Dante Giacosa
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Dante Giacosa (born January 3, 1905 in Rome , † March 21, 1996 in Turin ) was an Italian automobile designer.
Dante Giacosa studied mechanical engineering in Turin from 1922 to 1927 . In 1926 he went to Fiat and developed aircraft engines. Then he switched to car construction. From 1933 he designed the Italian “Volkswagen” Fiat 500 Topolino , presented at the automobile exhibition in Berlin in 1936. For over 35 years he shaped Fiat's model range, initially with conventional vehicles such as the Fiat 508 C “Nuova Balilla” (1937). After the war, the type 103 "1100" (1953) appeared, which was built in India as Prime Minister Padmini until 1999 , then with the rounded, then modern rear-engined Fiat 600 (1955) and Fiat Nuova 500 (1957).
His Fiat 124 (1966), with over 20 million units, is the most built car in the world if you count all the examples produced under license. It was built in the Soviet Union (WAS), Spain (Seat), Turkey (Tofaş) and India (Premier) and assembled in other countries.
From the 1950s onwards, Giacosa constructed prototypes with front-wheel drive, but Fiat stuck to conventional Fromt engines and rear-wheel drive. It was only Giacosa's design for the Autobianchi Primula that went into series production in 1964 and was the first car with a transverse engine and the unevenly long drive shafts that are now widely used. The Primula was the forerunner of the modern smaller vehicle types from the Fiat group, which appeared in rapid succession from the end of the 1960s: Autobianchi A112 , Fiat 128 and 127 . The larger models such as the Fiat 1400 / 1900 , the Fiat 1300 / 1500 , Fiat 1800 / 2300 and the Fiat 130 back to Giacosa. Between 1947 and 1967 he was Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Turin .
In 1959 he received the Compasso d'Oro for his work .
In 1970 Giacosa ended his work as an employee at Fiat, but remained an advisor to the general management. In 1981 the Art Center College of Design awarded him an honorary doctorate.
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| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Giacosa, Dante |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Italian automobile designer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | January 3, 1905 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Rome |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 21, 1996 |
| Place of death | Turin |