I like Drogo bodied cars too. Some Bizzarrini designs were also bodied by Drogo, and all look great!! Best regards.
Designwise, Drogo did some very unconventional things. Many designers/coachbuilders strive to give a car some forward stance. They play with the curves of the fenders and the roof line. By placing the highest point of the fender curve slightly in front of the rear wheel axle, it looks like the car pushes itself forward. As a matter of speach, the car appears to have some very muscular hips. A quickly sloping roof line and a short rear overhang emphasise this effect. Look at the rear section of the Lotus Elise pictured below. Now Piero Drogo does exactly the opposite on many of his cars. The optical mass of the rear fenders is located just or way behind the rear axle. Together with a relatively high and long rear end and laid back and very low side windows, this gives the impression that the body can't keep up with the platform. The engine clearly looks to be on steroid, more than the body can handle. The engine and wheels almost tear the body apart if it wasn't for the wind penetrating front end. The Norinder body is one of the most extreme examples of this principle: rear fenders way back, long and high hatchback and a pretty big overhang. Almost like the way very fast cars are sketched in comic books! While most cars are designed to penetrate the wind, the Drogo cars are styled like they are shaped by the wind and preferably tend to dive under it. I love it. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks Michiel. While it takes some of the mystery out of the aesthetic your explanation is interesting.
One of the few modern day sportscars with a similar behind is the Porsche Cayman. See the proportions in the first picture. I don't think it is very fit for a mid engined car to have such a heavy behind, because the power literally IS just in front of the rear wheels and the body should show that. On front engined Drogos it's a different story. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Back to Drogo bodies. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Michiel, very insightful comments, and fantastic visual aids as well! Could you suggest any contemporary examples in auto design where Drogo's "reclined" style is used? _J
Not many... However, I got inspired. I took a 599 GTB and thought of a new styling with the principles seen on many of Drogo's cars. I didn't change the greenhouse, but tried to optically lower the waist line as much as possible. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Very nice. Make the wheelbase a little longer and lower the roof and you will be closer. One of the ugliest features of the modern cars is to me that most of them are too tall. One of the fantastic Maseratis A6GCS had its roof lowered by Pininfarina. The owner thought it would be even more beautiful. And it is. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
I wish I could, but I really wanted to stick to the 599's chassis structure. Unfortunately they don't build cars anymore like they used to.
More #3611GT : Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
#1717GT Original Long Nose and later with new shorter nose before beeing painted silver with blue stripe : Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Maserati Tipo 61 Drogo - chassis #02472 (white and blue livery at GP Nürburgring 1962, number #99) : Image Unavailable, Please Login
Maserati Tipo 61 Drogo - chassis #02472 - former Panini Museum Collection / Modena. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
While searching for something else, I ran across this old thread. Here are a few snaps of 0716TR (taken by my predecessor) and one of 0977GT actually in Drogo's shop, taken by me in 1971. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
0716TR now lives with a pontoon body at the Scottsdale Auto Museum. Not sure if I like the old Drogo body. Something about wind through the hair that makes it all better.
Sorry, I meant GTO.Was it in print what it sold for as a smashed up 250GTO? Or in the Drogo bpdy? I just want to hear a price from Road & Track or Competition Press back before it was rebodied as a 250GTO and thus more desirable again. By the way I thought I saw the Drogo version at a shop on LaBrea about 30-40 years ago run by a Japanese man who was quite hostile to visitors and would launch a rather large dog at them which discouraged my inquiries. first name may have been Jack.This was on lower LaBrea or Cahuenga, about 6 blocks below Hollywood Blvd. The car was primer gray at the time.
Wrong! - PF made 4 cars - 2 of them were "high roof" and 2 "low roof". They did not only lower the roof - they made the entire coachwork for the cars!