Carrozzeria Touring's BMW and Alfa Romeo "Aerodynamic" Designs

If one casually thinks of Italian carrozzieri, it's likely that custom-built car bodies come to mind.  But since World War 2 (and perhaps earlier -- I need to research this) some of the major coachbuilders had assembly lines, cranking out bodies of their design for carmakers.  Call it a kind of rationalization/conservation of design effort.

Even in the late 1930s, some more purely custom designs had shared features -- again an economy move of sorts.

Today's post deals with the case of three racing car designs by Carrozzeria Touring (Wikipedia entry here).  These are the 1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Speciale Tipo Le Mans Berlinetta (link here), the 1939 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Berlinetta (link here) and the 1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Berlinetta Aerodinamica (link here).  The version of the latter shown below having a body recreated with the help of Touring's Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni, son of the firm's founder.

All three designs made use of Touring's Superleggera  (super-light) construction method involving a sort of space frame to which sheet metal cladding was attached.  The result was a surprisingly strong body that was noticeably lighter than a conventionally built body.  This was attractive to racing car engineers as a means of transforming engine horsepower into speed: the less weigh to push around, the better.

Gallery

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Speciale Tipo Le Mans Berlinetta - photo via Museo Alfa Romeo
This car and the others have "envelope" bodies where fenders and other features are blended into the basic shape.  This was for aerodynamic reasons.  An exception here is the headlights that would create unwanted air turbulence.  Because the Le Mans race is a 24-hour affair, perhaps it was thought that robust, correctly-positioned headlights were required during the hours of night time racing.

1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Berlinetta Aerodinamica - Broad Arrow Auctions photos
The following year, Touring came up with a more refined body style used here by Alfa Romeo and by BMW.  These cars have different wheelbases and front end designs, but are almost the same otherwise.

1939 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Berlinetta - images via carrozzieri-italiani.com
The BMW version.  Note front end differences.

1938 Alfa Romeo 8C 2900 B Speciale Tipo Le Mans Berlinetta - my 2019 photos at Museo Alfa Romeo
Being the first of its kind, styling seems awkward, though functional for a racing car.

1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Berlinetta Aerodinamica - image via carrozzieri-italiani.com
Much smoother shaping here.  The rear wheel opening could be covered.

Shorter wheelbase, so the shapes in the previous image are compressed.

The passenger compartment greenhouse is teardrop-shaped in plan view.  For some reason there is a backlight window that seems useless unless it provided a bit of visibility for the rear-view mirror positioned high in the interior.

The greenhouse has four windows instead of two, and the side profile is more tapered.  Otherwise, rear ends are similar in concept.

1939 BMW 328 Mille Miglia Berlinetta - my 2018 photo, BMW Museum in Munich
The rear here is more blended that that of the Alfa Romeo, again likely related to the shorter wheelbase and length.

Count Mario Revelli di Beaumont: Independent Stylist

When researching this post dealing with the 1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Berlinetta by Pinin Farina, I discovered that the car's stylist was a member of Italy's nobility -- Conte Mario Revelli di Beaumont, and not Pinin Farina himself.  In that post I noted:

"According to the carrozzieri-italiani.com web site, the stylist was Conte Mario Revelli di Beaumont, an independent designer who produced designs for a variety of coachbuilding firms.  Background on Ravelli in English is here.  His Italian language Wikipedia entry is here, and his entry in French is here, noting that in the second half of the 1930s he worked with Pinin Farina and Bertone."

He was highly competent, working for major Italian coachbuilding firms (though apparently not Touring) as a freelance designer.  I haven't found why he seemingly never was exclusively employed by a single Italian firm.  (Though postwar, he spent some time at General Motors.)  Perhaps, due to his ancestry and status, he already had sufficient outside sources of income to offset inactive periods between design gigs.

As for me, I'm a bit embarrassed that I wasn't aware of him, though I must have passed over his name when researching various designs.  Because now, researching him, I find all sorts of mentions of him on the internet.  C'est la vie, I suppose.

By the way, another useful reference on Mario Revelli (1907-1985) is "Mario Revelli: The Most Prolific Car Designer You’ve Never Heard Of" here.

Below are some 1934-1950 designs with which Revelli is associated.

Gallery

1934 Lancia Augusta Coupe Aerodinamica by Stabilimenti Farina - photo via Lopresto Collection

1938 Fiat 1500 Berlinetta Aerodinamica by Ghia
Headlight assembles seem similar to those on the "Sharknose" 1938 Graham.  The grille design also has an American feeling.

1941 Fiat 1500C Coupe by Bertone, completed c.1945 - photo via Museo Nicolis

1936 Lancia Astura III Tipo Bocca Cabriolet by Pinin Farina- RM Sotheby's photo
One of Revelli's most outstanding designs.

