Superleggera (Italian for Superlight) is a custom tube and alloy panel automobile coachwork construction technology developed by Felice Bianchi Anderloni of Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. A separate chassis was still required.
Touring licensed Charles Weymann's system of fabric-covered lightweight frames, which led to Touring’s own superleggera construction. [1] Patented by Carrozzeria Touring in 1936, the superleggera system consists of a structural framework of small-diameter steel tubes that conform to an automobile body's shape and are covered by thin alloy body panels that strengthen the framework. Aside from light weight, the superleggera construction system allows great design and manufacturing flexibility, enabling coachbuilders to quickly construct innovative body shapes. The superleggera tubes were brazed to shape on a jig and the panels were then fitted over this. The panels are only attached at their edges, mostly by swaging the panel edges over angle-section strips on the steel framework. Most of the panel has no rigid or metal-to-metal contact with the framework, it merely rests on it, with the tubes wrapped in hessian or with a rubber spacer. [2]
The superleggera system was primarily based on the use of 'Duralumin',[ citation needed ] a material that originated in the Zeppelin industry prior to World War I. The company was located just north of Milan, near Alfa Romeo, Italian Citroën, and the former Isotta Fraschini plant. The first superleggera bodyworks were made for these companies. In England after World War II, the alloy Birmabright was used, as it was stiffer in thin sheets and more widely available.
The superleggera system is no longer used in specialty automobile production for a number of reasons. Primarily, a superleggera body cannot meet modern impact resistance standards, and the cost of manufacture and galvanic corrosion between the aluminum body panels and the steel tubular frame are also prohibitive factors. Additionally, the frame tubes used to construct a superleggera body are too small and of unsuitable material for mounting suspension components, so a chassis is required, a disadvantage not found in unibody and other chassis systems. Car makers such as Bristol, which had aircraft industry experience, were more successful in countering galvanic corrosion than other manufacturers. [3] [4] Bristol introduced Superleggera construction on the Bristol 401 of 1948. [2]
Superleggera is a trademark owned by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera s.r.l., the modern incarnation of the firm that patented the system in 1936.
Carrozzeria Touring licensed the superleggera construction system to Aston Martin, which designed and manufactured superleggera bodywork for the DB4 and DB5. [5] [6] Several other manufacturers created automobiles using Carrozzeria Touring's superleggera construction technology. Notable examples include:
A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving with performance and luxury. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement. Grand tourers are often the coupé derivative of luxury saloons or sedans. Some models, such as the Ferrari 250 GT, Jaguar E-Type, and Aston Martin DB5, are considered classic examples of gran turismo cars.
Zagato is a coachbuilding company founded by Ugo Zagato in 1919. The design center of the company is located in Terrazzano, a village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy.
Vignale is the luxury car sub-brand of Ford Motor Company used in automobiles sold in Europe. The former company Carrozzeria Alfredo Vignale was an Italian automobile coachbuilder established in 1948 at Via Cigliano, Turin, by Alfredo Vignale (1913–69). After its founder's death in 1969, Carrozzeria Vignale was acquired by De Tomaso. The studio ceased operation in 1973, but ownership of the name was taken over by Ford Motor Company.
The Aston Martin DB5 is a British grand tourer (GT) produced by Aston Martin and designed by Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Originally produced from 1963 to 1965, the DB5 was an evolution of the final series of DB4. The "DB" designation is from the initials of David Brown who built up the company from 1947 onwards.
Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera is an Italian automobile coachbuilder. Originally established in Milan in 1925, Carrozzeria Touring became well known for both the beauty of its designs and patented superleggera construction methods. The business folded in 1966. In 2006 its brands and trademarks were purchased and a new firm was established nearby to provide automotive design, engineering, coachbuilding, homologation services, non-automotive industrial design, and restoration of historic vehicles.
The Aston Martin DB6 is a grand tourer made by British car manufacturer Aston Martin and was produced from September 1965 to January 1971. The "DB" designation is from the initials of David Brown who built up the company from 1947 onwards.
The DB4 is a grand tourer that was produced by Aston Martin from 1958 until 1963. The "DB" designation came from Sir David Brown, who built up the company from 1947 onwards.
