Page 1 of 2 Next >> During his tenure as the chief designer at Ghia, Mario Felice Boano regularly worked for American clients, so it was no surprise that he looked to the United States when he established his own carrozzeria in 1954. One of his first plans was to tap into the country's lucrative sports car market with an all-Italian machine specifically suited to the Americans' needs. In order to create the car, he partnered with exhaust-wizard Carlo Abarth, who had risen from the ashes of what was once Cisitalia as a specialist manufacturer. The two men had worked together before when Boano was still at Ghia.
The new Boano Abarth was built around a straightforward and very compact boxed pressed-steel platform chassis. This was perhaps not the most sophisticated chassis of its day but it did the trick and also allowed for a great variety of bodies to be fitted. Much of the car's running gear was derived from the contemporary Fiat 1100 model including the front and rear suspension and the car's four cylinder engine. Equipped with the readily available Abarth tuning kit, consisting of twin Weber carburettors and a custom exhaust header, the 1,089 cc engine was good for around 66 bhp. It was mated to a four-speed gearbox, which had also been sourced from Fiat.
Boano envisioned not one but three different body-styles for the new Abarth; the track-bound Spider (207A), a more luxuriously appointed Convertible (208A) and a Coupe (209A). Each shared the same basic lines penned for Boano by Giovanni Michelotti. Among the most striking features were the tall front and rear fenders, the small circular headlights and the exposed stainless steel side-exhausts, which showcased Abarth's craftsmanship. The 207A Spider boasted a wrap-around windshield for the driver only and a faired headrest. The road going versions sported small pop-up headlights mounted on the nose, which were among the first of their kind. Page 1 of 2 Next >>
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209A Boano Coupe
During his tenure as the chief designer at Ghia, Mario Felice Boano regularly worked for American clients, so it was no surprise that he looked to the United States when he established his own carrozzeria in 1954. One of his first plans was to tap into the country's lucrative sports car market with an all-Italian machine specifically suited to the Americans' needs. In order to create the car, he partnered with exhaust-wizard Carlo Abarth, who had risen from the ashes of what was once Cisitalia as a specialist manufacturer. The two men had worked together before when Boano was still at Ghia.