1942 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS by Bertone - photo via Montesquieu-Volvestre
Variant of the Fiat 1500 above, but completed earlier.

1950 Simca Huit-Sport Cabriolet by Stabilimenti Farina - photo via carrozzieri-italiani.com
Revelli had no trouble adjusting to postwar styling trends.

1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Pescara Berlinetta by Pinin Farina - unidentified auction photo
Subject car of the post mentioned above.

1938 Fiat 1500 Berlina - RM Sotheby's photo
Unlike some of the cars pictured here, the Fiat 1500, launched in 1935, was produced in large numbers.   Note the aerodynamic features that were nearly contemporaneous with those of the ill-fated (in terms of sales ) 1934-37 Chrysler Airflow.  Revelli had a strong interest in Aerodynamics.

1939/1940 BMW 328 Mille Miglia ‘Büegelfalte’ Fender Design

One aspect of the rapid evolution in automobile styling of the 1930s was shaping of fenders.  At the start of the decade, fenders typically were thin (in profile) and ogive-shaped, aft ends blending into running boards.  Then fender skirts appeared while fenders became more rounded in cross-section.  Profiles became teardrop-shaped.  Then some General Motors cars began featuring "suitcase" profiles.  Towards the end of the thirties aft ends of front fenders began creeping over front doors, while lurking in the background during the decade were "tank" bodies, where there weren't fenders at all -- wheel openings being cut into the body's sides.  These few cases mostly were racing cars.

By 1939 those creeping fenders finally touched forward edges of rear fenders in a few instances.  But not in "flow through" style as seen on American cars circa 1948-49.

Today's post features an attractive example: the rebodied 1937 BMW 328 Mille Miglia rennwagen -- racing roadster.  Some background is here:

"In autumn 1939, the car was dismantled at the BMW factory’s racing division in Milbertshofen before being extensively re-engineered and used as the basis for even more streamlined bodywork in preparation for the 1940 season and the Mille Miglia in particular.  To that end, BMW built both an aerodynamic coupé and this lightweight open roadster.

"Its design is credited to Wilhelm Kaiser, a very experienced member of BMW’s new design department, headed by chief stylist Wilhelm Meyerhuber.  A 1:10 scale model was tested in the wind tunnel of pioneering aerodynamicist Prof. Dr.-Ing. Wunibald Kamm, with a long, tapered tail that took advantage of the lowered engine and profile.

"The stunning bodywork was hand-formed by “Blasi” Huber in Ernst Loof’s racing department and made from a lightweight aluminium-magnesium alloy (Al MG 3-4) frequently used in high performance aircraft construction.  Aside from its low silhouette and flowing fenders, the prototype roadster’s fenders had a pronounced ridge along their tops. It resembled the crease in a pair of ironed trousers and gave the unique car the name it still carries today, Bügelfalte or “ironing crease.

"Its panels were formed over an armature of small diameter tubing, preceding the similar superleggera system patented by Carrozzeria Touring in Milan years later."

Note that Touring's Superleggera (super-light) construction was patented in 1936, according to this entry in Wikipedia.  That is why the BMW rennwagen coupe mentioned above, along with some Alfa Romeo racing coupes had bodywork by Touring.

Images of the 1939-1940 redesign are below, along with some photos providing an interesting twist to the story.

Gallery

1937/1940 BMW 328 Mille Miglia - RM Sotheby's Auctions photos
Very attractive.  Curvaceous, but not bloated, thanks to comparatively flat lower fender sides.  The two-segment BMW grille blends well.

Especially keep this image in mind because it shows the fender profiles.  Especially note the transition from front fender to rear.  The front fender and body seem to merge immediately in front of the rear fender.  There is a suggestion that the front fender has a small upwards curve at that point, but that might be an artifact of the curved door cutline.

Again, a very fine design with no obvious flaws.  Though the front and rear would be less pure if bumpers were added.

Overhead view highlighting those fender creases.

1939 Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 SS Cabriolet by Pinin Farina - Gooding Auctions photos
Mario Revelli, Conte di Beaumont has been credited with the design.  As best I can tell from limited Internet information, this design is slightly earlier than the BMW's.

Its fenders are almost identical with those on the BMW, allowance made for differing wheelbases.  There's even a slight flattening at the aft end of the front fender's curve.

The aft end is also similar to that of the BMW.  The main differences in the design are the grilles (less nice on the Alfa) and the cockpit zones.  The BMW was a racing car, the Alfa was a sports car, so seating and passenger requirements differed.

