A while ago I
wrote about designs featuring covered front wheel openings. This practice was not common, in that most of my examples had bodies designed and built by coachbuilding firms rather than being mass-produced.
Such covered wheel openings had to do with 1930s concepts of automobile aerodynamics, the idea being to create as smooth a body shape as possible so as to allow air to flow over it with minimal disruption when the vehicle was at speed. Nowadays, most production car bodies are wind tunnel tested, and wheel opening covers are seldom seen. Apparently, air flow disruption from those openings is not a serious problem when compared for the need to access tires and the desirability of shorter turn radiuses.
Today's post presents more images of early postwar designs by
Carrozzeria Ghia, a major Italian coachbuilder in those days. It seems that Ghia built few cars with spatted wheels, and by 1949, it was designing cars with openings exposing entire tires, front and rear.
Gallery
1946 Fiat 1500 Cabriolet Gran Sport by Ghia. The flowing fender line is somewhat similar to that of 1950 C-body Buicks, though I wonder if Buick stylists were aware of this car .
Even the grille is suggestive of Buick (production Fiat 1500s had horizontal grille bars).
Note how low the ground clearance is.
1948 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Cabriolet by Ghia. Two years later, Ghia was still pursuing the design theme.
Publicity photo.
View from right front quarter. I found no views of the car's rear.
Wheel spats were hinged to provide access to tires. However, turning radius remained restricted.
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