Boano
Works:
Grugliasco (TO)
(1954–1959)
CARROZZERIA BOANO was set up in 1954 at Grugliasco on the edge of Turin. Mario Felice Boano founded it together with his son Gian Paolo. The firm became known above all for the Ferrari 250 GT that carries its name; for the Fiat 500 it mattered only for a few years, and yet the first beach car on that basis came from here.
In 1957 Boano brought out the «500 Spiaggia». Two cars became famous: that of Gianni Agnelli and that of Aristotle Onassis.
The company
Mario Felice Boano came from Stabilimenti Farina and moved to Pininfarina in 1930. In 1954 he set up on his own with his son Gian Paolo, who had previously worked at Ghia. At Grugliasco a number of important bodies were built in only a few years, among them the Ferrari 250 GT Boano.
In 1957 Mario Boano joined Fiat, where he took charge of the styling centre. His own works lasted until 1959. Production of the beach car then passed to Carrozzeria Savio at Moncalieri, which carried it on as the «Spider Elegance» until 1962.
The cars
The «500 Spiaggia» was an open car without doors, meant for the run from the boat to the house. The body was of aluminium, edged all round with wooden strips; the seats were of wicker, so that they could be left wet. The Fiat 500 chassis was lengthened.
According to Alessandro Sannia, Boano built the car in series rather than as a one-off – only the first two became famous. How many there were is not known. Under the name Spider Elegance production continued at Savio.
The two famous cars
Gianni Agnelli’s car, chassis number 031853, carried the Turin registration TO 259879. Agnelli kept it at the Villa Leopolda on the Côte d’Azur and drove it until 1973; he then gave it to his long-serving driver, from whom it passed to a friend of the family. The car survived untouched and was shown at the 2018 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este.
Aristotle Onassis’s car carried the registration TO 259880 – the number immediately following. From it comes the well-known photograph with Winston Churchill in the passenger seat. Its whereabouts are unknown.
