1963 Fiat 750 Vignale Spyder

Footnotes

One of the most illustrious of Italian coachbuilders, Carrozzeria Vignale of Turin was founded in 1948 by Alfredo Vignale, whose career had begun pre-war with a successful design on the FIAT Topolino chassis. Enzo Ferrari's favoured coachbuilder during Maranello's formative years, Carrozzeria Vignale also designed and built cars for Lancia and Maserati among others, and in the 1960s branched out into automobile manufacture in its own right. By this time Vignale was turning out some 1,000 bodies a year, necessitating its relocation to larger premises at Grugliasco, not far from FIAT's factory at Mirafiori, Turin. Styling maestro Giovanni Michelotti was responsible for many of Vignale's designs of this period.

FIAT chassis formed the basis for many of Vignale's more popular models, including this 750 Spyder, which is based on the FIAT 600 D. The car was registered in the name of its first owner, a resident of Milan, on 8th May 1963. In 1968 it changed hands, this time passing to a lady owner, again a resident of Milan. She kept the car until 1987 when it was purchased by another lady, again in the same city.

The car entered the vendor's exclusive private collection in 2016. It is most attractively finished in red with a black hood and black seats, while the door cards have been personalised at some point and are finished in white and black. This most elegant small convertible, styled by one of Italy's foremost coachbuilders, has obviously been well restored at some point in its life. It comes complete with its original Italian libretto; a FIAT Certificate of Origin (referring to the car as a FIAT 600 D, which it is based on); and an original Vignale sales brochure. Importantly for Italian clients, it is also offered with its original black Milanese number plates.