Carrozzeria Ghia & Gariglio was established in Turin in 1916 by Giacinto Ghia. It made lightweight aluminium-bodied cars and won the Mille Miglia in 1929 on the Alfa Romeo 6C 1500, then produced special bodies for Alfa Romeo, Fiat and Lancia, including the Fiat 508 Balilla sports coupe in 1933. After Giacinto Ghia died in 1944 the company was sold to Mario Boano and Giorgio Alberti, and a Swiss subsidiary, Ghia-Aigle, was set up in 1948.
Under Luigi Segre from 1953 to 1963 Ghia became the most influential proponent of Italian styling, designing for Volkswagen (the Karmann Ghia), Volvo, Renault (the Dauphine and, with Pietro Frua, the Floride) and Chrysler. After Segre’s death in 1963 it was sold to Ramfis Trujillo in 1965 and then to Alejandro de Tomaso in 1967, and Ford bought his shares in 1970.
Ghia then became part of Ford of Europe’s styling operation, producing concept cars and some production models, most notably the first Ford Fiesta of 1976, penned by Tom Tjaarda. From 1973 the Ghia name became Ford’s top trim level, on the Capri, Cortina, Escort, Granada, Fiesta and others. The British Fiesta kept the Ghia designation for 31 years 8 months, until November 2008, and Ghia trim was phased out in Britain in 2010.
