The Superleggera Touring Bodywork
Carrozzeria Touring was born at the beginning of 1926 when two lawyers, Felice Bianchi Anderloni and Gaetano Ponzoni, old friends, took over the majority shareholding of Vittorio Ascari’s Carrozzeria Falco, brother of the great Alfa Romeo champion. Bianchi Anderloni and Ponzoni immediately revealed the intent to give their creature a new imprint in the dressing of the frames that the car factories delivered naked to their customers: these, to make them become real cars, chose their trusted Coachbuilder.
The two lawyers, therefore, who had thrown away their togas even before wearing them, created a body shop in Milan, in via Ludovico da Breme 65, not linked, as was generally the case at that time, to craft traditions or even to evolutions of manufacturers of horse-drawn carriages, but free to give vent to their own interpretative ideas of style and construction methods. Bianchi Anderloni, brother-in-law of Cesare Isotta and Vincenzo Fraschini, with whom he had matured his automotive knowledge, brought the experience of the most refined technique to the new company; Gaetano Ponzoni, who had left his banking career that had just begun, his administrative skills and his expertise as a scholar of the new problems of the automobile. Carrozzeria Touring started its activity in a factory in the immediate northern outskirts of Milan, a stone’s throw from the Portello where Alfa Romeo operated, almost in contact with the Italian Citröen and near via Monterosa, where the factory was. of Isotta Fraschini. In fact, the first prestigious Touring bodies were built on Isotta Fraschini and Alfa Romeo and the hunting and fishing cars for the Queen Margherita were built on Citröen.
The new imprint that the Touring bodywork wanted to give to its creatures obviously could not be limited to pure form, but also had to address the technical side of the project with the utmost care. The orientation towards that specialization was soon born, so well summarized by the motto that then always followed the brand: “weight is the enemy, air resistance is the obstacle”. The realization of great economy on the weights took place in two stages: the first step was the acquisition of the Weymann construction license, the second and definitive the “Superleggera” one. The Weymann system made it possible to replace the iron sheets, which were nailed to the rigid and heavy wooden frame (inheritance of horse-drawn carriages), with much lighter panels, in pegamoid, fixed to the body, also lightened in its structure because it is relieved of the task of supporting the sheets. The weak point of this construction, however, was constituted by the insufficiently reliable quality of the pegamoid, which tended, over time, to dry up and crack. This inconvenience, instead of worrying the Touring managers, stimulated them to study and create, around 1935-36, their own construction method, the Superleggera.
In the study of this structural system, Touring committed all the experience acquired by carrying out machining of airplane parts in its aeronautical department. So it was not difficult to adopt the same concepts and the latest technologies also to body shops, introducing the use of new materials and new techniques. The first appearance of a Touring, built with the Superleggera system, was at the 1000 Miglia in 1937, on an Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B which, driven by Giambattista Guidotti, finished first in the National Tourism category and fourth overall. The feature of the invention consisted in replacing the wooden structure of the body with a trellis of thin chromium-molybdenum steel tubes and covering it with panels in aluminum or other increasingly light and resistant alloys.
It was a real revolution, a reversal of tradition. Before, the body was elastically joined to the frame by rubber blocks, called Silent-blocks, now with the Superleggera it was the body that formed a whole with the frame, while the aluminum skin was little more than resting. Naturally, the other components of the bodywork were also simultaneously the subject of lightening studies, such as the adoption of Plexiglas instead of side windows, tubular structure seats and accessories always aimed at lightness. Beat the enemy weight brilliantly, the second part of the motto could not be forgotten: air resistance is the obstacle. Frequent contact with the aeronautical environment could only favor the acquisition of aerodynamic knowledge and create a mentality aimed at improving air penetration. Each new model was made in 1/10 or 1/5 scale and tested in the wind tunnel at Breda or at the Politecnico di Milano or in the plants of the client’s factories.
Not to be forgotten, what few know, the tunnel, even if not too sophisticated, that Touring, first of all the body shops, had installed inside its factory and which unfortunately was destroyed in the last war. The characteristics of lightness and “wind profiling” have accompanied the production of the Touring Superleggera for all its forty years of life, during which all the most important frames, luxurious or sporty, from the imposing ones of the Isotta Fraschini and Lancias Dialmbda and Astura to the slender and darting ones of Alfa Romeo, Bristol or Ferrari, were always dressed interpreting their characteristics and respecting their values, without ever distorting their peculiarities with unsuitable clothes. In the long list of Touring projects, however, a distinction cannot be made between sports cars and luxury cars, because the sports cars never lacked a touch of class and in the luxury ones there was always a touch of sportiness. A classic case in the history of Touring is the Ferrari Le Mans-type berlinetta, with which Giannino Marzotto won the 1950 1000 Miglia wearing a double-breasted suit and arriving very fresh in Brescia.
