FIAT 900 Coriasco

Automotive Photography   |   Drive-by Snapshots   |   France

While on a drive in the Alsace region near Strasbourg, we drove through a small town where a mechanic works on Italian cars in a converted petrol station. Having found this place by chance a couple of years earlier and being invited to come inside, we hoped to see him again but as it was on a sunny Sunday, the workshop was closed and nobody around. This left us with many unanswered questions about the FIAT 900 with Carrozzeria Coriasco Torino badges parked under the colour-matching canopy.

The small FIAT truck has been converted to a vending van (aka food truck) by Carrozzeria Coriasco Torino, featuring a full height access door on the left side and a full length opening panel on the right side. Judging by the sticker on the front doors, it is or has been used by Café Rapp to sell coffee and pastries. According to google maps Café Rapp is located in Königsfeld, across the Rhine River in the heart of Black Forest. As it was equipped with French license plates when the pictures were taken, the stickers may have been leftovers still to be removed. It remains an unsolved mystery for now.

Unfortunately I couldn’t take a proper picture of the business side, due to the close proximity of a lovely two-tone painted Renault Estafette vending van parked next to it.

Carrozzeria Coriasco Torino

Seeing the various Carrozzeria Coriasco Torino badges affixed to the FIAT 900 didn’t spark a memory, most likely because we rarely traveled to Italy in my childhood. Research was postponed and eventually forgotten.

One and a half years and several Corona lock downs later, I stumbled across the name again when visiting the Louwman Museum in Den Haag. The contrast couldn’t possibly have been any bigger as the creation I was looking at was a rather extrovert creation resembling a ship on a FIAT 1100 chassis. 

According to the plaque, Carrozeria Coriasco built this custom vehicle based on a Fiat 1100 in the 1950s for Scuola Nautica Scarani in Bologna. The shape of the vehicle represents a marine vessel and is fitted with marine-themed details such as a polished wooden deck, portholes and life buoys. The lower body is shaped like a bow wave and covers the wheels completely. It was used by the school for promotion purposes.

History

1921
Giovanni Coriasco started a workshop in Torino, located in via Moretta, building body parts for Ceirano, Chiribiri, Diatto, FIAT and Itala in 1925 and full bodies later on. With the financial crisis in 1929 many car manufacturers in Torino disappeared and Coriasco concentrated on building bodies for commercial vehicles.

1938
Son Giuseppe joined the business and the company was incorporated. Ten years later Coriasco moved to a new factory in Via Salabertano and restructured the company as Carrozzeria Coriasco Autoveicoli Industriali. This marked the start of a long term co-operation with FIAT, due to their ability to fabricate any type of commercial body. Coriasco also produced limited series of passengers cars designed by Michelotti. Founder Giovanni passed away in 1961 and Guiseppe led the company for ten years without making headlines until 1971, when he introduced a coupé and station wagon based on the FIAT 127.

1970
A new factory for school and tourist buses was built, 14 kilometers outside of Torino in Pianezza. They also produced FIAT Fiorino and Ritmo pick-ups and a variant called FIAT Fiorino Farm, which looks eerily similar to the French Matra Rancho. A camper based on the FIAT 242 van was added later.

1986
Cesare Bruno joined Coriasco in 1978 and took the lead in 1986. Giuseppe died in 1989 at 81 years old. Having a masters degree in business administration and economics, Cesare founded a separate business venture, Coriasco Style, to design and build prototype vehicles and manufacture limited edition series of cars. The most popular business was creating luxurious interiors for Autobianchi, FIAT and Lancia.

Source: Carrozziere Italiani

Sebastian Motsch   |   instagram @drivebysnapshots