Berlina Aerodinamica. Fioravanti's revolutionary game changer

In 1967 Pininfarina showed a beautiful prototype based on the technology of the Austin 1800. The Berlina Aerodinamica 1800 was a model of external futurism and striking aerodynamics. This is what the smaller and larger middle classes might look like in the future. The letters BMC were on the front, but the British did nothing with it for years under the flag of British Leyland. The creation of Pininfarina's Leonardo Fioravanti mainly made a name for itself outside the British borders. Thanks to manufacturers from France and Italy.

Grab your 1967 car yearbook. And look what the automotive industry produced then. Characteristic cars with individuality, all of which revealed a culture, an origin. And a still regular penchant for three-box bodywork, which varied with beautiful coupé, convertible or station variants. At least: if the manufacturer wanted to. Nice time. And then Leonardo Fioravanti came up on behalf of Pininfarina with a revolutionary designed two box prototype: the Berlina Aerodinamica, which threw the classic three box cars light years back in design.

Far-reaching futuristic

Designer Leonardo Fioravanti created a daring piece that never went into serial production at BMC and later British Leyland. The BMC management had limited the influence of Pininfarina over time. But Fioravanti made sure to secure the platform and engineering of an 1800. Those things became the starting point for a far-reaching futuristic design, which was built in a span of three months. A far-reaching streamline, a low and slippery drawn carriage, a whimless front with lamps behind glass (a la de later Citroën SM and Ferrari Daytona) and the Kamm-like rear charm. They not only made this car a novelty, but also one aerodynamics who looked dynamic. And who drew his fantastic shadow in the XNUMXs in terms of drawing.

Visions of a time travel

The press and the public were shown the concept, and the visions of a time travel resulted in wonder and admiration. But BMC was unable to put the car into production, also because the Landcrab had only been on the market for three years. It Nice for Jaguar, but not for us was the cover of BMC boss George Harriman. He was concerned that the design step forward would become one of the braking lead. A step that the general (British) public may not have taken yet. The technical director, none other than Sir Alec Issigonis, was overwhelmed by the model and was increasingly impressed by Pininfarina's vision of the future. Also because he knew that the Aerodinamica concepts from Fioravanti could possibly lead to production-ready cars elsewhere, faster than expected.

Harriman & Co are falling behind

The Berlina Aerodinamica never became British. Harriman and his management buddies were still baked in old-fashioned British ideas. Old production methods, arrogance, an urge to nest, an innate tendency to rebellion and a conservative approach had made BMC more and more a faltering organization. It became more lost, cars were designed too hastily, and the first signs of qualitative omissions were the tentative harbingers of impending doom. It resulted in a lack of guts at a time when BMC's financial perspective was darkening.

The smaller Berlina, inspiration for the GS

That situation did not improve when BMC merged into British Leyland, which was the prelude to a very turbulent decade: the 16s. For that decade, Pininfarina's Leonardo Fioravanti had yet another surprise in store. He modeled the dream successor to the ADO 1100: the BLMC XNUMX, a sedan that resembled the later Citroën GS. The Fioravanti 1100 was applauded, but the merger perils and the dismantling of BMC again left no room for serial production. At least not at BMC / British Leyland. That later brought the Morris Marina and the Austin Allegro. These were creations that moved miles away from Fioravanti's ideas.

Guide to timeless seventies saloons

Nevertheless, it turned out that Fioravanti had done pioneering work on behalf of Pininfarina in the field of two box saloons. Because master designer Robert Opron never hid that he was inspired by Fioravanti. The GS and CX were very similar to Fioravanti's prototypes and were timeless throughout a career and beyond. Lancia introduced the Beta in 1972, and the Gamma of the same brand is also in line with the design philosophy. And that was even used by Giugiaro when designing the Alfa Romeo Alfasud. And to stay in British circles: Landcrab successor Princess did not get these shapes, but the five-door Rover SD1 did. Nine years after the BMC 1800 Berlina Aerodinamica was presented in Turin, British Leyland came up with a car with an unparalleled thin line between erudite beauty and cursed quality.

game changers

Fioravanti's creations thus resulted in beautiful cars. Yet it is also questionable whether the British automotive industry was ready to take the high-profile Aerodinamica models into series production. Probably not, because the catching up that the British was waiting for was too great in all areas. And that was the later pain too, because in Great Britain one must have seen with sorrow how successful the starting points of Fioravanti became. Ideas that turned Fioravanti's designs into game changers for the XNUMXs and beyond. Several manufacturers took the two boxes thought successfully up. And the 1800 Berlina Aerodinamica? It was built in a different and reduced form in Great Britain. As a toy car from Matchbox. And that could never have been the only intention of George Harriman & Co.