The Touring, which bodied cars of all Italian brands, from the best known to the now forgotten ones, did not neglect the prestigious foreign houses such as Bugatti, Mercedes, Talbot, Bristol, Pegaso, Hudson, Frazer-Nash, Aston Martin, Lagonda. But it does not pay to carry out the body shops for foreign houses and was able to ensure that, unique among all the body shops, these did not limit themselves to having the work carried out in Milan, but bought the patent and the know-how, or the Superleggera construction license. , to produce in their factories the bodies with the Touring Superleggera brand.
The first to secure this advantage was the English Bristol, who in 1947 turned to Touring to have the bodies designed and built and then requested the construction license to avoid the enormous transport costs between England and Italy. A similar agreement was signed, a few years later, with David Brown’s Aston Martin and Lagonda, which benefited from the excellent experience of Bristol. Even more innovative was the contract with the American Hudson of Detroit which, again to reduce transport costs, sent all the mechanical parts to Italy, in an infinite number of sub-assemblies, to be assembled. Touring technicians had to organize not only the production of the bodies but also the assembly of the chassis and mechanics, the tests, the tests and the shipment to America of the finished cars. Many years had to pass before this happened again with Pininfarina’s Cadillac Allantè. Something even more innovative was organized with the English group Rootes, which not only required the learning of new techniques and the installation of specific machinery, but also gave a push to accelerate the construction, which is already underway, of the new plant. of the Touring in Nova Milanese. It involved assembling two production models, the Hillman Super Minx and the Sunbeam Alpine, using the original parts, sometimes modified, and completing others, such as seats, carpets, panels. accessories and electrical parts, up to road testing and delivery to Rootes Italia. Something even more innovative was organized with the English group Rootes, which not only required the learning of new techniques and the installation of specific machinery, but also gave a push to accelerate the construction, which is already underway, of the new plant. of the Touring in Nova Milanese. It involved assembling two production models, the Hillman Super Minx and the Sunbeam Alpine, using the original parts, sometimes modified, and completing others, such as seats, carpets, panels. accessories and electrical parts, up to road testing and delivery to Rootes Italia. Something even more innovative was organized with the English group Rootes, which not only required the learning of new techniques and the installation of specific machinery, but also gave a push to accelerate the construction, which is already underway, of the new plant. of the Touring in Nova Milanese. It involved assembling two production models, the Hillman Super Minx and the Sunbeam Alpine, using the original parts, sometimes modified, and completing others, such as seats, carpets, panels. accessories and electrical parts, up to road testing and delivery to Rootes Italia. of the new Touring factory in Nova Milanese. It involved assembling two production models, the Hillman Super Minx and the Sunbeam Alpine, using the original parts, sometimes modified, and completing others, such as seats, carpets, panels. accessories and electrical parts, up to road testing and delivery to Rootes Italia. of the new Touring factory in Nova Milanese. It involved assembling two production models, the Hillman Super Minx and the Sunbeam Alpine, using the original parts, sometimes modified, and completing others, such as seats, carpets, panels. accessories and electrical parts, up to road testing and delivery to Rootes Italia.
The purpose of all this huge organization was to make a car to be placed in the MEC countries, from which England was still excluded, become Italian. The exclusive “Venezia” model was also created and produced for Rootes on a Sunbeam chassis. Many strange and unusual names have distinguished the most prestigious Touring models over time: Soffio di Satana, Fugientem Incurro Diem, Flying Star, Velocissima Curro, Praho, Thrill, Tibidabo, Venice, Italy. These names would bring the message of Italian genius to the streets of the world. The last name Flying Star II, with which an extraordinary model was baptized for the Lamborghini 400 GTV in October 1966, sadly closes the period of the “immortal Touring Superleggera”, which had radiantly opened with the Flying Star on Isotta Fraschini chassis. Touring ended its activity on 12/31/1966, forty years after its birth. Now, almost as a reward for what has been achieved in recent years, it is remembered and honored by all those connoisseurs of vintage cars who, with their passion, gather around the most beautiful cars and who find a further affirmation of another in the Touring. motto: “the Touring enjoys a reputation that use confirms and time consolidates”. The Touring Superleggera International Register was founded in Genoa, on the occasion of the Autostory 1995 show, specifically to bring together these connoisseurs. is remembered and honored by all those connoisseurs of vintage cars who, with their passion, gather around the most beautiful cars and who in the Touring find a further affirmation of another motto: “Touring enjoys a reputation that use confirms and time consolidates “. The Touring Superleggera International Register was founded in Genoa, on the occasion of the Autostory 1995 show, specifically to bring together these connoisseurs. is remembered and honored by all those connoisseurs of vintage cars who, with their passion, gather around the most beautiful cars and who in the Touring find a further affirmation of another motto: “Touring enjoys a reputation that use confirms and time consolidates “. The Touring Superleggera International Register was founded in Genoa, on the occasion of the Autostory 1995 show, specifically to bring together these connoisseurs.