The Snow White coffin of the fifties
10/18/2024
Anyone who believes that the Volvo 1800 ES deserves its nickname has not yet seen what coachbuilder Sabilimenti Monviso presented at the 1954 Turin Motor Show. The upper half of the "Stella Filante" shown there was made almost entirely of acrylic glass. But the real highlight was that the transparent hood could be removed, leaving only the panoramic windscreen and creating a beautiful two-seater spider.
Underneath was the technology of a Fiat 1100 TV, which was then refitted in Corso Unione Sovetica 75 - just a few streets away from the Fiat plant in Lingotto - based on a design by Giovanni Michelotti. For those for whom the "shooting star" was too unconventional - and it was for most visitors to the show - Monviso also presented an ordinary coupé and a convertible with a fabric top.
Founded in 1944 by Alessandro Casalis and named after a mountain in the Cottian Alps, Monviso was one of the countless small coachbuilders that sprang up everywhere in post-war Italy. The Michelotti-Millecento was one of the last independent works of the small company. From January 1955, it belonged to Ghia and from then on produced the bodies for their small series models.
