The automotive world loses a magician of Italian coachbuilding - Sergio Scaglietti
Sergio Scaglietti was born in Milan on January 9, 1920. He lost his father at the age of thirteen and from then on had to help support the family. He therefore learned the trade of coachbuilding in a workshop. As Scaglietti soon mastered this art to perfection and his workshop was not far from the entrance to Enzo Ferrari's car factory in Modena, he was also entrusted with repairing damaged Ferraris. Legend has it that the cars looked better afterwards than before.
Ferrari's son Dino therefore brought him a 166 MM for reworking, which was to become the forerunner of many famous racing and sports cars with the "Cavallino Rampante". Scaglietti and Ferrari were thus closely linked from the early days of the Scuderia. Founded in 1951, Carrozzeria Scaglietti delivered masterpieces such as the Monza Spider Scaglietti and 500 Mondial from 1954 or the 250 GT California, GTO or Testa Rossa at the end of the 1950s and beginning of the 1960s.
There is a myth surrounding the Testa Rossa that the famous model designation was the result of a mishap. During the production of the prototype, the black paint for the engines ran out and Scaglietti had to consult Enzo Ferrari about what to do in this situation. He asked what other color was available? The answer was "red". The Commendatore replied: "Then just paint the engine red and call the car "Testa Rossa"!"
Legendary magician of the art of coachbuilding
Scaglietti's ability to nail a mudguard over a sandbag or a piece of wood using only his well-trained eye and a hammer was also legendary. For many cars, he simply had the idea in his head, and it was turned directly into steel and iron or aluminum without paper or pencil. One example of this would be the Chevrolet Corvette Scaglietti, which was created around 1960.
Carrozzeria Scaglietti was integrated into Ferrari in the 1970s and later also into the Fiat Group and still builds bodies today. Because Sergio Scaglietti was undoubtedly an important building block of the Ferrari legend, he was honored in 2004 by giving the new Ferrari 612 the nickname Scaglietti.
Sergio Scaglietti retired from active business in the mid-1980s and died on November 20, 2011 in Modena at the age of 91.
