Itala 61 Spyder Ghia

The Itala Tipo 61 Spyder by Carrozzeria Ghia was a one-off coachbuilt automobile constructed on a late 1920s Itala Tipo 61 chassis. The original chassis was developed by Itala between 1924 and 1929, intended for use in competition and high-performance road applications. The Tipo 61 employed advanced engineering for its time and was offered as a rolling chassis to private clients and coachbuilders. The Ghia-bodied Spyder constitutes a unique adaptation of the platform and is not believed to have been part of Itala’s factory-bodied offerings. The Tipo 61 chassis featured a tubular steel frame with a front-mounted, inline six-cylinder engine. Displacement was approximately 1,990 cubic centimetres. The engine employed overhead valves and was mated to a three- or four-speed manual gearbox. Output was estimated at 50 to 60 horsepower, depending on carburation and tuning. Drive was sent to the rear axle. Suspension comprised rigid axles with semi-elliptical leaf springs both front and rear. Braking was by mechanical drum brakes at all four corners. The Spyder body was fabricated in lightweight aluminium by Carrozzeria Ghia of Turin. The coachwork followed a two-seat open configuration, with separate front cycle fenders, a low scuttle, minimal windscreen, and a tapered rear section. The design, executed in the Art Deco idiom, was restrained and functional, with little embellishment beyond the aerodynamic form itself. The result was a light and agile sporting car, intended more for fast touring than competition. Itala produced approximately 30 to 40 examples of the Tipo 61 chassis in total, the majority of which were bodied by smaller coachbuilders or constructed for sporting use. Only one example is known to have received coachwork by Ghia, making it a singular specimen. The chassis number associated with the Ghia Spyder has not been publicly documented, and no ownership history has been published. The Itala Tipo 61 Spyder by Ghia represents a rare convergence of pre-war sporting engineering and Italian coachbuilding. Its status as a unique build on a limited-production chassis underscores the individualised nature of interwar automotive production, wherein chassis and coachwork were often commissioned separately to satisfy the personal tastes of private clients.