The clear leader

This humble 1950 Fiat 1100 was coach built by Castagna with a radical panoramic windscreen. Massimo Delbò enjoys a new perspective from the driving seat

-  Massimo Delbò

Italy, 1950. The country was recovering from the Second World War, chasing scarce funds with positive energy and imagination. Though unaware of it, many were building the foundations of what, within ten years, would become the Italian economic boom, propelling the country to new wealth. Yet very few could dream of a car, and even the wealthy couldn't run to the equivalent of what they drove before the war. Gone were the big eight-cylinder cars, such as the Fiat 2.8 or Lancia Astura; even Alfa Romeo's 6C 2500 - the only large car resurrected after the conflict - was replaced that year by the much smaller four-cylinder Alfa 1900.

Also in 1950, and over in Turin, Fiat launched its new flagship, the 1400, half the size of its pre-war range-topper. Fiat's medium car had since 1937 been the 1100, evolved in several series to become the 'E' version in 1949. It wore a new face but still sported a separate chassis and the same 1089cc four-cylinder engine, made just slightly more powerful thanks to a new carburettor. Its most important technical novelty was a hydraulic brake system, and its method of construction still lent itself to coachbuilding.

Independent coachbuilders had to reinvent themselves, moving from one-off concepts to a more productive approach, manufacturing special versions such as convertibles or coupés in small series. Some were doing very well indeed, with names such as Pinin Farina and including Bertone flourishing; others, Stabilimenti Farina and Carrozzeria Castagna, found themselves unable to adapt and would soon become a memory. Farina closed in 1953 and Castagna followed in 1954.