I saw a 1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic at Gooding and Company in Scottsdale in January. Don't have any info on it though. I just remembered I had pictures of it on this computer, here it is: Image Unavailable, Please Login
There wasn't anyone near the car so I didn't get a chance to chat about it. Which is unfortunate since I knew nothing about Supersonics at the time; don't know the history on this one...
(disregard 1st photo) A shot of the "Conrero" and another of Lana's 39 pulled from the internet. Ok, so the "Conrero" was an Alfa Supersonic, not a Fiat, nor Aston, nor Jaguar. So, that makes a total 15 Supersonics... Was the Conrero 'badged' as an Alfa? Image Unavailable, Please Login
It was the first Supersonic model, designed by Savonuzzi and built by Ghia. The car was indeed badged as an Alfa, though it used a Fiat 1400 front axle and a Lancia Aurelia rear axle. It had a Alfa 1900 tuned engine. It participated in the 1953 Mille Miglia under the name Conrero-Alfa Romeo 1900 Supersonic. The photos show the rolling chassis, the car in the making at the Ghia factory and the start at the Mille Miglia. Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks. I can definitely see the Alfa badge on the hood. The Conrero body was destroyed and then rebodied, I assume, into another Supersonic?
No, a new body, originally equipped with a conopy roof, designed by "Koren", was put on the chassis, probably also made by Ghia. In this form the car started in the 1954 Mille Miglia (photo). Today this car survives as a barchetta, the Koren car without the canopy roof. Image Unavailable, Please Login
Thanks. The front nose of the Fiat appears to be slightly different than its Alfa counterpart. Not just the grill treatment. The Fiat appears to be slightly more rounded than the Alfa.
Let's revive this topic. Do you have more info on 43? Was recently seen during Interclassics Maastricht (and pebble beach 2017)? Seems that this one can also be added to the list. Or something wrong with this one?
Image Unavailable, Please Login This one showed up at a Fiat Lancia Unlimited gathering a few years back.
That's quite interesting Could you indeed share some of your knowledge with us? Waited all day for this to arrive in Maastricht. This car is pure perfection. Image Unavailable, Please Login
I can share this: Paul Farago and Howard Darrin visited the 1953 Paris salòn. Here they met Luigi Segre, who was the Ghia boss and an old friend of Farago since the WWII. Farago bought the #036 there, while Darrin, invited by Segre to visit the factory, bought the #039 and the #043 in Turin. Darrin sold the 8Vs during the II World motor show of NY, thanks to his contacts: the #039 to Lana Turner, who gave it back a month later for a KF161 and the difference in money; the #043 to Briggs S.Cunningham II, who wanted it for his wife Lucie. Mrs. Cunningham drove the car for less than a year . At least his husband sold it to a dealer in Hartford, CT. The famous photo appeared also in a book, shows the car in front of the Cunningham residence (Florida), but people in the car were added later (it's a photomontage.). Darrin is behind the wheel and the passenger is Mrs. Cunningham. Image Unavailable, Please Login
1953 Fiat 8V Supersonic by Ghia - chassis 53 12/8/23 - https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/ny23/new-york/lots/r0011-1953-fiat-8v-supersonic-by-ghia/1421362 Image Unavailable, Please Login . Image Unavailable, Please Login . Image Unavailable, Please Login .
Nice car, it's the second 8V Supersonic auctioned this year. Here is the other: https://rmsothebys.com/en/auctions/mo23/monterey/lots/r0122-1953-fiat-8v-supersonic-by-ghia/1362398
Such stunners. I remember two on display in the entrance lobby of the Blackhawk museum…decades ago. They are up there in my all time favorite designs of that era.
It's an huge price for a car with no history. This confirms to me the beauty of the design (Savonuzzi) and the quality of the restoration.
RM Sotheby's - Monterey 2024 https://rmsothebys.com/auctions/mo24/lots/r0155-1953-fiat-8v-supersonic-by-ghia/ Beauty Image Unavailable, Please Login .
