Any car that can tackle the gruelling Mille Miglia deserves its place in the history books. Laying its foundations in 1927, this 1,000-mile open road endurance race would draw in a staggering 5,000,000 spectators, all desperate to see purpose-built machines from then moderately young and deeply aspiring car makers such as Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, Alfa Romeo and, in the 1947 edition of the event, an outfit known as Cisitalia.
Not so long before the Cisitalia 202 lined up on the start line ahead of this punishing test of man and machine, founder Piero Dusio and his small team needed a body for their Giovanni Savonuzzi-designed two-seater, space frame chassis. A variety of designs were hurriedly created by several local coachbuilders, including Colli, Vignale, Garelli, and Stablimenti Farina, but it was this design from Pinin Farina that captured our hearts. During the 1947 Mille Miglia, Tazio Nuvolari was driving one of five Cisitalias taking part and had amassed an impressive eight minutes, but fell victim to a 20-minute delay while drying out a ruined ignition system. Undeterred, he powered on and finished in a defiant second place, behind Biondetti’s Alfa Two-Nine. The end result would see a second, third and fourth place finish for Cisitalia, leaving a lasting mark on the brand’s reputation for the years that followed.
That leads us perfectly onto this example from Heritage Cars B.V., a car that was raced in-period at the 1949 and 1950 Mille Miglia, before being sold and shipped around the world with various collectors, where it adapted to a quieter life of collecting prizes on concours lawns rather than the cobbled streets of Rome. In 1985 and 1995, this Cistialia 202 was entered at Pebble Beach by its current owner, initially finished in red at the first concours event, before being extensively restored, transforming it into the fine example you see before you. Most recently, the 202 returned to the Mille Miglia, competing in the 2020 edition, where it managed to finish under its own steam, something it failed to do back in the late 1940s.
Today, it represents a wonderful opportunity to own a true masterpiece of Italian coachbuilding, and a rare one at that, being one of a mere 170 examples reported to have been created. With the success of the Cisitalia 202 in the Mille Miglia and other early post-war races cementing its reputation so early on, as well as its influential contribution to the success of post-war Italian coachbuilders and design, the car is firmly established as one of the all-time greats. Having already returned to the historic motoring scene a few years back, the door is undeniably wide open for this 202 to return to events such as the Mille Miglia and Bernina Gran Turismo. So, what are you waiting for?
