Museo Nazionale dell’ Automobile di Torino
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- “Now we’ve had a facelift!”, says the head of the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile di Torino happily. The renovation and expansion of the temple dedicated to the automobile has cost over the past few years about 33 million Euros.
“Now we’ve had a facelift!”, says the head of the Museo Nazionale dell’Automobile di Torino happily. The renovation and expansion of the temple dedicated to the automobile has cost over the past few years about 33 million Euros. The famed architect Cino Zuchi and the film set designer Francois Confino have re-imagined the 10 thousand square metre exhibition space. No less than 200 vehicles representing 85 different marques are now presented in elaborate displays, the oldest showpiece dating from 1769.
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- Visitors will find an amazing range of autos to admire in Turin. The Trabant, the national car of the former East Germany, is present as is the American army’s Willys Jeep and the quintessentially Gallic ‘Deux Cheveaux’ but pride of place is reserved for the Italian classics. It is these cars which make the museum what it is.
All eras represented
Visitors will find an amazing range of autos to admire in Turin. The Trabant, the national car of the former East Germany, is present as is the American army’s Willys Jeep and the quintessentially Gallic ‘Deux Cheveaux’ but pride of place is reserved for the Italian classics. It is these cars which make the museum what it is. The tired term ‘Bella Macchina’ has been given new meaning here. A tour of the museum can start at grass-roots level with the first Fiat ever made, dating from 1899 or with the first export model, the Fiat 12/16. In complete contrast there is an Isotta Fraschini 8A, an almost forgotten gem. The Italian silent film star, Rodolfo Valentino, drove one of these ostentatiously luxurious limousines.
Cisitalia 202
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- The vehicle was considered a ‘moving sculpture’ in its day and has been lovingly restored by Pininfarina.
One of the treasures of the car museum is the Cisitalia 202, one of the most beautiful creations of the former builder of sports cars. The vehicle was considered a ‘moving sculpture’ in its day and has been lovingly restored by Pininfarina. The coupé with its steel frame and aluminium bodywork was only built in a run of 170 units. It was the Cisitalia which brought international recognition for Battista Pinin Farina, the founder of the famed design studio. This timelessly elegant coupé has been included in the prestigious collection of the New York Museum of Modern Art. Even the museum designer Francois Confino is impressed by this automobile: “If I were going to steal just one vehicle from this collection it would be the Cisitalia!”
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- Pininfarina has contributed several other masterpieces from its own history to the Turin collection. One of them is the Lancia Flaminia Presidenziale from 1960.
Lancia Flaminia Presidenziale
Pininfarina has contributed several other masterpieces from its own history to the collection. One of them is the Lancia Flaminia Presidenziale from 1960.Only four of these presidential limousines were ever built and even today they may appear on occasions of great pomp and circumstance. The order to Pininfarina to build such a car came from Giovanni Gronchi personally when he was president of Italy. The car on display in was first driven in 1961 on the occasion of the state visit to by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth.
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- The famed architect Cino Zuchi and the film set designer Francois Confino have re-imagined the 10 thousand square metre exhibition space.
Turin landmark
“The new museum will be an important landmark for Turin”, says Paolo Pininfarina, head of the design studio. For him Turin remains “the uncontested capital of the automobile.” So that in the future there will continue to me memorable automobiles ‘made in Italy’ there is a department of the museum dedicated to the support of a next generation of automotive stylists. Here young people have the possibility of dialogue with established practitioners of vehicle design.
Pininfarina 2uettottanta
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- The 2uettottanta is a tribute to the marque Alfa Romeo and recalls not just the name of the famed Duetto Spider of 1966.
A clear sign that Italian design can continue to astound was the Pininfarina 2uettottanta which was built in 2010 to celebrated the eightieth birthday of the enterprise.Last year it was one of the real highlights at the Geneva Motor Show and received the accolade ‘Car Design of the Year’. The 2uettottanta is a tribute to the marque Alfa Romeo and recalls not just the name of the famed Duetto Spider of 1966. The gently curving but un-fussy lines draw the eye via the folded panels to the rear of the car. At the front two small LED array shine from under the wide hood. The rear end reminds of a powerful motorboat. Moving forward again two humps resolve themselves as supports for the head-rests of the cockpit.
