.com". www.ronsusser.com. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  12. ^ "Ferrari Meera S by Michelotti". www.italian.sakura.ne.jp. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  13. ^ "Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Michelotti NART Spyder - Register". barchetta.cc. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  14. ^ "1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona NART Spider". Gooding & Company. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  15. ^ "RM Sotheby's - 1972 Ferrari 365 GTB/4 NART Spider Competizione by Michelotti | Monterey 2018". RM Sotheby's. 26 August 2018. Retrieved 17 September 2018.
  16. ^ Tabucchi, Maurizio (2003). Maserati: The Grand Prix, Sports and GT cars model by model, 1926-2003. Milano: Giorgio Nada Editore s.r.l. p. 246. ISBN 8879112600.
  17. ^ Jump up to: a b "361", Greenwich Concours d'Elegance Auction (Auction Catalogue), New York, NY: Bonhams & Butterfields Auctioneers, 2 June 2013, pp. 160–161, Sale Number 21153
  18. ^ Costa, André & Georges-Michel Fraichard, ed. (September 1980). "Salon 1980: Toutes les Voitures du Monde". l'Auto Journal (in French). Paris: Homme N°1 (14 & 15): 202. M1117.
  19. ^ Heitz, Rudolf, ed. (1 August 1985). Auto Katalog 1986 (in German). 29. Stuttgart: Vereinigte Motor-Verlage GmbH & Co. KG. p. 107. 81530/85001.
  20. ^ "The History of Scammell Lorries Limited". The Scammell Register. Retrieved 6 October 2008.

Bibliography[]

  • Vignale, Alfredo Zanellato (2009). Vignale con Michelotti Designer. ASI.

External links[]

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