Bertone's 1934 Fiat Ardita With Panoramic Windshield

One of the projects that helped carrozzeria Bertone survive the depressed 1930s was its version of a 1934 Fiat 527 Ardita.  Its full title seems to be Fiat 527 Ardita 2500 Superaerodinamica 900.

As best I can tell, only one of these cars was built, and it no longer exists.  Worse, there are few photos of it to be found on the Internet as of the end of January 2019.  And the majority of those are of poor quality.  All are presented below.

Gallery

Bertone's Superaerodinamica was a quattro porti, quattro/cinque posti type car not as aerodynamically advanced as the contemporary Chrysler Airflow, but with many modern (for the times) features.

The front as seen from this angle was basically 1934 vintage styling aside from the headlight assemblies.

Rather than being separate units, headlight assemblies were blended into the hood in a manner similar to that of the 1934 Hupmobile.  The vent design on the side of the hood is the same as found on the 1934 DeSoto Airflow.  I do not know when during 1934 Bertone built this car, but it is possible he was aware of those '34 Hupps and DeSotos.  Airflows were announced at the start of the year and Hupmobile advertisements were appearing by April of the year.

Rear fender spats first appeared in the USA on the 1933 Pierce-Arrow Silver Arrow and were found on all 1934 Chrysler and DeSoto Airflows and began to appear on European custom bodies about the same time.  The passenger compartment greenhouse design was advanced for its time.  Note the graceful roof profile and the thin pillars that provided a light, airy character.  The most unusual feature was the three-piece "panoramic" windshield.  It predated Panhard's three-piece Panoramique design by a year.

Poor-quality photo.

The aft end -- actually, everything abaft of the A-pillar of the Superaerodinamica -- is pleasingly styled and a few years ahead of its time.  A subtle touch is the slight downward slope of the hood, helping give the design its "aerodynamic" sense.