Vignale is the luxury car sub- brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe.Ford Vignale: The history behind Vignale, Ford's new luxury division
on Auto Express, 28 Mar 2016 The former company Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale was an Italian automobile

coachbuilder A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...

established in 1948 at Via Cigliano, Turin, by Alfredo Vignale (1913–69). After its founder's death in 1969, Carrozzeria Vignale was acquired by De Tomaso (founded by Argentine businessman and race driver

Alejandro de Tomaso Alejandro de Tomaso (10 July 1928 in Buenos Aires – 21 May 2003 in Modena, Italy) was a racing driver and businessman from Argentina. His name is sometimes seen in an Italianised form as ''Alessandro de Tomaso''. He participated in two Formula ...

). The studio ceased operation in 1973, but ownership of the name was taken over by Ford Motor Company (which had majority ownership of De Tomaso). Since then, Ford has continued to use the name sporadically to the present day. Up to present days,

Ford of Europe Ford of Europe GmbH is a subsidiary company of Ford Motor Company founded in 1967 in Cork (city), Cork, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with headquarters in Cologne, Germany. History Ford of Europe was founded in 1967 by the merger of Ford of Bri ...

released ''Vignale'' versions of models

Mondeo The Ford Mondeo is a large family car manufactured by Ford since 1993. The first Ford model declared as a "world car", the Mondeo was intended to consolidate several Ford model lines worldwide (the European Sierra, the Telstar in Asia and Austr ...

,Vignale: Ford recupera una marca con historia argentina
on Motor1, 4 Sep 2013 Edge,

Fiesta ''Fiesta'' (Spanish for "religious feast", "festival", or "party") may refer to: Events *Fiesta San Antonio, a 10-day event held every April in San Antonio, Texas *St. Peter's Fiesta, a five-day festival in Gloucester, Massachusetts *Fiestas d ...

, Focus, and Kuga, among others.Fiat, Ford y De Tomaso: la marca Vignale vuelve a la Argentina
on Motor1, 4 Jun 2019

History

The first body on a

Fiat 500 Topolino Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...

base was made in 1948, followed by a special Fiat 1100. Most customers were Italian firms such as Cisitalia, Alfa Romeo,

Ferrari Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

Maserati Maserati S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury vehicle manufacturer. Established on 1 December 1914, in Bologna, Italy, the company's headquarters are now in Modena, and its emblem is a trident. The company has been owned by Stellantis since 2021. Ma ...

Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...

. In 1952, Vignale collaborated with Briggs Cunningham to jointly produce the Continental C-3. A close cooperation was maintained with Giovanni Michelotti, who in 1959 opened his own design studio and in 1962 definitely concluded the cooperation. 1952 Ferrari 340 Mexico Vignale ad

Also Rodolfo Bonetto designed a couple of cars in the early 1950s before moving to Boneschi. Later Vignale designs were created by

Virginio Vairo Virginio Vairo is an Italian automobile designer who has collaborated with Carrozzeria Vignale. Designs * 1964 Fiat 1300 and 1500 Sportiva fastback. * 1964 Fiat 850 Coupé, Spider, Berlina (derived from Giovanni Michelotti designs). * 1965 Fiat ...

. Vignale designed and built cars, usually low volume variants of the main production cars of these automobile manufacturers. Amongst them were 850, Samantha, Eveline and the

Vignale Gamine The Vignale Gamine is a small rear-engined car produced by Carrozzeria Vignale from 1967 to 1970, based on the Fiat 500, also known as Nuova 500. Unlike the 500, however, the Gamine had an open-top Roadster structure and only two seats. Stylin ...

, based on the Fiat 500. In 1968, Vignale designed the body of their last prototype,

Tatra 613 The Tatra 613 is a large luxury rear wheel driven car with rear-mounted air-cooled engine manufactured by Czechoslovak manufacturer Tatra from 1974 until 1996 as a replacement for the Tatra 603 series. It featured an all-new body styled by Vignal ...

. Vignale was taken over by De Tomaso in 1969 who already owned

Carrozzeria Ghia Carrozzeria Ghia SpA (established 1916 in Turin) is an Italian automobile design and coachbuilding firm, established by Giacinto Ghia and Gariglio as "Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio". The headquarters are located at Corso Guglielmo Marconi, 4, Turin ...

. Shortly after selling, Alfredo Vignale died in a car crash on November 16, 1969. Both coachbuilder firms were sold to Ford in 1973 but the Vignale brand was discontinued. At the 1993 Geneva Motor Show,

Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...

, at the time owned by Ford, produced a concept car called Lagonda Vignale. Ford then used the Vignale name in the Ford Focus Vignale concept car introduced at the

2004 Paris Motor Show The 2004 Paris Motor Show (''Mondial de l'Automobile'') took place from 25 September to 10 October 2004 in Paris expo Porte de Versailles. There was an extra exhibition called ''L'Automobile et la bande Dessinée'' ("The Car and the Stripbook") ...

