Carrozzeria Viotti

The Carrozzeria Viotti was an Italian coachbuilding company active between 1921 and 1964. Reborn at the dawn of the millennium, the Carrozzeria Viotti is one of the world's centers of excellence in the production of models, prototypes and small series of vehicles.

History

The history of Carrozzeria Viotti centres on its founder Vittorino Viotti. Born in 1901, he became an entrepreneur at the tender age of 20, founding a body shop with his partner Tolfo in 1921. The two opened at 9 Via Ilarione Petitti, not far from the first Fiat factory in Corso Dante. With about a dozen specialized mechanics, they built luxury chassis based on the traditions of the time: that is, fulfilling the desires of individual customers, not sufficiently satisfied by the proposals of the major carmakers, and wanting a more refined and exclusive product, built according to their specific wishes. Thanksto a savvy combination of technical and sales abilities, ‘Viotti & Tolfo’ quickly became one of the best-known brands in its sector and produced some of the most beautiful custom-built chassis in Italy in the 1920s. However, to expand their activity further, they needed to radically change their approach. So in 1930, the company became a joint stock company named Società Anonima Carrozzeria Viotti and the founder became its director, moving it to a larger building, at Corso Stupinigi 35. This was a necessary step to grow from high-quality craftsmanship to the excellent industrial quality that would characterize subsequent decades. Indeed, Viotti realized that the time for large luxury custom-built vehicles was almost over, pushed out by the 1929 economic crisis. To survive and grow, he needed to change his strategy and, with lucid entrepreneurial intuition, he understood that the solution was to combine the craftsmanship developed up to that point with production in small series of specific standard types of vehicles. During that period, he began working with carmakers that saw in Carrozzeria Viotti the ideal partner to produce special models requiring the care of a specialized shop and which could not be produced in large factories. The first illustrious example is the splendid Fiat 525 SS sports car, which Fiat asked Viotti to produce the chassis in 1930. The following year saw the birth of the first car with relatively contained costs to be purchased by the middle class. It was ideal for Viotti’s standardized creation: the Fiat 508 ‘Balilla’, an attractive, modern and aerodynamic version. It was so successful that Fiat, late in renewing its own model, decided to insert it in its own line for a brief period along with its standard version. Viotti’s collaboration with Italy’s largest carmaker continued throughout the 1930s with the production of the standard versions of the 508 C/1100 with an open chassis, the elegant Cabriolet and the sporty Spider. At the same time, Viotti continued to produce its own custom models, equipping the most important cars of the period: not only the Fiat lines, from the tiny 500 ‘Topolino’ to the huge 2800, including the extremely successful and sporty cars based on the 1500, as well as prestigious models made by Alfa Romeo and Lancia, based on the Augusta, Aprilia and Artena. By specific request, Viotti continued to create unique models, exclusive cars for private customers, as well as special chassis for various uses, from the first service vehicles for EIAR (Italy’s radio authority) to racing cars made by Siata, which were also used by Vittorio Mussolini, one of the sons of the Duce, and the record-breaking Maserati 4CM used by Giuseppe Furmanik in 1937 when he broke the record for vehicles with a 1500 cc engine. This variety of vehicles shows how very specialized and professional Viotti’s body shop had become. With the explosion of the World War II, Carrozzeria Viotti was called to serve the war effort and assigned military production, which took advantage of its very unique skills. It was responsible for equipping the special versions of the Lancia Artena intended for officers of the Royal Army. The body shop on Corso Stupinigi was completely destroyed, however, during one of the English bombing missions of Turin and the business had to be temporarily moved to buildings located on Corso Bramante provided by Fiat. After the end of the war came a time of total devastation, with few raw materials available. Vittorino Viotti decided to start all over again. He moved to a new factory on Corso IV Novembre and restarted his activity with a clear analysis of the demands of the market at that very critical time. During the reconstruction period, above all, Italy needed mobility and Viotti believed that the answer could be a practical type of vehicle, one that was easy to build, and that could transport a good quantity of goods or five or six people: and so the idea for the Giardinetta was born. Its wooden chassis was quite economical, the material was easy to find and could also be mounted on he old Fiat 1100s and Lancia Aprilias still on the road. It was a huge success, and the Giardinetta formula was soon imitated by many competitors and became a trend in a few short years. After the original 1100s, Viotti expanded its line to include all kinds of vehicles, from the little Fiat 615 bus to the prestigious Lancia Aurelia B51 and Alfa Romeo 6C 2500. The production of the luxury version of the Giardinetta shows how what had begun as a way to satisfy incidental needs had become, in the eyes of the public, a model that was also successful for its aesthetics. In the early 1950s, however, production in wood was no longer considered modern with respect to chassis made entirely of metal, so Viotti developed its line in a different way, with new models. In those years, Carrozzeria Viotti was once again working on standard vehicles for carmakers: in 1951, it won a contract for the first 100 copies of the famous Lancia Aurelia B20 Gran Turismo and would also later produce the coupé version of the Appia for Pininfarina. Naturally, when Lancia decided to produce a family version of this model, it turned once again to Viotti, since the Giardinetta had become a synonym of elegance and practicality. In 1956, Vittorino Viotti suddenly and unexpectedly died, at just 55 years of age. The company’s management was handed over to his cousin Francesco Viotti who extended production to new models, adding some reasonably priced sports cars based on standard Fiat models: first the Granluce based on the 600 and then the Gran Turismo 1100/1200. The custom sports vehicles business was expanded in the late 1950s with models derived from the six-cylinder Fiat 1800/2100 and from the powerful Fiat 1500 with its OSCA DOHC engine. Along with standard models, Viotti also built a number of unique vehicles for presentation at car shows, each time highlighting its ability to create special chassis. In 1961, the final Giardinetta was born, based on the new Fiat 1300 and 1500 saloons. Unfortunately, the market for custom vehicles was ending due to a crisis that would lead to the closure of most carmakers in the sector. Therefore, in 1964, this first part of history of Carrozzeria Viotti stops, to reborn now towards a great future.

