VEHICLE SPOTLIGHT | 1947 CISITALIA 202 COUPE

1947 CISITALIA 202 COUPE

BY PININ FARINA

TOP SPEED: 103 mph
HORSEPOWER: 55
ENGINE: 1.1-liter inline-4
NUMBER BUILT: 170 (total 202 coupes)

Consorzio Industriale Sportiva Italia (Cisitalia) was one of many small Italian firms that built specialty sports cars on Fiat parts during the immediate postwar period. After its successful one-seat racing cars, the firm introduced the road-going 202, a Pinin Farina-designed grand touring fastback with a modified Fiat engine. Considered one of the most attractive cars ever built for its taut lines and graceful proportions, it was featured in MoMA’s 1951 exhibition 8 Automobiles, which helped establish automobile coachwork as a legitimate art form akin to sculpture.

COLLECTION OF THE PETERSEN AUTOMOTIVE MUSEUM