Vignale is the

luxury car A luxury car is a car that provides increased levels of comfort, equipment, amenities, quality, performance, and associated status compared to moderately priced cars. The term is subjective and reflects both the qualities of the car and the ...

sub-

brand A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

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 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 ...

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 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 ...

, by Alfredo Vignale (1913–69). After its founder's death in 1969, Carrozzeria Vignale was acquired by

De Tomaso De Tomaso Automobili ltd. (previously known as De Tomaso Modena SpA) is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso (1928–2003) in Modena in 1959. It originally produced various prototypes a ...

(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

(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 Edge or EDGE may refer to: Technology Computing * Edge computing, a network load-balancing system * Edge device, an entry point to a computer network * Adobe Edge, a graphical development application * Microsoft Edge, a web browser developed by ...

, Fiesta,

Focus Focus, or its plural form foci may refer to: Arts * Focus or Focus Festival, former name of the Adelaide Fringe arts festival in South Australia Film *''Focus'', a 1962 TV film starring James Whitmore * ''Focus'' (2001 film), a 2001 film based ...

, 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 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 ...

. Most customers were

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

firms such as

Cisitalia Cisitalia was an Italian sports and racing car brand. The name "Cisitalia" derives from "Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia", a business conglomerate founded in Turin in 1946 and controlled by the wealthy industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio ...

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian luxury car manufacturer and a subsidiary of Stellantis. The company was founded on 24 June 1910, in Milan, Italy. "Alfa" is an acronym of its founding name, "Anonima Lombarda Fabbrica Automobili." ...

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 Briggs Swift Cunningham II (January 19, 1907 – July 2, 2003) was an American entrepreneur and sportsman. He is best known for skippering the yacht ''Columbia'' to victory in the 1958 America's Cup race, and for his efforts as a driver, team o ...

to jointly produce the Continental C-3. A close cooperation was maintained with

Giovanni Michelotti Giovanni Michelotti (6 October 1921 – 23 January 1980) was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati and Triumph marques. He was also associated with ...

, 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 The Fiat 500 ( it, Cinquecento, ) is a rear-engined, four-seat, small city car that was manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles from 1957 until 1975 over a single generation in two-door saloon and two-door station wagon bodystyles. Launch ...

. In 1968, Vignale designed the body of their last prototype, Tatra 613. Vignale was taken over by

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 Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

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 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 Austra ...

. 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 A concept car (also known as a concept vehicle, show vehicle or prototype) is a car made to showcase new styling and/or new technology. They are often exhibited at motor shows to gauge customer reaction to new and radical designs which may or m ...

at the Geneva Motor Show where the company also announced the line-up of Vignale products, S-Max,

, 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 *

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 The Alfa Romeo 2000 (officially known as ''Tipo 102'', Italian for ''Type 102'') is a luxury car produced by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo between 1958 and 1962, as a successor to the 1900 Super. It was replaced in 1962 by the Alfa Romeo ...

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 The Aston Martin DB2/4 is a grand tourer produced by Aston Martin from 1953 until 1957. It was available as a 2+2 hatchback saloon, drophead coupé (DHC) and 2-seat fixed-head coupé. A small number of Bertone bodied spiders were commissioned ...

Coupé *

Cisitalia 202 Cisitalia was an Italian sports and racing car brand. The name "Cisitalia" derives from "Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia", a business conglomerate founded in Turin in 1946 and controlled by the wealthy industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio ...

, 202 CMM *

Cunningham C-3 The Cunningham C-3 is a Grand tourer, designed and built by the B. S. Cunningham Company beginning in 1952. Intended primarily as a road car, enough C3 were meant to be built to Homologation (motorsport), homologate Briggs Cunningham's racing cars ...

Coupé and Cabriolet * Ferrari 166 MM Coupé and Spider *

Ferrari 166 Inter The Ferrari 166 Inter was Ferrari's first true grand tourer. An evolution of the 125 S and 166 S racing cars, it was a sports car for the street with coachbuilt bodies. The Inter name commemorated the victories claimed in 166 S models by Scuderi ...

Coupé *

Ferrari 212 Export :''See also the 212 Inter grand tourer'' The Ferrari 212 Export was a sports racing car produced by Ferrari in 1951–1952. The 212 Exports won Tour de France automobile, Giro di Sicilia, Coppa della Toscana, 10 Hours of Messina and other motor ...

Barchetta, Spider, Cabriolet and Coupé *

Ferrari 212 Inter :''See also the 212 Export sports racer'' The Ferrari 212 Inter replaced Ferrari's successful 166 and 195 Inter grand tourers in 1951. Unveiled at the Brussels Motor Show that year, the 212 was an evolution of the 166 — a sports car for th ...