, however the production model was named as Ford Focus Coupé-Cabriolet. In September 2013,

announced plans to resurrect the ''Vignale'' name as an upscale luxury sub-brand of Ford. The cars would be visually distincted from regular Ford products and have an improved dealership experience. Exclusive services, such as free lifetime car washes, will be offered as well. The first Ford model to receive the ''Vignale'' name was the 2015 Ford Mondeo. The first model to carry the ''Vignale'' brand name was the 2015 Mondeo. On 1 March 2016 Ford of Europe announced a Kuga ''Vignale'' concept vehicle at the Geneva Motor Show where the company also announced the line-up of Vignale products, S-Max, Edge, and Mondeo ''Vignale'' five-door models debut alongside Kuga Vignale Concept, offering a vision of the future of upscale SUVs as well as revealing Vignale Ambassadors and the signature Vignale collection.

Designs

List of cars designed and bodied at Carrozzeria Vignale or coachbuilt to a third-party design. Vignale Ferrari

* Abarth 204A Berlinetta *

Abarth 205A Berlinetta The Abarth 205A Berlinetta was a coupé sports car, also known as the Abarth 205A Monza built by Austrian born tuning expert Carlo Abarth in 1950. It was a development of the Abarth Cisitalia 204A but with a new platform chassis, still using the ...

* Alfa Romeo 412 Barchetta, 1951 *

Alfa Romeo 1900 The Alfa Romeo 1900 is an automobile produced by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1950 until 1959. Designed by Orazio Satta, it was an important development for Alfa Romeo as the marque's first car built entirely on a production line and f ...

''La Fleche'' Spider and Coupé. * Alfa Romeo 2000 Coupé *

American Motors AMX The AMC AMX is a two-seat Grand Tourer, GT-style muscle car produced by American Motors Corporation from 1968 through 1970. As one of just two American-built two-seaters, the AMX was in direct competition with the one-inch (2.5 cm) longer ...

1966 Coupé * Aston Martin DB2/4 Coupé * Cisitalia 202, 202 CMM * Cunningham C-3 Coupé and Cabriolet *

Ferrari 166 MM :''See also the 166 Inter GT car'' :''See also the 166 MM Berlinetta Le Mans'' :''See also the Ferrari-Abarth 166 MM/53'' The Ferrari 166 S was a sports racing car built by Ferrari between 1948 and 1953, an evolution of its ''Colombo'' V12-pow ...

Coupé and Spider * Ferrari 166 Inter Coupé * Ferrari 212 Export Barchetta, Spider, Cabriolet and Coupé * Ferrari 212 Inter Coupé, Spider and Cabriolet * Ferrari 225 S Coupé and Spider *

Ferrari 250 S The Ferrari 250 S was a sports racing car produced by Ferrari in 1952. It was the first in the long lineage of Ferrari 250 road and race cars powered by a ubiquitous 3.0-litre ''Colombo'' V12 engine. In 1952 the 250 S won the Mille Miglia and 12 ...

Coupé *

Ferrari 250 MM The Ferrari 250 MM was a sports racing car produced by Ferrari in 1953. After the initial racing successes of the 3.0-litre ''Colombo'' V12 engine, introduced in the 250 S one-off, Ferrari produced a serial racing model. It is best recognisable f ...

Coupé and Spider * Ferrari 250 Europa Coupé and Spider *

Ferrari 250 Europa GT Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello, Italy. Founded by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988) in 1939 from the Alfa Romeo racing division as ''Auto Avio Costruzioni'', the company built its first car in ...

Coupé *

Ferrari 340 America Ferrari America is a series of top-end Ferrari models built in the 1950s and 1960s. They were large grand touring cars with the largest V12 engines and often had custom bodywork. All America models used a live axle in the rear, were front-eng ...

Coupé and Spider *

Ferrari 340 Mexico :''See also the 340 F1, a Formula One racer, and 340 America, a GT car'' The Ferrari 340 Mexico was a Ferrari sports racing car which was intended for the 1952 Carrera Panamericana. It used 4.1 L '' Lampredi'' V12 engine producing around at 66 ...

Coupé and Spider *

Ferrari 340 MM :''See also the 340 F1, a Formula One racer, and 340 America, a GT car'' The Ferrari 340 Mexico was a Ferrari sports racing car which was intended for the 1952 Carrera Panamericana. It used 4.1 L '' Lampredi'' V12 engine producing around at 6 ...

Spider * Ferrari 342 America Cabriolet *

Ferrari 625 TF The Ferrari Monza is one of a series of cars built by Ferrari. In the early 1950s, Ferrari shifted from using the compact Gioacchino Colombo-designed V12 engine in its smallest class of sports racers to a line of four-cylinder engines designe ...

Coupé and Spider *

Ferrari 375 America Ferrari America is a series of top-end Ferrari models built in the 1950s and 1960s. They were large grand touring cars with the largest V12 engines and often had custom bodywork. All America models used a live axle in the rear, were front-eng ...

