Celebrating the Art of Italian Coachbuilding
Celebrating the Art of Italian Coachbuilding
The Cisitalia 202 by Stabilimenti Farina.
The Cisitalia 202 Coupé by Stabilimenti Farina constitutes one of the earliest and least widely known interpretations of the 202 chassis, a model that would later achieve renown through its association with Pinin Farina. Constructed between 1947 and 1949, the version executed by Stabilimenti Farina reflects a more restrained and classical design ethos, grounded in prewar formal language, and distinct from the modernist approach that later defined the model’s popular perception. Mechanically, the vehicle retained the standard configuration of the Cisitalia 202, employing a Fiat-derived 1,089 cc inline-four engine equipped with a single downdraft carburetor, producing approximately 55 horsepower. Power was transmitted to the rear wheels via a four-speed manual gearbox. The chassis comprised a tubular spaceframe, constructed in steel, with independent front suspension and a rigid rear axle suspended on leaf springs. Braking was achieved through hydraulic drums at all four corners. The coachwork by Stabilimenti Farina diverged markedly from its Pinin Farina counterpart. The body featured separate fender volumes, a pronounced upright grille flanked by freestanding headlamps, and a more vertical windshield. The roofline was taller, with greater headroom, and the overall volume of the body was fuller, lacking the visual integration of wings and cabin that would later define the canonical Cisitalia form. The result was a vehicle aesthetically aligned with high-prestige prewar gran turismos, favoring elegance over aerodynamic reduction. Production numbers remain unconfirmed, but surviving documentation suggests that no more than thirty examples of the Stabilimenti Farina-bodied 202 were constructed. Chassis numbers followed Cisitalia’s standard sequence, and no separate designation was applied for coachbuilder identity. Individual vehicles were subject to minor variation in trim and detailing, owing to the artisanal methods employed. Provenance records are fragmentary, though a limited number of units have been traced to European and North American collections. The Cisitalia 202 Coupé by Stabilimenti Farina, while overshadowed in historiographic and critical discourse by the Pinin Farina design, offers a parallel interpretation of the postwar Italian sports coupé. Its form, traditional in posture and execution, reflects a transitional moment wherein coachbuilders navigated between established luxury idioms and emerging concepts of aerodynamic modernity.
The Cisitalia 202 is particularly important to automotive history both because it was the first car in the world to be permanently exhibited in a modern art museum, the MoMA in New York, and because it can be considered the first example of the postwar Italian-style granturismo.
