CLASSICS CHATTER AUCTION UPDATES: 1961 BIANCHINA TRANSFORMABLE

Wednesday 30 September 2015

1961 BIANCHINA TRANSFORMABLE - COYS 10/10/15 ASCOT

1961 BIANCHINA TRANSFORMABLE

Estimate: £15,000 - £20,000

Registration Number: Italian Registered

Chassis Number: 026726

Founded in 1899 by Eduardo Bianchi, the Bianchi Company made vehicles for 56 years. These included full-size cars, tanks, and trucks with Mercedes engines. But the factory was destroyed during the war and he had been unable to recover. In 1955, Milanese industrialist Ferrucio Quintavalle organized a new company involving Bianchi, Fiat, and the Pirelli Tire Company, called Autobianchi SpA. Trucks would continue to be manufactured by the firm, and motorcycles would be manufactured by Eduardo Bianchi SpA.

Two years later, at the Milan show, the first car to carry the name Autobianchi arrived. The Bianchina Transformabile (Convertible) was one of the first adaptations of the 500 Nuova, using its chassis, engine, and transmission, but with a very attractively styled coupe body with a roll-back roof, reminiscent of the French Vespa 400.

The 1960 Geneva show saw the debut of what was arguably the prettiest of all the models, the Bianchina Special Convertible. It was a little luxury car, with a luxury price, and it was immediately accepted by the fashionable jet setters as a second car or runabout. Designer Luigi Rapi drew a well-proportioned shape highlighted by a strong accent in the form of a side spear chrome moulding. Interior fittings were more attractive. The indicators were fitted separately below the headlights, not on the bumper guards. The cooling slots on the side below the doors and the chrome borders below the body edge were eliminated. The windscreen was more angular.

This lovely Bianchina Transformable is presented in light blue with a two tone coloured hood and it's equipped with expensive Borrani wheels. The interior is two tone white on black. A fun town car which one can enjoy open top motoring also.