The Lagonda Rapide is a hand built full-sized luxury four-door grand tourer which was produced by Aston-Martin from 1961 until 1964.
The Lamborghini Flying Star II was a one-off concept car built by Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera in 1966 on a Lamborghini 400 GT chassis. It debuted at the 1966 Turin Auto Show.
The Alfa Romeo 1900 is an automobile produced by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1950 until 1959. Designed by Orazio Satta, it was an important development for Alfa Romeo as the marque's first car built entirely on a production line and first production car without a separate chassis. It was also the first Alfa Romeo offered with left-hand drive. The car was introduced at the 1950 Paris Motor Show.
The Maserati 3500 GT and the Maserati 3500 GT Spyder are 2-door coupé and convertible grand tourers made by Italian car manufacturer Maserati between 1957 and 1964. It was a seminal vehicle for Maserati as the company's first successful attempt at the Gran Turismo market and series production.
The Ferrari 166 Inter was Ferrari's first true grand tourer. An evolution of the 125 S and 166 S racing cars, it was a sports car for the street with coachbuilt bodies. The Inter name commemorated the victories claimed in 166 S models by Scuderia Inter. 38 units of the 166 Inter were built from 1948 through 1950. Note that both the 166 S and 166 F2 were also called "166 Inter" in the days that they were actively raced by the Scuderia of the same name.
The Maserati 5000 GT is a 2-door coupé grand tourer, made by Italian automobile manufacturer Maserati from 1959–1966. A total of thirty-four were produced with bodies made by eight different Italian coach builders.
The Alfa Romeo Giulietta is a family of automobiles made by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo from 1954 until 1965 which included a 2+2 coupé, four-door saloon, estate, spider, Sprint, and Sprint Speciale. The 2+2 was Alfa Romeo's first successful foray into the 1.3-litre class. From 1954 to 1965 a total of 177,690 Giuliettas were made, the great majority in saloon (Berlina), Sprint coupé, or Spider body styles, but also as Sprint Speciale and Sprint Zagato coupés, and the rare Promiscua estate.
The Alfa Romeo 6C name was used on road, race, and sports cars produced between 1927 and 1954 by Alfa Romeo; the "6C" name refers to the six cylinders of the car's straight-six engine. Bodies for these cars were made by coachbuilders such as James Young, Zagato, Touring Superleggera, Castagna, and Pinin Farina. Beginning in 1933 there was also a 6C version with an Alfa factory body, built in Portello. In the early 1920s Vittorio Jano received a commission to create a lightweight, high performance vehicle to replace the Giuseppe Merosi designed RL and RM models. The car was introduced in April 1925 at the Salone dell' Automobile di Milano as the 6C 1500. It was based on Alfa's P2 Grand Prix car, using a single overhead cam 1,487 cc in-line six-cylinder engine, producing 44 horsepower. In 1928 the 1500 Sport was presented, which was the first Alfa Romeo road car with double overhead camshafts.
The Alfa Romeo 1900 C52 "Disco Volante" is a series of experimental sports racing cars produced between 1952 and 1953 by Italian car manufacturer Alfa Romeo in collaboration with Milanese coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring. The car was distinguished by streamlined, wind tunnel tested bodywork.
Carrozzeria Boneschi S.r.L. is an Italian coachbuilder, mainly of commercial vehicles. Until 1960, the company was mostly involved with automobile manufacturers such as Talbot, Rolls-Royce, Alfa Romeo, Lancia and Fiat. It was established in Milan by Giovanni Boneschi, moving to Cambiago in (1933). The factory was rebuilt after World War II (1946), after which Boneschi died. Among its designers and directors in the later years was Dr. Bruno Pezzaglia. Boneschi brand has recently been acquired by the coachbuilder Savio.
Harold Beach was a British engineer for Aston Martin, and their Chief Designer. He designed chassis and suspension for the iconic 1963 Aston Martin DB5, and the 1958 DB4 and 1965 DB6.
The Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, also sold as the Aston Martin DBS, is a grand touring car produced by British manufacturer Aston Martin from 2018 to 2024. In June 2018, Aston Martin unveiled the car as a replacement to the second-generation Vanquish. It is based on the DB11 V12, but featuring modifications that differentiate it from the DB11 lineage.
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