The Brand That Altered Porsche’s Destiny Forever
An intimate exploration of Cisitalia’s profound impact on the automotive world, crafted by two of the brand’s most renowned historians. Shedding light on the enduring legacy and how Cisitalia’s journey shaped Porsche’s destiny. For the first time ever, the three most iconic Cisitalia 202 models – the Coupé Gran Sport, “C” Cabriolet, and Spyder Mille Miglia – are captured together in an exclusive shoot.
Text by Mario Simoni, with the contribution of Nino Balestra
Photography by Jeroen Vink, Mario Simoni Archive
Part 1: THE CISITALIA MYSTERY
Three iconic car brands – Porsche, Abarth, and Alfa Romeo – might not exist today in the way we know them if it hadn’t been for the remarkable adventure of Cisitalia, a now largely forgotten company founded in Turin in 1946. Though the company lasted a mere three years, Cisitalia left an indelible mark on the car world, with the potential to change the fate of giants such as Fiat and Ferrari.
The stories, projects, people, and above all the twists of fate in that brief three-year period – 1946 to 1948 – truly changed the course of automotive history. Yet, what is truly astonishing is that almost no one remembers the brand anymore. Cisitalia’s ‘Rampant Ibex’ and the events that made it so significant have faded into obscurity.
However, two cars remain etched in memory, securing Cisitalia’s place in automotive history: the 202 Coupé, designed by Pinin Farina and regarded as one of the most beautiful cars in the world, and the F1 360 Grand Prix, engineered by Porsche. Technologically speaking, the 360 Grand Prix was at least 20 years ahead of the single-seaters dominating the Grand Prix circuits at the time.