Carrozzeria Touring was established in 1926, and was a design and manufacturer of automobile body works in Milan, Italy. The company also has an independent existence until 1965. Carrozzeria Touring became well known for both the beauty of its designs and patented superleggera construction methods, which reflected in the name of the company in 1945, Carrozzeria Touring Supperleggera. In the beginning Touring built a body by making use of the Weymann lightweight construction, and later with his own patented superleggera frame technology.
In 1949, there was the first Mille Miglia victory for Ferrari, with a 166 Barchetta Touring. In the same year there was also the 24 hours of Le Mans and the 24 hours of spa-Francorchamps, and both contributed to a victory by Chinetti in a Ferrari Touring. Touring has built cars on the chassis of particular Milan-based brands, such as Isotta Fraschini, Alfa Romeo and Ferrari. But also several Lamborghini’s, (350gt, 400gt, and the Flying Star), Lancia’s, Pegaso’s and Aston Martin’s (like the DB4 and DB5).
After the firm ceased production in 1966, Carlo Felice Bianchi ‘Cici’ Anderloni (automobile designer Carrozzeria Touring) and Carrozzeria Marazzi (the company was established by Carlo Marazzi and employees from the then bankrupt Carrozzeria Touring) preserved the ‘Touring Superleggera’ trademark and used it on several occasions to support the company’s heritage.
In 2006 its brands and trademarks were purchased by Zeta Europe BV, a Dutch group of private investors, headed by Paul Koot, specializing in high-end automotive makes – like iconic wheels-manufacture Borrani, and Carrozzeria Granturismo. A newly created firm, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera S.r.l. was established in Milan to provide automotive design, engineering, coachbuilding, homologation services, non-automotive industrial design, and restoration of historic vehicles.
Our job is our passion. Big reveal coming soon!
Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera
At the 2008 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, Touring debuted the Bellagio Fastback Touring, based on the Maserati Quattroporte and the A8 GCS Berlinetta Touring, also powered by a Maserati drivetrain, and winner of the ‘Most Beautifull Car of the Year’ at Festival Automobile International in Paris, 2009. Both cars are available on reguest. At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show, Bentley Continental Touring Flying Star premiered: a shooting-brake model based on the Bentley Continental GTC, coach built in limited series, with the endorsement of Bentley. In 2011, it was followed by Gumpert Tornante by Touring, a superfast Grand Tourer – based on the Gumpert Apollo – commissioned by the German sports car manufacturer.
On the stage of 2012 Geneva Motor Show, Touring Superleggera showcased a static style model based on the space-frame chassis of the Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione. It was a tribute to the C52 Disco Volante, a racing car with Touring Superleggera designed body introduced in 1952. The name in Italian stands for ‘Flying Saucer’. It represents one of the most iconic cars of the history of automobile. The Disco Volante was very streamlined, windtunnel tested and with the body built on a tubular space frame. The C52 shocked the crowd for its utterly out-of-the-ordinary design, influencing the automobile design for decades.
One year later in 2013, the style model gave birth to the Alfa Romeo 8C Touring Disco Volante, a bespoke car limited-series of eight units that won that year’s Design Award at Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este. The car is able to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 4.2 seconds and can reach a top speed of 291 km/h (181 mph).
Revealed in 2014, Mini Superleggera Vision is a concept car created in collaboration with the BMW Group. It is an electric roadster blending British style with Italian coachbuilding tradition. Anders Warming, head of MINI design and Touring Superleggera merged their teams to explore new design languages for the British brand. Sadly, as far its known, only one has been build, but you never know with the Carrozzeria, when you order one, you get one….
The beautiful Touring Berlinetta Lusso appeared in 2015. It is a street legal two-seater coupe featuring a three-volume form based on Ferrari F12 Berlinetta. Carrozzeria Touring developed the car on a client’s request. Like all modern Touring Superleggera models, the Berlinetta Lusso has coachbuilt bodywork with each body panel of the car made from hand beaten aluminium with carbon fibre. The Touring Berlinetta Lusso will be built in 5 units.
After the huge succes of the Alfa Romeo 8C Disco Volante, it wasn’t a suprise a spyder version was presented at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016. A limited series of only seven cars will be manufactured. The Disco Volante Spyder is based on Alfa Romeo 8C Spider chassis.
The Artega Scalo Superelletra debuted at the 2017 Geneva Auto Show. The car’s name combines that of the earlier Artega Scalo with a portmanteau of the Italian Superleggera and elettrica, indicating light weight and electric drive. Designed by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera, the new car was longer than the original Scalo and featured a new carbon-fibre monocoque chassis. Motive power is still electric, with a quartet of motors, one at each wheel, capable of producing a total of 760.6 kW (1,020 hp). The car is to carry the driver and two passengers, seated three-abreast with the driver in the middle.
Launched in 2018, the Touring Sciàdipersia was inspired by a bespoke high performance Maserati built by Touring Superleggera in 1958 for the then Shah of Iran. This car became known as the Scià di Persia. The Sciàdipersia is a four-seater fuoriserie coupe. A modern manifestation of the romance of travel, evoking the ethos of the Orient Express on four wheels, it is large, powerful, luxurious, but cleverly designed to disguise its size. Mastery of design and craftsmanship lighten the appearance, adding an ethereal, diaphanous quality. The Sciàdipersia is based on the Maserati GranTurismo rolling chassis. Touring recreates the association with a royal gran turismo Maserati to deliver the exclusive pleasure of a car designed to the owner’s individual taste. Stunning beauty, exclusivity, quality of execution, heritage and a noble mechanical base assure the fortunate owner of an increase in the value of their investment over time.
Sciàdipersia is the paradigm of the art of coach building. It is hand-built exclusively to order, in a strictly limited edition of no more than 10 examples.
Their most recent project, Touring Sciàdipersia Cabriolet 2019, the company-with-the-long-name is, once again, is particularly associated with the Maserati GranTurismo. The Sciàdipersia Cabriolet is an open-top grand tourer, which recreates the luxury and elegance synonymous with the Golden Age of Motoring. Four full-sized seats allow all occupants to enjoy their journey in supreme comfort, while the driver has the pleasure of harnessing the immense and smoothly-delivered power from one of the last great atmospheric V8 engines and reveling in its glorious soundtrack. It is coach built in Milano in very limited series, a total of only 15 will be built (Coupé + Cabriolet) to suit the wish and taste of knowledgeable collectors. – most of them would be Cabriolet’s I think.
Just a few coachbuilders are able to design and build such a remarkable, yet attractive cars as the Italian Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. And even today, in this difficult times, the Italian Carrozzeria brings us good news, they revealed us a teaser. Soon they will present us a new masterpiece: the Berlinetta Aero.
Come into the beautiful world of Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera.
Yakymour 