Fiat 1400 Cabriolet Ghia

Vehicle Overview

The Fiat 1400 Cabriolet by Carrozzeria Ghia was a limited-production, open-bodied variant of the Fiat 1400 platform, introduced in the early 1950s. The Fiat 1400, unveiled in 1950, was Fiat’s first postwar passenger car to adopt monocoque construction and marked the company’s shift toward modernized production and export-oriented design. The 1400 was powered by a front-mounted 1,395 cc inline four-cylinder engine, producing between 44 and 56 horsepower depending on the year of specification. It was paired with a four-speed manual gearbox and featured rear-wheel drive with independent front suspension. Carrozzeria Ghia, operating under the direction of Felice Mario Boano at the time, developed a cabriolet version on the 1400 chassis shortly after the base model’s release. The cabriolet configuration replaced the factory steel roof with a fabric folding top and incorporated revised coachwork, including a unique grille, modified rear quarters, and bespoke trim elements. The vehicle retained the unibody structure of the standard Fiat 1400, which limited structural alterations but allowed for a coherent integration of Ghia’s design modifications. The cabriolet was presented publicly at various Italian motor salons between 1950 and 1952. Ghia produced the vehicles either to private commission or in very limited commercial quantities. The exact number constructed remains undocumented. No distinct chassis numbering separate from Fiat’s factory numbering is known to have been assigned to these conversions. One known example was used as a screen vehicle in the 1955 film The Racers and was later registered in the United States. This example was subject to restoration in the early 21st century. Other examples may have been exported or retained within Italy, but no comprehensive registry exists. The Fiat 1400 Cabriolet by Ghia represents a transitional period in Italian coachbuilding, during which custom-bodied variants of mass-produced platforms coexisted with an increasingly standardized postwar automotive industry. While mechanically identical to the series-produced Fiat 1400, the Ghia cabriolet variant served a clientele seeking stylistic differentiation within the framework of industrially produced vehicles. Its rarity and limited documentation underscore the declining viability of small-series coachbuilding during the decade.