The Gentleman Racer's Sub-Compact

In post World War II Europe, if you were a wealthy playboy or a young Viscount, and you wanted to go racing, you commissioned a car from Zagato Milano. It's 1957, and your fencing partner got himself a Ferrari 250GT with a Pininfarina body? Not a problem, just get yourself one of these:

1957 Ferrari 250 GT II Zagato

Sure, you could be that guy, or you could go against the grain and be a true eccentric-badass, gentleman racer, and get a car based on the tiny Fiat 500 'Topolino.' About as powerful as a modern John Deere mower, the Topolino was an economical little city car for the masses (Fiat built 520,000 of them from 1935-1955).

A tiny, underpowered, mass-production car isn't the obvious choice for our gentlemen racer, you say? Perhaps not. The following diagram won't exactly inspire confidence, either.

How small is small? Small.

Starting with a stock Fiat 500C, a bigger engine, and a completely restyled, all-aluminum body were added to create the 1949 Fiat 750MM Panoramica.

Check out how the chrome strips sit flush within recesses in the body panels!

The body-style was called a Panoramica for its distinctive cockpit, designed for excellent visibility. The windows were all made from lightweight Plexiglass which, along with the aluminum body, contributed to the car's very light weight. At 1168 lbs, with gas, the 750MM is less than half the weight of the Mini Cooper in the diagram above.

Just look at this grille. So fucking rad.

This car isn't just a looker. It went racing. The 'MM' refers to the famous (or notorious) Mille Miglia race, in which cars were driven flat-out over 1,000 miles of Italian roads, through cities and small villages. The car pictured here took 4th place in its class in the 1949 Mille Miglia. Don't be fooled by it's small size, as this car averaged over 57.5 mph over the entire distance (including stops, refueling, etc).

Zagato planned to build 10 examples of this car, but supposedly only built 8 of them. Of those eight cars, the car pictured here is one of only two that are left. The photos* above were all taken at the 2009 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, where the little coupe won the Mille Miglia Trophy. The car is owned by the very fortunate Scott Gauthier of Scottsdale, AZ.

This was the catalog you'd have used to order one.

What Zagato did with this little car, in my opinion, is nothing less than a masterpiece of design and craftsmanship, and it's now my all-time favorite car.

*all photos taken from flickr.