Piece of rolling history under auction hammer in Paris

In the sixties, this Fiat 500 was an indispensable part of the pages of glossies all over the world. The copy was not only taken out of the garage when Gianni Agnelli himself – former Fiat boss – felt like going for a ride in style, the small car also transported celebrities such as Henry Kissinger, the Kennedys, the Onassis family. The piece of rolling history recently disappeared under the auction hammer of RM Sotheby's.

Presumably there are only two of the Fiat 500 Spiaggina Boano ever built. The first owner was none other than Gianni Agnelli, the former director of Fiat. He had the two copies built by Mario Boano of Carrozzeria Ghia. Based on the underbody and mechanical components of the humble Fiat Nuovo 500, the hand-built masterpieces feature a sweeping open body, wood trim, woven front seats and a plush rear seat for passengers. Agnelli himself used the car for his holidays on the French Riviera. The other copy was given as a gift to Aristotle Onassis. However, over time this car was declared a total loss after an accident...

This Spiaggina graced Vogue, which led to a real trend of beach cars that perfectly reflected the la dolce vita feeling. The Fiat was recently rediscovered by a collector from Turin and exhibited at an exclusive car show on the shores of Lake Como in 2018.

According to auction house RM Sotheby's, the Spiaggina is in a very original, but unrestored condition. Many well-known names took place on the somewhat cramped back seat. Sotheby's therefore speaks of an 'unrepeatable history'. And this is also evident from the price tag... Ultimately, the auction hammer struck at an amount of € 370.