Sergio Sartorelli
Introduction '''Sergio Sartorelli''' (Alessandria, 7 May 1928 – Torino, 28 November 2009) was a noted Italian automotive designer and engineer.During his career at Carrozzeria Ghia, OSI, and finally Fiat, Sartorelli became widely known for his work on the Fiat 2300 S Coupé, Karmann Ghia Type 34, and the Fiat 126.He was the honorary president of the Italian Volkswagen Karmann Ghia Club.
Background As a young teen, Sartorelli had a passion for cars, trucks, trains, and even military vehicles. To mentally escape the depth of World War II, he spent his time filling school notebooks with sketches and building scale wooden models of cars.After the war he earned a degree in mechanical engineering at the Polytechnic University of Turin in 1954, followed by 18 months of Military Service in as a cartographer. During his military service, he continued to sketch for Carrozzeria Boano.After his military service, he was turned down by Boano and Pininfarina, but in 1956 was hired by Ing. Giovanni Savonuzzi at Ghia.
Career Sergio Sartorelli's career at Ghia rose quickly when in 1957, engineer Savonuzzi left Ghia for Chrysler, Sartorelli became Head of the Style Prototypes. After the sudden death of Luigi Segre, owner and chief stylist of Carrozzeria Ghia, Sartorelli left Ghia.Officine Stampaggi Industriali (OSI) was set up as a parallel and complementary company to Ghia and it was part owned by Luigi Segre. With the death of Segre the partnership disappeared and OSI was left with no styling department. After two years of a freelance relationship with Michelotti, OSI set up its own styling department called Centro Stile e Esperienze OSI, and appointed Sergio Sartorelli as its director. This arrangement lasted from 1965 until December 1967 when OSI reorganized.In 1968 what was left of Centro Stile e Esperienze OSI, became the Future Studies department at Centro Stile Fiat with Sergio Sartorelli as its head, it was entrusted with the study of design, automotive development, and modeling of prototypes for Fiat.By 1984 with the car market in crisis, Fiat let Sergio Sartorelli go, and he retired from his design career.
Design work Sergio Sartorelli's design work included: Year  Model  Firm  Notes 1957  Volkswagen 1200 Beetle  Ghia  prototype for Beetle replacement 1957  Fiat 1100/103 Coupe, Cabriolet, Giardinetta  Ghia   1957 Turin Motor Show 1957  Ghia Crown Imperial limousine  Ghia   1957-1963 collaboration with Chrysler Corp. design team 1959  Karmann-Ghia Coupe Type 14  Ghia  styling update 1959  Ghia Selene I  Ghia   designed with Tom Tjaarda 1960  Fiat 2300 S Coupé  Ghia   production model debut at 1961 Geneva Motor Show 1960  Karmann-Ghia Coupe 1500 Type 34  Ghia   1961 debut, Frankfurt motor show 1961  Maserati 5000 GT Ghia  Ghia  one-off for Ferdinando Innocenti 1962  Alfa Romeo 2600 Spider Ghia  one-off prototype 1963  Fiat G230S  Ghia  prototype introduced at Turin Motor Show 1965  OSI-Ford 20 M TS Coupé and Spider OSI  Produced from 1966 to 1968, only one Spider was made. 1972  Fiat 126  Fiat   replacement for Fiat 500 introduced at Turin Motor Show 1978  Fiat Ritmo  Fiat   introduced at 1978 Turin Motor Show to replace Fiat 128Fiat 2300-S-Coupé.JPG|Fiat 2300 S Coupe1966 Type 34 Karmann Ghia rear.jpg|1966 Type 34 Karmann GhiaGhia-Fiat G230S.JPG|Ghia-Fiat G230SFiat 500 Ghia Jolly.jpg|Fiat 500 Ghia JollyMHV Ford-OSI 01.jpg|OSI-Ford 20 M TSWhite left hand drive Fiat 126 produced in 1973 6.jpg|Fiat 126Fiat Ritmo 75CL (8998214735).jpg|Fiat Ritmo
References
External links * Sergio Sartorelli ''Karmann Ghia Italy Club'' -  English Translation* Sergio Sartorelli ''Karmann Komment - The official Magazine of the Karmann Ghia Owners Club GB''