Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera
Legendary Italian coachbuilder known for its Superleggera lightweight construction technique.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Founded in 1926, Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera is famous for its Superleggera lightweight body technology, having designed bodies for many top car brands, and still offers custom coachbuilding services.
History
Carrozzeria Touring began in Milan in 1926 after Felice Bianchi Anderloni and Gaetano Ponzoni acquired and renamed Carrozzeria Falco. Anderloni brought experience from Isotta Fraschini and Peugeot Italia, while Ponzoni handled the company's administration. Early proximity to Alfa Romeo, Citroën, and Isotta Fraschini created a natural customer base for custom bodies fitted to existing chassis. The company first worked with lightweight fabric-covered frame ideas associated with Charles Weymann. It then refined a distinct tubular-frame and alloy-panel process. Patented in 1936, Superleggera used small tubes to trace the body shape and thin aluminium panels to complete the exterior. The method offered low mass and considerable freedom of form. Touring's 1937 Mille Miglia Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B was an early public demonstration, followed by celebrated bodies for Alfa Romeo 8C 2900, BMW 328, and other competition and luxury cars. Touring's aircraft-related production during the 1930s also contributed to its understanding of lightweight structures. After the Second World War, the firm resumed work quickly. Following Anderloni's death in 1948, his son Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni became the principal family figure, working with Ponzoni. Federico Formenti was a major designer during the later period. The Ferrari 166 MM Touring barchetta, introduced in 1948, became one of the firm's best-known post-war designs; its grille treatment influenced Ferrari's enduring visual language. During the 1950s and 1960s, Touring worked across a broad range of marques and vehicle types. Its portfolio included Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Maserati, Lancia, Lamborghini, Pegaso, Aston Martin, Bristol, Jensen, and others. Touring designed and, in some cases, manufactured bodies for Aston Martin's DB4, DB5, and DB6 under licence. The company also contributed to the Lamborghini 350 GT and 400 GT, Maserati 3500 GT and 5000 GT, Lancia Flaminia GT, Pegaso Z-102 and Z-103, and numerous Ferrari and Alfa Romeo models. The industry eventually moved away from separate body construction. Monocoque production and factory-integrated body manufacturing reduced the market for independent coachbuilders, while low-volume contract work encouraged expensive capacity investments. Touring's new Nova Milanese facility was followed by market changes and the loss of anticipated contracts. The original operation was wound up in 1966 without a bankruptcy proceeding. The marque's heritage survived through the efforts of Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni and Carrozzeria Marazzi, which preserved and occasionally used the Touring Superleggera trademark. A fire destroyed approximately 80 percent of the company's archives. To compensate, Anderloni built a registry by contacting owners of surviving Touring cars from 1995 onward. He also helped revive the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este and led its jury until his death in 2003. The event later established a memorial trophy in his name. In 2006, private investors acquired the brand and trademarks and created Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera S.r.l. near Milan. The revived enterprise combined traditional coachbuilding with automotive styling, engineering, homologation, restoration, and non-automotive design. Its 21st-century work has generally been project-based and low-volume: concepts, donor-chassis conversions, limited-series grand tourers, and collector-oriented commissions. Representative projects include the Bellagio Fastback, A8 GCS Berlinetta, Bentley Continental Flying Star, Gumpert Tornante, Disco Volante, MINI Superleggera Vision, Berlinetta Lusso, Sciàdipersia, Aero3, Arese RH95, and Veloce12. Modern cars continue the historical formula of dramatic proportions, hand-finished bodywork, and close integration of design and engineering, but use contemporary carbon fibre, powertrains, safety systems, and donor platforms.
- 2024
Superleggera Veloce12 unveiled
[1]Touring revealed a 30-car planned series based on the Ferrari 550 Maranello.
- 2021
Arese RH95 launched
[1]The Arese RH95 marked the modern company's first mid-engined design and commemorated its 95th anniversary.
- 2020
Aero3 launched
[1]Touring introduced the Aero3, a Ferrari-based design recalling the marque's pre-war aerodynamic berlinettas.
- 2013
Alfa Romeo Disco Volante limited series
[1]The Disco Volante concept developed into a bespoke eight-car series and won a Villa d'Este design award.
- 2006
Modern company founded
[1]A new company was established near Milan after investors acquired the historical brand and trademarks.
