Franco Scaglione

Italian coachwork designer whose work at Bertone included the Alfa Romeo BAT series and Giulietta Sprint; he later designed the 33 Stradale, a road-going car derived directly from Alfa Romeo's Tipo 33.

He was born Francesco Vittorio Scaglione in Florence on 26 September 1916. After attending the Liceo Bernardino Telesio in Cosenza, he entered the University of Florence in 1934, later switching to aeronautical engineering in Bologna. Military service interrupted the course. Captured near Tobruk on 24 December 1941, he was held at Yol in India until late 1946.

At the start of 1948, Scaglione moved to Bologna, making drawings for Stanguellini and fashion houses. In 1951 he moved to Turin and worked briefly at Pininfarina. Giovanni Bertone engaged him in 1952 as a paid consultant, rather than a formal employee. The collaboration was effectively exclusive and ended in 1959 after disagreements over proposals Alfa Romeo judged too extravagant.

In 1959 he opened an independent design studio in Turin. His first commission came from Carlo Abarth: the Porsche 356 B Carrera GTL, built by Motto. He later designed the Lamborghini 350 GTV, bodied by Giorgio Sargiotto, and worked with Frank Reisner's Intermeccanica on almost all of its 1960s granturismos, including the Apollo GT, Griffith 600, Titania Veltro, Torino, Italia, Murena, and Indra.

In 1967 Alfa Romeo entrusted him with the 33 Stradale's design, a road-going car derived directly from the Tipo 33. Museo Storico lists its coupé body as Scaglione's and records 18 chassis; Carrozzeria Marazzi built the cars. Alfa Romeo publications differ on the Monza debut, naming 31 August 1967 or the 10 September Grand Prix, before the Turin Motor Show launch. Scaglione died at Suvereto on 19 June 1993.