Fiat O.S.C.A 1600S Fissore

Carrozzeria Fissore - A designer that puts the heart first. Head not second, but last.

The Fiat 1600S Coupe O.S.C.A is a classic that makes every enthusiast's neck twitch and strikes a -gasoline related- chord with everyone. In the fall of 1962, the Fissore body was first shown at the Torino Motor Show. A beautifully shaped coupe with lots of typical Italian lines and craftsmanship. If you take a quick look, it looks quite a lot like Uncle Enzo's; This one is just (even) a little friendlier on the wallet!

Fissore had only one problem towards Fiat; the car was more expensive to produce than what they were sold to the public for. The interior was at least as nice as that of a Ferrari, the body was partly hand-hammered of aluminum, the dashboard was full of shiny Jaeger clocks, and everything was assembled and finished by hand. The split rear window was five times (!) as expensive as a regular rear window. Convenient? No. Logico? Assolutamente! In early '63, Fiat also intervened and made significant changes to the body. For example, the bumpers, lights and rear window actually disappeared right after the first production cars. In late '63, Fiat pulled the plug on the Fissore bodies. Porca puttana!

End result? About 25 Fissore carriages are registered and known, the lion's share of which had been produced in 1963. So, of the one hand countable genuine 1962 Fissore's, we found one in a private collection!

However, the beauty of this Fissore is not the body, but what is under the hood. At the time, Fiat wanted to compete with Alfa, which had a beautiful sports car with a double-camshaft. They enlisted the help of O.S.C.A., which was actually none other than the Maserati brothers who had already sold the names in '47, but were still eager for a challenge. The 1600 is identified by an "assymetrico," a hoodscoop on one side that makes room for the, yes, twin webers. So you get a Mini-Maserati in a beautiful Fissore body. That combined highly original Carlo Borrani wheels, and every Italian car enthusiast chokes on his Montepulciano for joy.

This Fissore, even a 1600'S', has a slightly larger engine capacity than a 1600, was restored long ago and is still in very original condition. Her paint has been renewed once, but her welds are by now part of cultural Fissore heritage. For the past twenty years she has barely been allowed to snarl and afterburn, so is now again diligently looking for a new enthusiast.

A presto !

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