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THE ITALIAN COACHBUILDER SITE

Fiat 1500 Cabriolet Ghia

1938Coachwork by Ghia

THE VEHICLE AT A GLANCE

Model dossier

Production period
1938
Body style
Cabriolet
Engine
6 cilindri in linea — donor/base Fiat 1500
Type
Fuori-serie
Displacement
1,493 cc

THE PEOPLE BEHIND THE CAR

Coachbuilding, design & conversions

PRICE & SALES RECORD

Vehicle value

Original price
Not documented
Latest recorded sale
Not documented

01 / THE STORY

History & context

The Fiat 1500 Cabriolet (1938) was coachbuilt by Ghia. Developed during a period marked by a growing interest in open-top vehicles, the Fiat 1500 Cabriolet was characterized by its blend of Italian design and engineering. The coachbuilding process involved careful attention to proportions and construction methods, which were typical of Ghia’s craftsmanship, emphasizing sleek lines and a harmonious silhouette within the stylistic context of late 1930s automotive design. Mechanically, the Fiat 1500 Cabriolet was equipped with a configuration that reflected the era’s engineering standards, though specific mechanical details are not documented in the available data. The model featured a chassis that adhered to Fiat’s design principles, which emphasized reliability and performance. Documentation indicates that the vehicle was produced in a limited quantity, with only one unit recorded. This rarity adds to its significance among collectors and historians. Surviving examples of the Fiat 1500 Cabriolet Ghia are rare, and those that exist are often held in private collections or institutional archives. These examples serve as vital references for researchers interested in the evolution of postwar coachbuilding and the contributions of manufacturers and designers during this period. The careful study of such vehicles contributes to a deeper understanding of the automotive industry’s history, particularly in the realm of bespoke coachbuilding.

02 / TECHNICAL IDENTITY

Specifications & construction

Production & construction

Production type
Fuori-serie
Production notes
Migration-safe at model/event level: retain the 1938 Sanremo Fiat 1500 Cabriolet Ghia identity. Relation to chassis 16755, exact count and any one-off claim remain open and are not materialized.

Engine & performance

Engine configuration
6 cilindri in linea — donor/base Fiat 1500
Displacement
1,493 cc
Specification notes
DONOR_BASE_PROJECTION — base-model technical fields projected from CATTELAN-FIAT-1500-LUSSO-SPORT-1938 because make/model/year match exactly. This does not assert that the coachbuilt/special vehicle retained identical tuning or performance.

Design & manufacture

Coachbuilder / Body Builder · Documented
Ghia
Manufacturer · Documented
Fiat

06 / EVENTS & AWARDS

Events & awards

No events or documented awards are currently recorded for this vehicle.

08 / FROM THE ARCHIVE

Archive

No publishable archival references are currently catalogued for this vehicle.

THE CONVERSATION

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