Aldo Brovarone (24 June 1926 – 12 October 2020) was an Italian automobile designer and the chief stylist with Carrozzeria Pininfarina (1974-1988) – widely known for a prominent range of work including the Dino 206 GT,

Lancia Gamma The Lancia Gamma (Tipo 830), stylised Lancia γ, is an executive car (E-segment in Europe) manufactured and marketed by the Lancia subdivision of Fiat. Following its debut at the 1976 Geneva Motor Show as Lancia's new flagship, the Gamma was ma ...

Coupé and the

Peugeot 504 The Peugeot 504 is a mid-size, front-engine, rear-wheel-drive automobile manufactured and marketed by Peugeot from 1968 to 1983 over a single generation, primarily in four-door Sedan (automobile), sedan and station wagon, wagon configurations – ...

(sedan).

Background

Brovarone was born on 24 June 1926, in

Vigliano Biellese Vigliano Biellese is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Biella in the Italian region Piedmont, located about northeast of Turin and about southeast of Biella. Vigliano Biellese borders the following municipalities: Biella, Candelo, ...

, in Italy's Piedmont textile region. He demonstrated artistic talent at an early age, and was fascinated by airplanes and dreamed of becoming a pilot. He later studied at the state commercial and technical institute, considering a career in the textile industry. His studies were interrupted by

WWII World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, and he was deported by the Germans and imprisoned for one year in a German concentration camp in occupied Poland. Having managed to survive, he later worked as a designer with a refrigerator company.

Career

In 1949 Brovarone expatriated to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...

, Argentina and worked as a graphic designer at an advertising firm, later working with AUTOAR (Automotores Argentinos) until it ended operations in 1953. Brovarone returned to Italy to work with

Piero Dusio Piero Dusio (13 October 1899 – 7 November 1975) was an Italian footballer, businessman, racing driver and racing car manufacturer.Donatella Biffignandi, Piero Dusio' from museoauto.it, an online museum for automotive issues, last accessed on 12 ...

Cisitalia Cisitalia was an Italian sports and racing car brand named after "Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia", a business conglomerate founded in Turin in 1946 by industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio. One of the most memorable cars manufactured by ...

, where he first developed brochure illustrations and began his career as an automobile designer. On introduction from Dusio, Brovarone met

Battista "Pinin" Farina Battista Pininfarina (born Battista Farina, nicknamed "Pinin"; 2 November 1893 – 3 April 1966) was an Italian automobile designer and the founder of the Carrozzeria Pininfarina coachbuilding company, a name associated with many well known ...

and in 1952, he joined Carrozzeria Pinin Farina (later simply ''Pininfarina'') first as assistant stylist to Francesco Salomone and Franco Martinengo. He subsequently became lead designer, beginning with the design of the Ferrari Superamerica II, presented at the 1960

Turin Auto Show The Turin Motor Show () is an auto show held annually in Turin, Italy. The first official show took place between 21 and 24 April 1900, at the Castle of Valentino, becoming a permanent fixture in Turin from 1938 having shared it with Milan and R ...

. At Pininfarina, Brovarone designed the sedan variant of the

. In 2007 he verified that he did not design the coupe and cabriolet variants, confirming these were designed at Pininfarina, but under the direction of Franco Martinengo, from sketches by Peugeot. At Pininfarina, he collaborated on the 1987

Ferrari F40 The Ferrari F40 (Type F120) is a Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, mid-engine, rear-wheel drive sports car engineered by Nicola Materazzi with styling by Pininfarina. It was built from 1987 until 1992, with the LM and GTE race car version ...

with its designer Pietro Camardella, just before retiring.

Later years

After his retirement from Pininfarina in 1988, Brovarone consulted as a stylist with

Stola The stola () (pl. ''stolae'') was the traditional garment of Roman women, corresponding to the toga that was worn by men. It was also called ''vestis longa'' in Latin literary sources, pointing to its length. History The ''stola'' was a staple ...

, later contributing to the design of

Studiotorino Studiotorino is an Italian automotive design house, or the ''carrozzeria'', specializing in completely handmade sports car. The company was founded on 1 January 2005 in Rivoli by Alfredo and Maria Paola Stola with Marco Goffi. The carroz ...

's Porsche Boxster-based Ruf RK Spyder, named at the 2005 Milan Triennale as ''the most beautiful car in the world''. At Studiotorino, Broverone secretly penned a coupe variant that management later accepted. He continued to live in Turin, without computer or cellphone, and continued to make pencil sketches and

tempera Tempera (), also known as egg tempera, is a permanent, fast-drying painting medium consisting of pigments mixed with a water-soluble binder medium, usually glutinous material such as egg yolk. ''Tempera'' also refers to the paintings done in ...

illustrations which were printed as collectible postcards. He died at 94 on 12 October 2020 at Molinette hospital in

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, several days after the death of his wife Martarita, and was survived by his nephew Cesare Brovarone. He was a member of the Auto Moto Club Storico Italiano (AMSAP) and judge for two ''concours d'elegance'' organized by the club, at Villa La Malpenga in Vigliano Biellese (in 2016) and at Ricetto di Candelo (in 2017). His life and work was recounted in the 2019 book, ''Stile & raffinatezza. Le creazioni di Aldo Brovarone ("Style & Refinement. The Creations of Aldo Brovarone)'' by Giuliano Silli, presented at the Third Annual Parco del Valentino Concours d'Elegance.