Coupé * Ferrari 330 GT Shooting brake, rebodied in 1967 * Fiat 600 Coupé, Spider * Fiat 850 Coupé, Spider, Berlina *

Fiat 1400 The Fiat 1400 and Fiat 1900 are passenger cars produced by Italian automotive manufacturer Fiat from 1950 to 1958 and from 1952 to 1959 respectively. The two models shared body and platform, but while the 1.4-litre 1400 was Fiat's intermediate of ...

Cabriolet *

Fiat 1300 and 1500 The Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500 are a series of front-engine, rear-drive automobiles manufactured and marketed by Fiat from 1961 to 1967, replacing the Fiat 1400 and Fiat 1200 coupé, spyder and cabriolet. The 1300 and 1500 were essentially identica ...

Sportiva fastback. * Fiat 1500 Coupé * Fiat 124 Coupé ''Eveline'' * Fiat 125 Coupé ''Samantha'' * Fiat 8V Coupé, Cabriolet and ''Demon Rouge'' * Ford-Cisitalia 808 coupé and roadster * Jensen Interceptor, early production * Jensen FF, early production * Jensen Nova concept car * Lancia Appia Cabriolet, 1957; Lusso Coupé, prototype and series production cars * Lancia Aprilia Coupé for Vignale, 1949 *

Lancia Aurelia The Lancia Aurelia is a car produced by Italian manufacturer Lancia from 1950 to the summer of 1958. It is noted for using one of the first series-production V6 engines. Several body styles were offered: 4-door saloon, 2-door GT coupé (B20), ...

B50 Coupé and Berlina; B52 Coupé *

Nardi Blue Ray 1 and 2, commissioned by

Enrico Nardi Enrico Nardi (1907 in Bologna – 23 August 1966) was an Italian racing car driver and designer. He worked at Lancia between 1929 and 1937 as a truck engineer, racing car driver, and later, advisor to Vincenzo Lancia. He was moderately successful ...

Lancia Flavia The Lancia Flavia (Tipo 815/819/820) is an executive car produced by Lancia in Italy from 1961 to 1971. Production continued as the Lancia 2000 from 1971 to 1975. The Flavia was launched with a 1,500 cc engine at the Turin Motor Show#1960, ...

Cabriolet, would become the last Michelotti design for Vignale * Lincoln by Vignale, a 1987 show car *

Maserati A6G Maserati A6 were a series of grand tourers, racing sports cars and single seaters made by Maserati of Italy between 1947 and 1956. They were named for Alfieri Maserati (one of the Maserati brothers, founders of Maserati) and for their straight-six ...

2000 Coupé, Paris Show car * Maserati A6GCS/53 Spider Corsa, commissioned by Tony Parravano and rebodied by Scaglietti in 1955. * Maserati 3500 GT Spyder, prototypes and series production cars * Maserati Sebring 1962, prototype and series production cars *

Maserati Mexico The Maserati Mexico (''Tipo AM112'') is a 4-seater grand touring coupé produced by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati between 1966 and 1972. It was based on the second series of the original ''AM107'' Maserati Quattroporte, and it was power ...

prototype, based on a

Maserati 5000 GT The Maserati 5000 GT is a 2-door coupé car, made by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati from 1959–1966. A total of thirty-four were produced with bodies made by eight different Italian coach builders. The first car in the ''Tipo 103'' ser ...

chassis rebodied in 1965. *

series production car *

Maserati Indy The Maserati Indy (''Tipo AM116'') is a four-seater fastback grand tourer produced by the Italian car manufacturer Maserati from 1969 to 1975. It was the first car produced under the Citröen ownership. History The Indy was conceived as an alter ...

Matra M530 The Matra M530 is a sports car created and built by the French engineering group Matra. Development In 1965 Matra's CEO Jean-Luc Lagardère decided to develop a successor to the Matra Djet that was more appealing to the non-racing public - a ''v ...

Sport prototype *

O.S.C.A. O.S.C.A. (Officine Specializzate Costruzione Automobili—Fratelli Maserati S.p.A.) was an Italian manufacturer of racing and sports cars established 1947 in San Lazzaro di Savena, Bologna, by the Maserati brothers, and closed down in 1967. The ...

MT4-2AD Coupé * Packard Eight 'Victoria' Vignale Cabriolet (built in 1948 on a 1939 chassis) * Standard Vanguard Vignale *

prototypes and production cars * De Tomaso Pantera, early production * Triumph Italia *

by Alfredo Vignale

Notable designers

* Alfredo Vignale * Giovanni Michelotti *

References

Bibliography

External links

Coachbuild.com Encyclopedia: Vignale

Lancia Aurelia B52 Vignale
{{FordEurope Coachbuilders of Italy Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Italy Ford of Europe Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1948 Italian companies established in 1948