Felice Mario Boano (

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

1903 ––

8 May 1989) was an Italian

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with Wheel, wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, pe ...

designer and

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 ...

. He worked for

Stabilimenti Farina Stabilimenti Industriali Farina (Turin, 1906–53) was an Italian automotive coachbuilder established by Giovanni Carlo Farina (1884–1957) in ''12 Corso Tortona''. Among famous employees was his brother Battista Farina, who was here from the ...

before joining

Pinin Farina Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian mu ...

in 1930. In 1944 (with Giorgio Alberti), Boano bought the

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 ...

Torino Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. T ...

when their friend

Giacinto Ghia Giacinto Ghia (18 September 1887 – 21 February 1944) was an Italian automobile coachbuilder and founder of Carrozzeria Ghia. Biography Ghia was a test driver at Rapid and Diatto Diatto was an Italian manufacturing company founded in 1835 ...

died. Boano and

Luigi Segre Luigi "Gigi" Segre (8 November 1919 – 28 February 1963) was an Italian automotive designer noted for his business and engineering acumen during his stewardship and ownership of Carrozzeria Ghia (1953–63), one of an Italy's premier automobile d ...

were central in several low-roofline designs; the Alfa Romeo 2500 CC,

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), ...

(1950),

Karmann Ghia The Volkswagen Karmann Ghia is a sports car marketed in 2+2 coupe (1955–1974) and 2+2 convertible (1957–1974) body styles by Volkswagen. Internally designated the Type 14, the Karmann Ghia combined the chassis and mechanicals of the Type 1 ( ...

(1953),

Chrysler Stellantis North America (officially FCA US and formerly Chrysler ()) is one of the " Big Three" automobile manufacturers in the United States, headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan. It is the American subsidiary of the multinational automoti ...

K200,

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 ...

SS, and some

Ferrari 166 Ferrari used its 2 L (1995 cc/121 in3) V12 engine in a number of models, all called 166 for the displacement of a single cylinder. Most early 166es were sports cars built for racing, though a later line of GT cars launched the compan ...

berlinetta A berlinetta (from it, berlinetta; ) is a sports coupé, typically with two seats but also including 2+2 cars. The original meaning for ''berlinetta'' in Italian is “little saloon”. Introduced in the 1930s, the term was popularised by Ferr ...

style. He is also credited with

GT coupé design. In 1954 he founded Carrozzeria Boano in

Grugliasco Grugliasco (; pms, Grujasch ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont, located about west of Turin. Grugliasco borders the municipalities of Turin, Collegno, and Rivoli. In 1945 here a ...

with his son Gian Paolo Boano (born 1930) who also had been with him while at Ghia. They took over some of the initial

Ferrari 250 GT Coupé The Ferrari 250 GT Coupé represented a series of road-going, grand touring cars produced by Ferrari between 1954 and 1960. Presented at the 1954 Paris Motor Show, the 250 Europa GT was the first in the GT-lineage. The design by Pinin Farina was ...

production from

. After only three years, Boano closed, and his son-in-law Ezio Ellena took over the remaining 50 units of 250 GT production in his Carrozzeria Ellena (1957–1966). Starting in 1957, Boano worked under

Dante Giacosa Dante Giacosa (3 January 1905 - 31 March 1996) was an Italian automobile designer and engineer responsible for a range of Italian automobile designs — and for refining the front-wheel drive layout to an industry-standard configuration. Front ...

for

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 ...

in their Turin styling department, creating the

Fiat 600 The Fiat 600 ( it, Seicento, ) is a rear-engine, water-cooled city car, manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles, Fiat from 1955 to 1969 — offered in two-door fastback sedan and four-door Multipla mini MPV body styles. Measuring only ...

and the square style of

Simca 1000 The Simca 1000 is a small, rear-engined, four-door saloon car, saloon which was manufactured by the France, French automaker Simca from 1961 to 1978. Origins The origins of the Simca 1000 lie not in France but in Italy. Simca's President-director ...

. His son Gian Paolo Boano (1930–)Gian Paolo Boano
an enthusiast page, last accessed Nov 9, 2016. succeeded him in 1959, as leader of the ''Centro Stile'', Fiats styling department.
an enthusiast page, last accessed Nov 9, 2016. Mario retired from Fiat in 1966. Gian Paolo remained with Fiat until 1988. Mario Boano died in 1989. Paris_-_Bonhams_2015_-_Alfa_Romeo_6C_2500_Sport_Cabriolet_-_1947_-_009.jpg , Alfa Romeo 6C 2500, 1947 File:Fiat Giannini 1100 Berlinetta (Boano) (26508862765).jpg, 1956

Fiat 1100 The Fiat 1100 is a small family car produced from 1953 until 1969 by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. It was an all-new unibody replacement for the Fiat 1100 E, which descended from the pre-war, body-on-frame Fiat 508 C Balilla 1100. The 1100 was ...

,customized by Boano File:Abarth 207 Boano dx.jpg,

Abarth 207A Spyder The Abarth 207A Boano Spyder is a competition car created by Abarth & C. with the aim of selling in the United States market. It succeeded the earlier Abarth 205A Berlinetta and continued to use the Fiat 1100's four-cylinder engine. It also cont ...

, 1955 File:1955 Abarth 209A Coupe Boano photo3.JPG,

Abarth 209A Coupé Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing and road car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a shield with a styliz ...

, 1955 File:Lincoln coupe - body by Boano.jpg, 1955

Lincoln Lincoln most commonly refers to: * Abraham Lincoln (1809–1865), the sixteenth president of the United States * Lincoln, England, cathedral city and county town of Lincolnshire, England * Lincoln, Nebraska, the capital of Nebraska, U.S. * Lincol ...

coupe "Indianapolis" File:1955 (1956) Ferrari 250 GT Boano, low-roof all-alloy Berlinetta rear side view.jpg, Ferrari 250 GT Boano, low-roof Berlinetta

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boano, Felice Mario Coachbuilders of Italy Fiat people Ghia people Italian automobile designers Automotive engineers from Turin 1903 births 1989 deaths