Design work

* Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM Superflow (1955–1960

concept A concept is an abstract idea that serves as a foundation for more concrete principles, thoughts, and beliefs. Concepts play an important role in all aspects of cognition. As such, concepts are studied within such disciplines as linguistics, ...

). A series of four consecutive bodies on the same chassis. * Alfa Romeo Eagle * Alfa Romeo Giulia 1600 Sport *

Alfa Romeo Spider The Alfa Romeo Spider (105/115 series) is a two-seater, front-engined, rear-drive roadster (automobile), roadster manufactured and marketed by Alfa Romeo from 1966 to 1994 in four distinct generations, or "series", each with modifications rangin ...

(Duetto) with Martinengo, Salomone, and Carli of Pininfarina *

33DF Voloradente *

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

808 coupé * Dino 206 GT * Dino Berlinetta GT *

Dino Berlinetta Speciale Dino () was a marque best known for mid-engined, rear-drive sports cars produced by Ferrari from 1957 to 1976. The marque came into existence in late 1956 with a front-engined Formula Two racer powered by a brand new ''Dino'' V6 engine. The name ...

* Ferrari 250 LM *

Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 Ferrari S.p.A. (; ) is an Italian luxury sports car manufacturer based in Maranello. Founded in 1939 by Enzo Ferrari (1898–1988), the company built Auto Avio Costruzioni 815, its first car in 1940, adopted its current name in 1945, and be ...

Ferrari 365 P Berlinetta Speciale :''See Ferrari 365 P2 for the race car'' The Ferrari 365 P Berlinetta Speciale (also commonly referred to as the Berlinetta Tre-posti) was a concept sports car designed and produced by Pininfarina and Ferrari in 1966. It featured a mid-engined l ...

* Ferrari 375 America Coupe Speciale (1954 for

Gianni Agnelli Giovanni "Gianni" Agnelli (; 12 March 192124 January 2003), nicknamed ("The Lawyer"), was an Italian industrialist and principal shareholder of Fiat S.p.A., Fiat. As the head of Fiat, he controlled 4.4% of Italy's GDP, 3.1% of its industrial ...

) * Ferrari 400 Superamerica Pinin Farina Coupé (1959 for

) * Maserati 5000 GT Pinin Farina Coupé (1961 for

) * Ferrari 400 Superamerica Coupé Aerodinamico * Ferrari Superfast II–IV (1960–1962 concept). A series of three consecutive bodies on the same chassis. *

Ferrari 500 Superfast Ferrari America is a series of flagship grand touring Ferrari models primarily built for the North American market in the 1950s and 1960s. The America models were equipped with large V12 engines and often had custom bodywork done by famous coachb ...

Coupé * Maserati A6GCS/53 Pinin Farina Berlinetta *

(berlina/sedan) *

Peugeot 604 The Peugeot 604 is an executive car produced by the French manufacturer Peugeot from 1975 to 1985. 153,252 cars were sold during its 10-year production life. It was made in France and also assembled by Kia in South Korea, between 1979 and 1981. ...

* Stola Dedica * Stola Abarth Monotipo *

Stola S82 Spyder Stola is an List of automobile manufacturers of Italy, Italian automotive company founded in 1919. From its start it realized concept cars, prototypes and style models, master models and engineering consultancy for some of the biggest manufacture ...

* Stola GTS * Ruf RK Coupé and Spyder * Ruf R Spyder File:Cisitaliaav.jpg,

Type 33 DF Volo Radente File:Lancia Gamma Coupé 2500 1979 Bailly Mars 2011.jpg, Lancia Gamma Coupé File:Peugeot 604 (6100200213).jpg,

File:Peugeot 504 000.jpg,

File:Paris - Bonhams 2015 - Ferrari 365 GT 2+2 Coupé - 1968 - 002.jpg,

File:2021 Pebble Tour Ferrari 375 0355AL.jpg, 1955 Ferrari 375 America Coupé Speciale for

File:1962 Ferrari 400 Superamerica Aerodinamico - Flickr - exfordy.jpg, Ferrari 400 Superamerica Aerodinamico Coupé File:1954-10-07 Paris Ferrari 375 0456AM Bergman Rossellini.jpg,

Ferrari 375 MM :''See Ferrari 375 F1 for the 375 used in Formula 1 racing, and 375 America, a GT car'' The Ferrari 375 MM, was a sports racing car produced by Ferrari from 1953 to 1955. It was named "375" for the unitary displacement of one cylinder in the 4. ...

Berlinetta Speciale, for actress

Ingrid Bergman Ingrid Bergman (29 August 191529 August 1982) was a Swedish actress.Obituary ''Variety Obituaries, Variety'', 1 September 1982. With a career spanning five decades, Bergman is often regarded as one of the most influential screen figures in cin ...

File:1960 Ferrari 400 Superamerica in the Museo Ferrari, front right.jpg, Ferrari 400 Superamerica Pinin Farina Coupé, for

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

CEO

File:2013-03-05 Geneva Motor Show 7865.JPG,

File:1964 Ferrari 500 Superfast.jpg,

File:1956 Alfa Romeo 3000 CM Superflow IV fvl.jpg, Alfa Romeo 6C 3000 CM Superflow File:1953 Maserati A6GCS fr.jpg, Maserati A6GCS Pinin Farina

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brovarone, Aldo Italian automobile designers Pininfarina people Cisitalia people 2020 deaths 1926 births People from the Province of Biella Alfa Romeo people Ferrari people