Cars
1915 A.L.F.A 40/60HP Aerodinamica Torpedo
This article explores the work of Carlo Felice Abarth Ricotti, a Milanese aristocrat who played an important role in the evolution of car design. Ricotti's Siluro was a popular car, but its large windows made it uncomfortable in the summer.
No one knows why Ricotti, after building and using his “famous” Siluro, decided to further develop the idea. Probably, the Siluro’s large windows made it hellishly hot and uncomfortable in the summer months.
The roadster has the same cockpit as the 40/60 Aerodinamica Ricotti.
But the fact is that good ideas never come alone, and the Futurist dynamism of the previous car was followed by a model — the Torpedo — whose sheer elegance made it a huge success in the prewar years. Although Ricotti cannot be recognised as the creator of this open, enveloping and protective bodywork, the Milanese aristocrat nevertheless deserves credit for showing the world that a tapered body was far more elegant and harmonious than the boxy, square models of the period.
