The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
The ultimate italian coachbuilder site
Packard 120 Cabriolet is mounted on a 1939 One Twenty chassis. In 1949 Packard sent one of their car chassis to the Vignale coachbuilding company in Turin. The same year, this car was exhibited in Europe at many of the more prominent automobile salons.
In 1948, Packard, one of America’s finest luxury cars, was starting its decline. Meanwhile, Carrozzeria Vignale was a promising newcomer among Italian coachbuilders. The two came together to create this 1949 Packard Vignale Convertible Coupe. This is the only Vignale-bodied Packard. Registered as a 1948, it is mounted on a 1939 One Twenty chassis. It’s a mystery how Vignale obtained the prewar chassis, but the economy of using an older chassis probably appealed to a new firm in postwar Italy. It was exhibited at the 1950 Turin Auto Salon.
The story of Carrozzeria Vignale represents one of the many somewhat forgotten success stories born against the backdrop of an Italy that was torn apart by the Second World War and which, starting from the end of the 1950s, was able to recover enough to know a real miracle. economical just a few years later.
