Sergio Sartorelli

Sergio Sartorelli (Alessandria, 7 May 1928 – Torino, 28 November 2009) was an influential Italian automotive designer and engineer. During his career he worked at Carrozzeria Ghia, OSI, and finally Fiat. He is known for his work on Fiat 2300 S Coupé, Karmann Ghia Type 34.,[1][2] and the Fiat 126

Fiat 2300 S Coupe (2)
1966 Type 34 Karmann Ghia rear
White left hand drive Fiat 126 produced in 1973 6

Background

As a young teen Sartorelli had a passion for cars, trucks, trains, and even military vehicles. To mentally escape the depth of World War II he spent his time filling school notebooks with sketches and building scale wooden models of cars.

After the war he earned a degree in mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin in 1954 which was followed by 18 months of Military Service in as a cartographer. Even during his military service he able to do some sketch work for Carrozzeria Boano.

After his military service ended he was turned down by Boano and Pininfarina, but in 1956 was hired by Ing. Giovanni Savonuzzi at Ghia.[3]

Career

Ghia

Sergio Sartorelli's rise at Ghia was swift by 1957, when the Ing. Savonuzzi left the Ghia for Chrysler, Sartorelli became Head of the Style Prototypes. Sartorelli's rise came to a halt with the sudden and unexpected death of Luigi Segre, owner and chief stylist of Carrozzeria Ghia.

OSI

Officine Stampaggi Industriali (OSI) was set up as a parallel and complimentary company to Ghia and it was part owned by Luigi Segre. With the death of Segre the partnership disappeared and OSI was left with no styling department. After two years of a freelance relationship with Michelotti, OSI set up its own styling department called Centro Stile e Esperienze OSI, and appointed Sergio Sartorelli as its director. This arrangement lasted from 1965 until December 1967 when OSI reorganized.

Centro Stile Fiat

In 1968 what was left of Centro Stile e Esperienze OSI, became the Future Studies department at Centro Stile Fiat with Sergio Sartorelli as its head, it was entrusted with the study of design, automotive development, and modeling of prototypes for Fiat. By 1984 with the car market in crisis Fiat let Sergio Sartorelli go.

Vehicles designed

A sortable list of vehicles that Sergio Sartorelli either designed, contributed to, or oversaw:

Year Model Firm Notes
1957 Volkswagen 1200 Beetle Ghia prototype for Beetle replacement
1957 Fiat 1100/103 Coupe, Cabriolet, Giardinetta Ghia 1957 Turin Motor Show
1957 Ghia Crown Imperial limousine Ghia 1957-1963 collaboration with Chrysler Corp. design team[4]
1959 Karmann-Ghia Coupe Type 14 Ghia styling update[5]
1959 Ghia Selene I Ghia designed with Tom Tjaarda[6]
1960 Fiat 2300 S Coupé Ghia production model debut at 1961 Geneva Motor Show[7]
1960 Karmann-Ghia Coupe 1500 Type 34 Ghia 1961 debut, Frankfurt motor show[8]
1963 Fiat G230S Ghia prototype introduced at Turin Motor Show[9]
1966 Ford Taunus 20 MTS Coupé and Spider OSI Produced from 1966 to 1968, only one Spider was made.[10]
1972 Fiat 126 Fiat replacement for Fiat 500 introduced at Turin Motor Show
1978 Fiat Ritmo Fiat introduced at 1978 Turin Motor Show replace Fiat 128
Ghia-Fiat G230S

References

  1. ↑ "Mobil Legenda Bernama VW Karmann Ghia". Otomotif (in Indonesian). 29 June 2009. Retrieved 31 December 2009. English translation
  2. ↑ Keith Seume, Volkswagen Cars and Trucks
  3. ↑ "My experience in the car design with GHIA - OSI – FIAT". www.karmannghia.it. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  4. ↑ "The Story of Ghia & Chrysler". www.imperialclub.com. imperial club. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  5. ↑ "History of the Type 34 The Type 34 Karmann Ghia Story". http://www.type34.com. The Type 34 Registry. Retrieved 14 September 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  6. ↑ "Cars by Tom Tjaarda Catalogue raisonné, Opera omnia". http://www.tom-tjaarda.net. tom-tjaarda.net. Retrieved 14 September 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  7. ↑ "Fiat 2300 S Coupe Series 2". www.manro-classic.at. Manro - Classic Auto & Musik Museum. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  8. ↑ McCausland, Evan. "VW’s Forgotten Karmann Ghia Type 34 Turns 50" Check |url= value (help). http://www.automobilemag.com/features/news/throwback-thursday-vws-forgotten-karmann-ghia-type-34-turns-50-20945/. Automobile Magazine. Retrieved 11 September 2014. External link in |website= (help)
  9. ↑ Schroeder, Michael. "Ghia 230 S Prototype drive Prototype with birdcage genes". www.motor-klassik.de. Ströer Digital Media GmbH. Retrieved 11 September 2014.
  10. ↑ http://www.osi20mts.com http://www.osi20mts.com/contents/en-uk/d2.html. Retrieved 10 October 2014. Missing or empty |title= (help); External link in |website= (help)

External links

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