- 1995
Touring Superleggera registry developed
[1]Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni began systematically documenting surviving Touring-bodied vehicles.
- 1966
Original production operation wound up
[1]The original company ended production after industry changes and the loss of expected contract-manufacturing work.
- 1948
Post-war Ferrari 166 MM design
[1]Touring created the body for the Ferrari 166 MM barchetta, one of its defining post-war designs.
- 1937
Superleggera appears at the Mille Miglia
[1]An Alfa Romeo 6C 2300B became the first publicly noted Touring car using the Superleggera system in the Mille Miglia.
- 1936
Superleggera construction system patented
[1]Touring patented its lightweight tubular-frame and thin-alloy-panel body construction method.
Products and positioning
A heritage-led Italian coachbuilder serving luxury, performance, collector, and specialist automotive markets. The brand emphasizes sculptural design, hand craftsmanship, lightweight construction, engineering collaboration, low-volume production, and continuity with pre-war and post-war Italian coachbuilding.
Engineering technology · 1936
Superleggera construction system
Touring's patented lightweight body method uses a network of small-diameter tubes to form the body and thin alloy panels to cover and reinforce it. Historically it enabled rapid construction of unusual shapes with low mass; modern Touring projects combine the heritage concept with contemporary aluminium, carbon fibre, donor platforms, and current vehicle systems.
Limited-series sports car · 2013
Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring
A modern interpretation of Touring's 1952 C52 Disco Volante, developed from a static design model shown in 2012. The production car used Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione underpinnings and bespoke coachbuilt bodywork. The planned series comprised eight examples and received a design award at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in 2013.
Coachbuilt shooting brake · 2010
Bentley Continental Flying Star
A limited-series shooting-brake conversion based on the Bentley Continental GTC. Touring reworked the body into a more practical and distinctive estate-like form while retaining the luxury and performance character of the Bentley donor vehicle. The project premiered at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show with Bentley's endorsement.
Coachbuilt grand tourer · 2015
Touring Berlinetta Lusso
A street-legal two-seat coupé based on the Ferrari F12berlinetta. Its design uses a formal three-volume silhouette and combines hand-beaten aluminium panels with carbon-fibre elements. Touring announced a five-unit series, positioning the car as a highly exclusive interpretation of Ferrari grand-touring hardware.
Limited-series sports car · 2020
Aero3
Introduced in 2020, the Aero3 is a streamlined Ferrari-based sports car distinguished by a tall central rear fin, a rear spoiler, and the absence of a conventional rear window. Its visual language references Touring's aerodynamic racing berlinettas of the 1930s, especially the Alfa Romeo 8C 2900B Berlinetta Speciale Le Mans.
Mid-engined limited-series sports car · 2021
Arese RH95
The Arese RH95, introduced in 2021, is Touring's first mid-engined design. It was created to mark the company's 95th anniversary and could be configured in six variations. The vehicle uses modern Ferrari-derived mechanical architecture with Touring's low-volume, hand-finished body and interior approach.
Limited-edition grand tourer · 2024
Superleggera Veloce12
Unveiled during Monterey Car Week in 2024, the Veloce12 is a modernised and coachbuilt grand tourer based on the Ferrari 550 Maranello. Touring announced a planned production of 30 examples, combining a classic Ferrari V12 platform with bespoke Superleggera styling and craftsmanship.
Electric concept roadster · 2014
MINI Superleggera Vision
A 2014 concept created jointly by Touring Superleggera and BMW Group's MINI design team. The electric roadster explored a minimalist, hand-crafted interpretation of MINI's design language and demonstrated how Touring's coachbuilding tradition could be applied to a future-oriented concept.
Limited-series grand tourer · 2018
Sciàdipersia
A modern Touring limited-series model based on Maserati grand-touring hardware. The Sciàdipersia coupe appeared in 2018, followed by a convertible version based on the Maserati GranCabrio in 2019. Both projects continued Touring's practice of combining established mechanical platforms with bespoke exterior design and low-volume construction.
Marketing campaigns
- 1995Touring Superleggera registry
International collector-car community
Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni began contacting owners and documenting surviving Touring-bodied cars after a major portion of the historical archive had been lost in a fire. The registry became a preservation and research effort rather than a conventional commercial campaign.
Outcome. The initiative helped reconstruct the company's production history and strengthened the marque's position in the historic-vehicle community.