Coupé, Spider and Cabriolet *

Ferrari 225 S The Ferrari 225 S was a sports racing car produced by Ferrari in 1952. It was an evolution over the preceding Ferrari 212 Export with important engine upgrades that greatly improved power output. The model was extensively used in competition, win ...

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 ...

Coupé and Spider *

Ferrari 250 The Ferrari 250 is a series of sports cars and grand tourers built by Ferrari from 1952 to 1964. The company's most successful early line, the 250 series includes many variants designed for road use or sports car racing. 250 series cars are chara ...

Europa Coupé and Spider * Ferrari 250 Europa GT 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 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 The Ferrari 330 was a series of V12 powered automobiles produced by Ferrari in 2+2 GT Coupé, two-seat Berlinetta, spyder, and race car versions between 1963 and 1968. The name "330" refers to the approximate displacement of each single cylinder ...

GT Shooting brake, rebodied in 1967 *

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 ...

Coupé, Spider *

Fiat 850 The Fiat 850 (''Tipo 100G'') is a small rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive car manufactured and marketed by Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1964 to 1973. History Overview Its technical design was an evolution of the successful Fiat 600. The interna ...

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 Sportiva fastback. * Fiat 1500 Coupé * Fiat 124 Coupé ''Eveline'' * Fiat 125 Coupé ''Samantha'' *

Fiat 8V The Fiat 8V (or "Otto Vu") is a V8-engined sports car produced by the Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1952 to 1954. The car was introduced at the 1952 Geneva Motor Show. The Fiat 8V got its name because at the time of its making, Fiat believed ...

Coupé, Cabriolet and ''Demon Rouge'' * Ford-Cisitalia 808 coupé and roadster *

Jensen Interceptor The Jensen Interceptor is a grand touring car which was hand-built at the Kelvin Way Factory in West Bromwich, near Birmingham in England, by Jensen Motors between 1966 and 1976. The Interceptor name had been used previously by Jensen for the ...

, early production *

Jensen FF The Jensen FF is a four-wheel drive grand tourer produced by British car manufacturer Jensen Motors between 1966 and 1971. It was the first non all-terrain production car equipped with four-wheel drive and an anti-lock braking system. The powe ...

, early production * Jensen Nova concept car *

Lancia Appia 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 i ...

Cabriolet, 1957; Lusso Coupé, prototype and series production cars *

Lancia Aprilia The Lancia Aprilia (1937–1949) is a family car manufactured by Lancia, one of the first designed using wind tunnel in collaboration with Battista Farina and Politecnico di Torino, achieving a record low drag coefficient of 0.47. The ''berlinetta ...

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 2000 Coupé, Paris Show car *

Maserati A6GCS 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-si ...

/53 Spider Corsa, commissioned by Tony Parravano and rebodied by Scaglietti in 1955. *

Maserati 3500 GT The Maserati 3500 GT (''Tipo 101'') and the Maserati 3500 GT Spyder (''Tipo 101/C'') are 2-door coupé and convertible grand tourers made by Italian car manufacturer Maserati between 1957 and 1964. It was a seminal vehicle for Maserati as the comp ...

Spyder, prototypes and series production cars *

Maserati Sebring The Maserati Sebring was a two-door 2+2 coupé manufactured by Maserati from 1962 until 1968. Based on the Maserati 3500, the Sebring was aimed at the American Gran Turismo market and named after Maserati's 1957 racing victory at the 12 Hou ...

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 pow ...

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'' ...

chassis rebodied in 1965. *

series production car * Maserati Indy * Matra M530 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 The Packard Eight was a luxury automobile produced by Packard between 1924 and 1936, and was an all new platform that took the top market position from the earlier Packard Twin Six which was first introduced in 1916. When it was introduced, it was ...

'Victoria' Vignale Cabriolet (built in 1948 on a 1939 chassis) *

Standard Vanguard The Standard Vanguard is a car which was produced by the Standard Motor Company in Coventry, England, from 1947 until 1963. The car was announced in July 1947, was completely new, with no resemblance to the previous models, and, designed in 19 ...

Vignale * Tatra 613 prototypes and production cars *

De Tomaso Pantera The De Tomaso Pantera is a mid-engine sports car produced by Italian automobile manufacturer De Tomaso from 1971 to 1992. Italian for "Panther", the Pantera was the automaker's most popular model, with over 7,000 manufactured over its twenty-year ...

, early production *

Triumph Italia The Triumph Italia 2000 Coupé was built between 1959 and 1962, during which time 330 cars were produced. Designed by Giovanni Michelotti, the TR3 chassis and mechanical components were supplied by the Triumph Motor Company in the United Kingdom ...

by Alfredo Vignale

Notable designers

* Alfredo Vignale *

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