As mentioned, I am inclined to think that the Alfa Romeo was designed first, so its features were likely borrowed by the Germans.  And Revelli's long experience with aerodynamic design features makes the result consistent with his other work in the mid-late '30s.  That said, there remains the possibility of simultaneous invention due to the circumstances of the times, as in the apparent case of the Calculus by Isaac Newton  and Gottfried Leibniz.

1942 Buick 50 Super Convertible - Mecum Auctions photo
That kind of fender shape saw production on some of Buick's 1942 models, as shown here.

1949 Jaguar XK120 Roadster - unknown original photo source
A variation with a less-distinct rear fender is the classic XK120 Jaguar design.  Some other 1950-vintage sports cars had the fender concept discussed here.

Pinin Farina's "Silver Streak" Alfa Romeo 6C Berlinetta

Automobile styling of the 1930s has always interested me because most of the transition from boxy cars with separate features such a headlights and fenders to "envelope" or highly-integrated shapes took place then.  War-shortened 1940 production and the postwar seller's market yielded the final touch circa-1949: "through-fenders" and slab sides such as found on the iconic 1949 Ford.

Today's featured car was designed in the mid-1930s.  Features such as headlights and front fenders were still separate from the main body, but they were rounded, somewhat teardrop-shaped in the quasi-faux streamlined idiom of that time.  The angularities of 1930 and earlier were gone.

One detail that especially interested me about this car from a leading Italian coachbuilder was that a prominent detail seems to have been borrowed from a lower-middle range American brand.  This is shown in the Gallery below.

The car is a 1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Berlinetta with a coachbuilt body by Pinin Farina.  Ignorance on my part led me to believe that, in the early years of Farina's firm, Pinin himself did all the styling.  Not so.

According to the carrozzieri-italiani.com web site, the stylist was Conte Mario Revelli di Beaumont, an independent designer who produced designs for a variety of coachbuilding firms.  Background on Ravelli in English is here.  His Italian language Wikipedia entry is here, and his entry in French is here, noting that in the second half of the 1930s he worked with Pinin Farina and Bertone.  That was not all: this link (when it's working properly) features a gallery of designs he had a hand in for coachbuilders including Stabilimenti Farina, Viotti, Allemano, Balbo, Fissore, Moretti, Ghia, Boneschi, Castagna, and a few others.

Gallery

1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Berlinetta by Pinin Farina - Bonhams Auctions photo
A very pleasing design apart from perhaps one detail: that bold swath of parallel chrome stripes running along the centerline of the hood, then dropping down to the bottom of the grille opening.  It looks familiar to American eyes.

1935 Pontiac - unknown photo source
Aha!  Behold a 1935 Pontiac, the first featuring what was marketed as "Silver Streaks."   I described their evolution from 1935 through 1956 here.

1935 Pontiac Eight Deluxe - car-for-sale photo
Frontal view of those Silver Streaks that Ravelli surely was aware of.

1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Berlinetta by Pinin Farina - unidentified photo source
Why he borrowed so blatantly seems odd for such an accomplished designer.  Or could they have been added by Pinin himself, another very accomplished designer?  After all, it was his firm, and he must have given final approval to the design.  We will never know for sure.

1937 Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B Berlinetta by Pinin Farina - unidentified source of photos
A poor-quality front quarter view.

It seems Ravelli was quite interested in aerodynamics.  Note the strong curve of the aft body.  Plus the tiny tail fin on the trunk's door.

Strong, harmonious shaping.  Note the thin, chromed glass pane divider on the backlight window here, as well as on the windshield.

Very nice sculpted composition.  But those chromed circles on the hood venting seem as superfluous as the Silver Streaks.  I have a vague feeling these too were borrowed, and can't find an example... oh, wait!!

1935 Plymouth DeLuxe 2-Door Touring Sedan - Mecum Auctions photo
Another feature from another 1935 American car.

Boano's "50s American Style" Alfa Romeo 1900 Primavera Hardtop Coupé

I consider the late 1940s and most of the 1950s as a "golden age" of Italian coachbuilding design.  Of course, not every design was outstanding or even above-average in the European context.  Some poor designs were strictly failures of the stylist.  Other substandard designs were due to the influence of others -- clients for one-off designs and corporate sponsors of limited-production designs.

Today's subject car's design includes several noticeable non-Italian features.  That suggests Alfa Romeo marketing managers might have "leaned on" the Boano firm to include such details.

This link provides some background on the Primivera:

"In 1953, Mario Felice Boano sold Ghia to Segre and in 1954 started his own firm.  Boano managed his firm, in conjunction with his son, Gian Paolo, until the end of 1957.  In this period of time, between 1955 and 1957, the Turin Coachbuilder Boano built the Primavera (Spring) two-door saloon.  The body of this coupé was built on a chassis of the 1900 Super Saloon, a completely new coachwork was done without changing the wheelbase of the four-door.  At a first glance, the front and the roofline seem similar but instead are different.