Carrozzeria Viotti Today

Carrozzeria Viotti now reborn, thanks to a culture and school of thought that has always focussed on excellence, is today one of the few centres specialising in the construction of models and prototypes of extreme quality, in Turin, the home of automobile excellence. The in-depth knowledge of the vast world of model making and modelling and the continuous experimentation with new technologies are VIotti’s added value that over the years has helped them to meet the most varied demands, overcoming obstacles that have stopped others in their tracks. In these decades of activity, Carrozzeria Viotti has always stood apart for the confidentiality and privacy they guarantee their customers. For Viotti, every client is its most important client, which means that those who choose to work with Viotti enjoy the privilege of being received in a company different than all others: they place respect and human values above all else. Carrozzeria Viotti is one of the very few companies in Italy able to offer all the services of a true decentralised R&D centre, offering advantages in terms of technical and economic efficiency, as well as development time savings. Thanks to its almost half-century long experience in the modelling and prototyping sector, VIOTTI can guarantee surprising results in terms of quality and cost saving. The services the company offers its clients range from product studies, to creative designs (if required), to concept creation, to design, including validation and certification, bringing to life the ideas developed by the designers, style centres, research and development departments of car makers from around the world, performing all types of activities working towards the prototyping and pre-industrialisation phases. Viotti is a veritable workshop of excellence, able to create custom vehicles for its clients. They build many of the futuristic show cars that glitter under the spotlights at car shows, and prototypes and research models based on the demands of international style centres. Working prototypes made of sheet metal, aluminium or carbon fibre. They have focussed their investments on skills and human resources, which means they can offer a broad range of products and solutions. Thanks to the in-house high-tech equipment they have developed, Viotti offers its clients advanced prototyping services. Viotti can produce anything from one-offs to small series, of automobiles or commercial vehicles with combustion or electric propulsion engines. Customised cars, limousines with long wheelbases, special transport vehicles, vehicles for the handicapped and restorations of vintage cars. Viotti’s specialised team understands their clients’ demands, working in a true creative lab, thanks to its constantly evolving know-how to offer product engineering styling services. They are constantly milling and hand modelling models made of clay, epowood, resin and plaster for their clients. From scale models to full 1:1, see-through and openable models. Models of complete interiors with colour and trim, using the finest rapid prototyping technologies for specific elements. They also model and prototype products for industrial design.

Cars by Viotti

• Fiat 525
• Alfa Romeo 1500
• Alfa Romeo 8C 2300 Coupè (see photo)
• Lancia Dilambda
• Fiat 508 Balilla
• Fiat 1100 Giardinetta
• Lancia Aurelia B51 Giardinetta
• Fiat 600 Coupé
• Bristol 407

External links

• website