- 1995Villa d'Este heritage revival
Italy · International concours and collector-car markets
Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni contributed to the revival of Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este and served as president of its jury until 2003, linking Touring's heritage with one of the world's leading elegance competitions.
Outcome. The event became a recurring platform for historic Touring cars and later modern Touring concepts; a memorial trophy was named for Anderloni after his death.
Brand decisions
2021
Enter mid-engined coachbuilt design with Arese RH95Product launchBackground
Touring used its 95th anniversary to broaden its modern performance-car portfolio beyond front-engined grand tourers.
Action taken
The company introduced the Arese RH95, its first mid-engined design, in six variations.
Aftermath
The model demonstrated the brand's continuing move toward highly configurable, modern Ferrari-derived limited-series cars.
2013
Convert the Disco Volante concept into a limited seriesProduct launchBackground
The 2012 style model revisited Touring's 1952 C52 Disco Volante while using contemporary Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione architecture.
Action taken
Touring developed the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring as an eight-car bespoke series.
Aftermath
The model won the 2013 Design Award at Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este and became one of the modern marque's signature products.
2006
Revive the brand as a multidisciplinary design and coachbuilding firmStrategyBackground
Investors acquired the historical brands and trademarks and sought to re-establish Touring in a contemporary specialist-automotive market.
Action taken
A new Milan-area company began offering automotive design, engineering, homologation, coachbuilding, restoration, and non-automotive industrial design.
Aftermath
Touring returned as a low-volume creator of concepts, bespoke cars, limited series, and heritage services rather than as a mass-production manufacturer.
1966
Wind up the original coachbuilding operationStrategyBackground
Unitary construction, factory-integrated manufacturing, and unstable low-volume contracts weakened the economics of independent coachbuilding. Touring had also invested in a larger Nova Milanese facility before losing expected contractors.
Action taken
The original company discontinued production and was wound up without entering bankruptcy.
Aftermath
The original operating business ended, although the trademark and heritage were preserved through later custodians and eventually revived in 2006.
1936
Patent and commercialise the Superleggera systemOtherBackground
Touring needed a lightweight construction approach that could produce elegant and technically distinctive bodies in small quantities.
Action taken
The company patented a tubular framework covered by thin alloy panels and used it across road and competition bodies.
Aftermath
The method became the central technical marker of the Touring name and was later licensed to other manufacturers, including Aston Martin.
Recent events
- 2024
Superleggera Veloce12 unveiled[1]
Product launch
Touring presented a limited-edition grand tourer based on the Ferrari 550 Maranello, with a planned production run of 30 cars.
- 2021
Arese RH95 introduced for Touring's 95th anniversary[1]
Product launch
The Arese RH95 marked Touring's first mid-engined design and was produced in six variations.
- 2020
Aero3 introduced[1]
Product launch · Product generation
The Aero3 used a prominent central rear fin and streamlined bodywork inspired by Touring's aerodynamic racing designs of the 1930s.
- 2015
Touring Berlinetta Lusso introduced[1]
Product launch
A street-legal two-seat coupé based on the Ferrari F12berlinetta was presented as a five-car series using hand-beaten aluminium and carbon fibre.
- 2014
MINI Superleggera Vision concept revealed[1]
Product launch
Touring and BMW Group's MINI design team collaborated on an electric roadster concept exploring a new design direction for the British marque.
- 2013
Modern Disco Volante enters limited production[1]
Product launch · Campaign
The 2012 design study evolved into the Alfa Romeo Disco Volante by Touring, a bespoke limited-series car that received the year's Design Award at Villa d'Este.
- 2011
Gumpert Tornante by Touring shown[1]
Product launch
Touring presented a high-performance grand-tourer prototype commissioned by German manufacturer Gumpert.
- 2010
Bentley Continental Flying Star introduced[1]
Product launch
Touring unveiled a limited-series shooting brake based on the Bentley Continental GTC with Bentley's endorsement.
- 2008
Touring presents Bellagio Fastback and A8 GCS Berlinetta[1]
Product launch
The revived coachbuilder showed a Maserati Quattroporte-based fastback and a Maserati-powered berlinetta concept at Villa d'Este.
- 2006
Touring Superleggera brand and trademarks acquired and a new company established[1]
M&A
A new Milan-based firm revived the Touring Superleggera name and expanded its activities into design, engineering, homologation, coachbuilding, industrial design, and restoration.
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