Vignale Gamine

The Vignale Gamine is a small rear-engined two-seat roadster built by the Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Vignale from 1967 until 1971. It was based on the platform of the Fiat 500F and used the air-cooled two-cylinder engine of 499.5 cc from that car, which gave 21.5 PS and a stated top speed of 97 km/h. The idea and the first orders came from Osvaldo Geminiani of Naples, owner of G.A.M. in Monte Carlo, and the styling was by Alfredo Vignale, who drew on the look of the 1930s Fiat 508 Balilla Coppa d'Oro. A hard top was available at extra cost and is now considered rare. The Gamine never met its sales expectations: slow sales, together with the bankruptcy of G.A.M., drove Carrozzeria Vignale out of business and forced Alfredo Vignale to sell the firm to De Tomaso, which went on to build the Pantera there.