Zagato Panoramicas

Probably due to their odd, ungraceful passenger compartment greenhouses, Zagato's early post- World War 2 Panoramica creations are little known.  As mentioned here, it seems that Zagato became interested in the prospect of using plexiglas as fenestration material.  Despite the resulting styling theme's dead-end look from today's perspective, these cars helped the firm recover from wartime disruptions.

The Panoramica style was used on cars ranging from Fiat Topolinos to Ferrari 166 Mille Miglias, as can be seen below.  Some, perhaps most of the photos were taken by Zagato.  As for the dates, I relied on captions found on the Internet, though there might be errors.

Gallery

1947 Fiat 1100 Panoramica sporting a "test" Milan area license plate.  From this camera angle, the greenhouse design, coupled with the curved lower body, seems logical and fairly attractive.

But viewed from a normal perspective, the side windows (the parts made from plexiglas) seem much too high and the roof too thin.

1948 Ferrari 166 MM version.  The windows offer potentially greater outside visibility, but drivers seldom need to look at high outside objects while driving.  And there is the problem of blocking sunlight streaming through those high windows.

1948 Fiat 1400 with side windows in two panels, the upper parts apparently tinted to fight direct sunlight.

Before and after: an MG Y and a Zagato Panoramica version.  This required a different radiator and possibly some repositioning of engine components.  The custom body is essentially the same as that of the Fiat 1400 in the previous image, though the side windows lack panels.

1949 Alfa Romeo 2500 SS.  Like the Ferrari, the hood is long -- in this case taking up about half the length of the body.  Due to the greenhouse's proportionally small area, the plexiglas windows don't seen as odd as those on smaller cars.

Same car, rear quarter view showing its hatchback configuration.  Here too, the curved side windows seem less distracting (but hardly totally so).

1949 Maserati A6 1500 S.  Here we find what seems to be a plexiglas panel above the windshield.  There also might be one on the MG pictured above.  All the Panoramicas have tall greenhouses compared to many other Italian designs from those years.  By the 1970s, such proportions became common.

1950 Fiat 500 C.  A very small car given the same treatment.  Those tall windows and the resulting this roof make the lower body seem shorter than if side windows with a more conventional profile had been used.  This car also had a plexiglas panel above the main windshield.