Dante Giacosa was born in Rome (where his father was doing his military service) on 3 January 1905. Originally from Neive (CN), after classical studies in 1927 he graduated in mechanical engineering from the Polytechnic of Turin and immediately joined Fiat. Here he would carry out his entire long and fruitful career, rising from his first job as a designer to the highest levels of management. Already in 1933 he was promoted to head of the technical department of vehicles, in 1955 to head of the higher technical management of motor vehicles, in 1966 to division director and member of the board of directors of the company.
In the initial phase of his career, from 1928 to 1946, he completed his training as a designer and acquired extensive experience. The first project to which he contributed as a design manager was that of the Zero A, starting in 1933: the Topolino was about to be born (1936), with the great objective (then fully achieved with “our” 500) of creating a popular car.
The second period, from 1946 to 1970, saw him responsible for design in numerous sectors of the company. It is worth remembering that he did not limit himself to cars, but was active in various fields: from aeronautics to marine, from large engines for industrial and energy uses to military and special vehicles. Sometimes he dealt not only with the motor aspect, but also with the general design of the cars: this was the case of the Nuova 500 of 1957, for which in 1959 he was awarded the prestigious “Compasso d'oro” prize. The Fiat Style Centre was also always under his guidance.
On January 29, 1970, Fiat announced his appointment as consultant to the presidency and general management and as representative of the company at national and international bodies. Shortly thereafter, he resigned upon reaching the age limit and devoted himself to consulting and writing various books of memoirs. On March 31, 1996, he died in Turin, at the age of 91.
He was also a lecturer at the Polytechnic of Turin (1947-1966) for the course on engine construction; his best-known book, “Endormic Engines”, was adopted by many university courses. He also held various roles outside Fiat; he was president of CUNA (Automotive Unification and Standardization Commission), of ATA (Automobile Technical Association) and of Fisita (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés des Ingénieurs des Techniques de l'Automobile), a member of SAE (Society of Automotive Engineers, USA) and of the British Institution of Mechanical Engineers.
This is the list (in chronological order) of the cars he worked on, some of which have gone down in history, others less known to the general public: Fiat 500 (Topolino); Fiat 508 C/1100 “Nuova Balilla”; Fiat 2800; Cisitalia D46; Cisitalia 202; Fiat 1500 D; Fiat 1400 and 1900; Fiat Campagnola; Fiat 8V; Fiat 1100 103, 1100 TV, 1100 Familiare; Fiat 8001 Turbina; Fiat 600 and 600 Multipla; Fiat Nuova 500 and Autobianchi Bianchina; Fiat 1800, 2100, 2300; Fiat 1300 and 1500; Autobianchi Primula; Autobianchi A111 and A112; Fiat 124 and 125; Fiat Dino; Fiat 130; Fiat 128; Fiat 127; Fiat 126.
As a demonstration of the perfect combination of technology and aesthetics that was one of his most profound traits, his Cisitalia 1100 ended up at the Museum of Modern Art in New York as an example of a contemporary work of art and in the motivation for the award of the “Compasso d'Oro” we read: “The prize, underlining the courageous renunciation of the traditional figurativeness of the automobile through a careful re-examination of the complex of its fundamental elements, intends to highlight the fact that this conception, in addition to having led the designer to the maximum limitation of the superficial elements of the decorative costume, marks an important stage on the road towards a new expressive genuineness of the technique”.
In July 1984 Giacosa was on holiday on the Riviera di Levante and there he received an invitation to participate in the first Garlenda rally. Domenico Romano remembers it this way: “At first he was very surprised by the initiative, but as soon as I explained to him the special bond that, in my opinion, united Garlenda to the 500, he gave us, with great elegance, trust, promising his presence at the event. It was a great honour to have the Fiat designer as a guest and the small town (380 residents in those years) of which I was Mayor did its best to live up to the situation. A suite in the prestigious “Meridiana” Hotel was reserved for the engineer from Neive; a conference was organised on the social aspects of the 500 phenomenon, with journalist Stefano Pezzini as speaker. Giacosa and the kind lady gave the go-ahead to the participating cars for the parade along the streets of Val Lerrone.
They were two full and exciting days! The engineer, when he was leaving, moved by the welcome he had received, wanted to give me, autographing it, his book “40 years of design at Fiat” “.
In the years to come, the contacts between Giacosa and the Club continued in the spirit of cordiality and esteem. When he passed away, a special issue – bordered in mourning – of “4piccoleruote” was produced. In 2006, on the tenth anniversary of his death, the third edition of the Memorial dedicated to him took place, a large gathering naturally set in Neive. The Multimedia Museum of the 500 is named after Giacosa, whose inauguration was sponsored by his daughter Mariella.
James Di Carlo, a long-time member of the Club, said: “I am sure that in the afterlife there are no angels who still walk. Giacosa will certainly have designed a means of transport for them to go to work in the city called Heaven…”.
