Fiat 1100 TV Mignon

The Fiat 1100 TV Mignon was a one-off coupé constructed by Carrozzeria Vignale and designed by Giovanni Michelotti. It was first exhibited at the Turin Auto Salon in 1955 and was based on the Fiat 1100 Turismo Veloce chassis. The Turismo Veloce, introduced in 1953, was the higher-performance derivative of the Fiat 1100, equipped with a 1,089 cc inline four-cylinder engine producing 50 horsepower at 5,200 rpm. Power was transmitted through a four-speed manual gearbox, and the car employed independent front suspension with transverse leaf spring and wishbones, a live rear axle with semi-elliptic springs, and drum brakes on all four wheels. The Mignon was created as a stylistic study rather than a production vehicle. Michelotti had previously developed the Fiat 1100 TV Antibes for Vignale in 1954, and the Mignon represented an evolution of that design language. The bodywork was characterized by a wide B-pillar, integrated front bumper and grille, and compact overall dimensions. A bonnet air intake and side grilles ahead of the doors provided both visual distinction and functional airflow. The body was finished in two-tone red, and the car was equipped with Borrani wire wheels mounted with whitewall tires. The interior was trimmed in ivory and arranged with a simple dashboard and seating for two. The 1100 TV Mignon remained the sole example of its type. Its purpose was confined to presentation at motor shows and as a demonstration of the capacity of Vignale and Michelotti to rework Fiat’s small-displacement chassis into coachbuilt forms. The Fiat 1100 TV itself was built in limited numbers relative to the mainline 1100, but the Mignon was not offered to clients and was never included in catalogues. Surviving documentation identifies the car only as a single chassis prepared for exhibition, and no further examples were produced. Its historical significance lies in its role within the broader context of Italian coachbuilding in the mid-1950s, when numerous independent carrozzerie created special-bodied interpretations of Fiat’s 1100 platform for display at the Turin and Geneva salons. The Mignon illustrates both the experimental nature of these exercises and the influence of Michelotti in shaping the design vocabulary of Italian coachbuilt cars during the decade.