Carrozzeria Vignale

Carrozzeria Vignale was an Italian coachbuilder founded in Turin in 1948 by Alfredo Vignale, who led it until his death in a car crash in November 1969. It built bodies on chassis supplied by Fiat, Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia, Alfa Romeo, Cisitalia and other makers, usually in small numbers, and it also made low-volume variants of Fiat cars under its own name, among them the Vignale Gamine based on the Fiat 500. Giovanni Michelotti worked closely with the firm until 1962, and later designs came from Virginio Vairo. In 1969 the company passed to De Tomaso, and when Ford took over the De Tomaso interests in 1973 the coachbuilding business ended, although Ford kept the name. Ford of Europe later revived Vignale as an upscale sub-brand, beginning with the 2015 Mondeo.