Touring or Turinga Carrozzeria: a revolutionary system

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For many, Carrozzeria Touring is synonymous with Ferrari and Lamborghini and is all about design. But the company might surprise you if you delve a little deeper. We discovered a 'fun' fact about the company name while we were doing our homework on the car that will be on our stand (7.3 L095) at Retromobile: the beautiful Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 by Turinga Superleggera.

The influence of Mussolini

Note: Turinga not Touring, and that is what makes it unusual. The company Carrozzeria Touring was founded on 25 March 1926 by Felice Bianchi Anderloni and Gaertano Ponzoni after they had taken over another coachbuilder in Milan. They began working for Alfa Romeo, Citroën and Isotta Fraschini but were not yet doing anything unique. They had a licence to use the Weymann system, where a frame was covered with fabric, but eventually went on to develop their own Superleggera construction system, which was patented in 1936.

The Touring Superleggera system was based on a framework of thin steel tubes that were attached to the chassis, creating a very light and rigid base to which aluminium plating could be applied. This new super-light construction was revolutionary because it also had the advantage of allowing shapely curves and extreme aerodynamic shapes, which had been impossible until then.

The first car equipped with the brand new Touring Superleggera system dates back to 1937, when an Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B with their body took part in the Mille Miglia. The company continued to operate until the Second World War, which resulted in a change of name.

During the Nazi period, Italian dictator Benito Mussolini banned the use of English words in Italy. As a result, the name Touring was no longer possible and in 1942 the company name was changed to Turinga Superleggera. After the war, the name was changed back to what we know today: Touring Superleggera. Anderloni's grandson also told us that the new name had to be approved by the Nazi regime.

Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Sport Turinga Superleggera of 1944

As mentioned earlier, on the PreWarCar.com & PostWarClassic.com stand at the Salon Retromobile Show we will be presenting a very elegant Alfa Romeo 6C wearing the Superleggera bodywork by... Turinga. So now you know that it was built, between 1942 and 1945!

This car was produced in 1944 with a Berlinetta body and delivered new to the Bugatti and Triumph importer Uno Ranch in Sweden in 1946, who used the car for his travels through Europe. The car is still used regularly and the body style by Turinga (or Touring) is still loved today, and won the Coppa Clemente Biondetti for the most beautiful Alfa Romeo at the 2018 Mille Miglia. But we invite you to come and see the car for yourself in Paris!

The show is open to the public from 16 to 20 March 2022. We look forward to seeing you there!

Pictures from the archive and Touring Superlagera.

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