"The new car was offered as coupé although front bench seat, steering wheel-mounted gearshift, interior space and luggage compartment were comparable to the four-door.  Both front side windows without frames and rear side windows can disappear right down."  So it is indeed what we call a "hardtop coupe" in America.

"The Alfa Romeo 1900 Primavera production figures were as follows: 1955 4 cars, 1956 286 cars, 1957 10 cars."

Primavera styling reminds me of the Sunbeam Rapier, so a photo of one is included below.

Gallery

1955 Alfa Romeo 1900 Primavera by Boano - image via carrozzeria-italiani.com
Side view showing the two-tone paint job and associated chrome trim.  American cars with similarly arbitrary color patterns served as fashionable inspiration to Boano (or, as noted, more likely to Alfa Romeo management).

1957 Sunbeam Rapier - auction photo
This similar Sunbeam Rapier design also entered production in the late summer or fall of 1955, so is essentially contemporaneous with the Primavera.  Unless I discover otherwise, it can be assumed that the two designs were developed in ignorance of one another.  That said, the Rapier was styled by Raymond Loewy's organization, whereas the Primavera was likely influenced by Loewy's classic 1953 Studebaker coupes and 1950s American styling in general.

1957 Alfa Romeo 1900 Primavera by Boano - BaT Auctions photos
This would be a fairly attractive Italian design absent the chrome trim and paint scheme.

The C-pillar could be a tiny bit wider.

Rear fenders extend beyond the trunk lid.  This added visual length when seen from the side.

I would prefer a flatter trunk lid.  But there might have been glass-forming technology limitations on the size of the backlight.

I would have placed the tail light assemblies a little lower and rounded off the upper end of the fender.

If there absolutely had to been two-toning, having the other color only on the passenger compartment would have been more attractive that what we see here.

The windshield seems to be that of the 1900 sedan, giving it a slightly tacked-on appearance on the Primavera.

Frontal design is essentially stock Alfa Romeo 1900.

After I completed the first draft of this post I came across a photo of a Primavera with more sensible two-toning and chrome trim.  Most likely that image here (via carrozzeria italiani) is of a 1955 or early 1956 model.  This supports my supposition that the jazzy 1950s American stuff was at the behest of Alfa Romeo.

Ghia's Alfa Romeo 1900 Supergioiello: Looks Good from Only One Angle

I've been paying attention to automobile styling since I was a schoolboy.  In a trivial sense, even before that.  By the time I was in high school, I was buying Road & Track, Motor Trend, and other car fan magazines along with a few inexpensive books about marques and designs.  Among the photos I viewed in those sources was the one below of today's featured car, Ghia's Alfa Romeo 1900 Sprint Supergioiello.

This photo makes it seem really attractive, so for may years I thought it was a good example of postwar "golden age" Italian design.  But more recent images I've seen show that its poor proportions were largely disguised thanks to the flattering camera angle.

Some background on the design is here on RM Sotheby's web site.  Wikipedia's entry on Carrozzeria Ghia is here, and that for Alfa Romeo's 1900 line is here.

Let's see the design from more points of view:

Gallery

1950 vintage Alfa Romeo 1900 Berlina - unknown photo source
Alfa Romeo 1900s came in two wheelbases. Berlinas such as pictured here had the longer 103.5 inch (2630 mm) wheelbase, and Sprints had a shorter 98.4 inch (2500 mm) wheelbase.  Sedan bodies were unitary, and I'm not presently aware how carrozzerias dealt with this.

1953 Alfa Romeo 1900C Sprint by Touring - car-for-sale photo
This is an example of a custom design on the short wheelbase.  The "C" on 1900C stands for corto -- Italian for "short."

1953 Alfa Romeo 1900 Sprint Speciale Supergioiello by Ghia - BaT Auctions photos
For some reason, our featured design was based on the longer wheelbase. This created proportioning problems.  The short passenger compartment greenhouse did not help either.  A longer one would have reduced the visual bulk of the trunk area (compare to the Touring design in the previous image).

The car looks best as seen from the font, minimizing the large, rather square rear.  The grille-headlight ensemble is interesting.

The area abaft of the greenhouse is too long and too tall.  Perhaps a dropped or flowing fender line might have helped reduce the bulk.

The design is at its worst seen from this perspective.  The chrome side trim was probably intended to minimize the slab-sidedness a little.  Note that the pale paint scheme hides highlights, making body sculpting less visible than seen on darker paint.  So the car would have looked a bit better, more like in the initial photo from the 1950s.