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.

1979 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz

Following the 1973 Yom Kippur war and resulting oil price increases, American carmakers began serious planning to reduce the sizes and weights of their offerings in the name of increasing fuel economy.  By the early 1980s, in response to governmental actions, automobiles began to appear whose shapes were wind tunnel tested to increase aerodynamic efficiency and help improve fuel economy.

General Motors' large, luxury-oriented models were beginning to be resized towards the end of the 1970s.  For example, the 1976 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham wheelbase was 133 inches (3378 mm) and the 1977 wheelbase was 121.5 inches (3086 mm).  The 1978 Eldorado wheelbase was 126.3 inches (3208 mm), then reduced to 114 inches (2896 mm) for 1979.

Today's post deals with the 1979 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz, the Biarritz being the top-of-the line Eldorado.  Some background on various Biarritz iterations can be found buried in this Wikipedia entry about Cadillac Eldorados.

Although Irv Ribicki took over as GM's Design Vice President in August 1977, the 1979 Eldorado line was largely styled when Bill Mitchell had the job.   Which is a reason why the design was basically pleasing, competently done.

1979 Biarritzes were Eldorados with fancier trim.

Gallery

1979 Cadillac Eldorado Coupe - car-for-sale photo
The basic Eldorado design shown here is a "three box" affair.  The wide C-pillar was a fashionable feature dating back to the likes of the 1958 Ford Thunderbird.  Its major shape components are subtly curved, helping reduce visual boxiness.  The only fussy part of the design is the grille-headlights-bumper ensemble at the front.  Rectangular headlights were common in those days, so they were used and supplemented by rectangular auxiliary lights set below them.  The grille shape is rectangular as its grid pattern.  Note the lack of Vinyl on the roof.

1979 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Coupe - GAA Auctions photo
Now for Biarritz images.  Here is one with a two-tone effect in the form of roof Vinyl of a different color from the main body color.  (What appears to be darker body color below the side character lid is probably the base color at a different angle from sunlight.)

1979 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Coupe - BaT Auctions photo
Regular Eldorados had chromed swaths along the lower body, but Biarritzes got a thin, horizontal chrome strip along the body's side crease.  For some reason this for-sale car is "riding high."

1979 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Coupe - car-for-sale photos
This car's top is different.  Vinyl on the cars shown above covered the entire top metal.  The variant shown here featured Vinyl no farther forward than the front edge of the C-pillar.  The front two-thirds of the top were covered by what appears to be an aluminum panel.

Rear design is the same as basic Eldorados aside from the word "Biarritz" on the right side of the trunk lid.

The white pattern seen along the beltline and front edge of the C-pillar is actually shiny chrome reflecting the sky.

1979 Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz Coupe - car-for-sale photo
Rectangular instrument panel detailing was also a styling fashion in those days.

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.

Original Fiat 8V Berlinetta: A Photo Set

In 2013, I posted about Fiat's 8V (its Wikipedia entry is here).  A dozen years later, more images are available, so now might be a good time to pass them along.

The 8V's engineering was under the direction of Dante Giacosa, original styling was by Luigi Rapi.  Only 114 8Vs were made over the period 1952-1954.  Wikipedia notes: "34 of the cars had a factory produced bodywork by Fiat's Dipartimento Carrozzerie Derivate e Speciali ('Special Bodies Department')."  Their styling was via Rapi.  Others were by coachbuilding firms.   For example, I posted "Ghia's Fiat 8V Supersonic" here.

The images below of initial 8V styling seem to be originally via Fiat.

Gallery

A rare, early color photo.

Side view.

And what's inside.

Seems to be from the same photo shoot as the initial image.

More early color.

Looks like the car is in motion -- until you notice the wheel spokes.

Rear view of the same car.

Overhead view shows some results of wind tunnel body-shape testing.