Nardi Raggio Azzurro History
Catalog record
This is a brief catalog introduction with limited source documentation. A licensed, identity-checked lead photograph has not yet been added for this page. Detailed year, configuration and ownership coverage must be identified separately; this page is not a complete vehicle catalog.
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The Raggio Azzurro ('Blue Ray') name covers two related prototypes that demonstrated Nardi's ambitions beyond pure motorsport. The first, shown at the 1955 Turin Auto Show and subsequently in Paris and New York, was built on a tubular steel chassis using Lancia Aurelia B20 mechanicals (2.5-litre V6, uprated with Nardi components) and clothed in a daring bubble-topped coupe body styled by Giovanni Michelotti and built by Carrozzeria Vignale.
A second, more restrained car — the Raggio Azzurro II — appeared in 1958. Also designed by Michelotti and built by Vignale, it used modified Lancia Aurelia B24 mechanicals and shifted emphasis toward grand-touring refinement; a distinguishing feature was its blue Perspex roof panel that slid in tracks for ventilation. Both cars were one-off show prototypes rather than production propositions, illustrating how Nardi used prestigious coachbuilder collaborations to keep the workshop's name visible in the Italian show circuit.
Generations
Raggio Azzurro I · Blue Ray I — Aurelia B20
Bubble-topped Turin Show prototype on Lancia Aurelia B20 mechanicals; Michelotti/Vignale; shown in Turin, Paris, and New York.
1955 Photo: “Lancia 1955 Aurelia Nardi Blue Ray 1” by Bill Abbott / Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. Cropped to 16:9.
Raggio Azzurro II · Blue Ray II — Aurelia B24
Grand-touring companion on Aurelia B24 mechanicals; sliding Perspex roof; Michelotti design, Vignale body.
Body styles
- Coupe
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