Fiat 1100 TV Coupé Ghia

The Fiat 1100 TV Coupé designed by Sergio Sartorelli for Carrozzeria Ghia in 1957 represented one of the most experimental interpretations of the Turismo Veloce chassis. Presented as a one-off show car at the Turin Motor Show, the vehicle stood out with its sharp and rectilinear styling, which diverged significantly from the rounded, flowing lines typical of the mid-1950s. The front end was defined by a wide horizontal grille paired with simple circular headlamps, while the body sides were smooth and slab-like, giving the car a geometric and modern character. The beltline was nearly straight from front to rear, accentuating the car’s taut proportions and underlining its break with established forms. The coupé’s roofline was equally distinctive, employing a pillar design that emphasized angularity and separation of volumes rather than continuity. At the rear, vertically stacked taillights reinforced the linear theme, adding further to the unconventional appearance. This design language aligned more closely with American influences of the era, integrating rectilinear elements that anticipated styling trends of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Mechanically, the car retained the standard 1100 TV setup, with a 1,089 cc four-cylinder engine producing around 50 horsepower. Power was delivered through a four-speed manual gearbox to the rear axle. The mechanical package was unchanged from the production Turismo Veloce, meaning the innovation lay entirely in its exterior form and presentation. Sartorelli’s design was further developed into a spider version, which employed the same overall aesthetic in open-top form. This demonstrated the adaptability of the rectilinear theme, though both the coupé and spider remained show cars rather than production models. Although the Fiat 1100 TV Coupé was built in a single example, it is regarded as a notable experiment in postwar Italian coachbuilding. Its use of geometric forms, flat surfaces, and architectural proportions marked it as one of Ghia’s most progressive studies on the 1100 platform. The coupé and its spider counterpart remain significant references in the evolution of Fiat show cars of the 1950s.