Photo: Gooding & Company
There are cars out there people name collectibles, but rarely do we hear of unique breeds. This classic Fiat was built for the company’s principal shareholder himself, as Gianni Agnelli envisioned a stylish transporter to move his guests from his Nice estate’s main house down to the shore. With a beautiful nautical design element, exceptional craftsmanship and Pininfarina’s trademark on it, this truly is a masterpiece.
If we want to check out the origins of this unique vehicle, we need to discuss a little about the Autobianchi Bianchina first. It’s a minicar produced by the Italian automaker Autobianchi, based on the Fiat 500. It was available in various configurations: Berlina (saloon), Cabriolet (roadster), Transformabile (convertible), Panoramica (station wagon), and Furgoncino (van).
In France, the models were sold under different names with the Trasformabile marketed as the Eden Roc. And this takes us to our vehicle in question.
Its beginnings date to the mid-1950s when the legendary Gianni Agnelli envisioned a stylish transporter to move his guests around his mansion. The stylists and craftsmen at Pininfarina quickly set about creating the unique vehicle atop a stretched and widened Fiat Multipla chassis.
Agnelli’s beauty debuted at the 1956 Paris Motor Show. Here’s also where it was noticed by Union Oil Chairman William Doheny, who immediately asked for one. Doheny ordered a copy of the charming Eden Roc to use at his Lake Arrowhead compound. This unit would make for the second one the Italian designer has records off. This is also the one that will go under the hammer in August, at the Pebble Beach Auction.
Ever since it was purchased, the car never left the family, with a Doheny member acquiring the Fiat from the main estate in 2008. The car was in a remarkable condition, so they decided to take it through a show-quality restoration. With its forward-control driving position, open-air coachwork, lack of doors, and low-set windshield, the Eden Roc clearly represents extravagance merged with sublime style that any high-end collector would want to have.
In France, the models were sold under different names with the Trasformabile marketed as the Eden Roc. And this takes us to our vehicle in question.
Its beginnings date to the mid-1950s when the legendary Gianni Agnelli envisioned a stylish transporter to move his guests around his mansion. The stylists and craftsmen at Pininfarina quickly set about creating the unique vehicle atop a stretched and widened Fiat Multipla chassis.
Agnelli’s beauty debuted at the 1956 Paris Motor Show. Here’s also where it was noticed by Union Oil Chairman William Doheny, who immediately asked for one. Doheny ordered a copy of the charming Eden Roc to use at his Lake Arrowhead compound. This unit would make for the second one the Italian designer has records off. This is also the one that will go under the hammer in August, at the Pebble Beach Auction.
Ever since it was purchased, the car never left the family, with a Doheny member acquiring the Fiat from the main estate in 2008. The car was in a remarkable condition, so they decided to take it through a show-quality restoration. With its forward-control driving position, open-air coachwork, lack of doors, and low-set windshield, the Eden Roc clearly represents extravagance merged with sublime style that any high-end collector would want to have.
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