How Sergio Scaglietti turned hammered aluminum into rolling art for Ferrari
Published on Nov 15, 2025 at 9:07 AM (UTC+4)
by Keelin McNamara
Last updated on Nov 13, 2025 at 5:15 PM (UTC+4)
Edited by
Kate Bain
Sergio Scaglietti turned hammered aluminum into four-wheeled art for Ferrari.
And he made it a masterclass of a craft in the process.
It’s one of the car industry’s longest-running relationships.
And it’s a story that details how one man turned Ferraris into art.
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How Sergio Scaglietti became an Italian icon
Sergio Scaglietti is a legend among legends within the car industry.
Scaglietti helped to change the very image of one of the world’s most famous car brand.
You might be wondering how one man managed to achieve all of this.
In its early days, Ferrari was a very different company to the one you know today.
Enzo Ferrari’s firm would only manufacture the drivetrain and the chassis.
For the actual body, Mr Ferrari would outsource the design and build to several different coachbuilding companies.
One of these ‘Carrozzeria’ (coachbuilding) firms was owned by Sergio Scaglietti.
The man himself got his start by working on Scuderia Ferrari’s Alfa Romeo cars.
Prior to the 1940s, Scuderia Ferrari was the official racing division of Alfa Romeo.
Scaglietti opened his own repair shop in Maranello following the end of World War II.
And his shop just so happened to be across the street from Ferrari.
Sergio Scaglietti would repair damaged race cars.
It was the quality and craftsmanship of these repairs that caught Enzo Ferrari’s eye.
By 1955, Sergio Scaglietti was put in charge of crafting the bodies for Ferrari’s racing cars.
Because he was now an officially sanctioned coachbuilder, Scaglietti would receive the chassis directly from Ferrari.
Why Scaglietti designs became so famous
It was Scaglietti’s approach that turned hammered aluminum into rolling art for Ferrari.
By his own admission, Scaglietti never drew designs out in advance.
Instead, he preferred to shape and craft his designs directly over each chassis.
The coachbuilder designed all his bodies ‘by eyes alone’.
And the end results were absolutely spectacular.
Just some of the end results included the 250 Monza, the 500 Mondial and the Testa Rossa.
In addition, Scaglietti was often able to bring many of Pininfarina’s designs to life.
This included vehicles like the 1962 250 GTO, the 1957 California Spider and the 275 GTB.
In the late 1960s, Sergio Scaglietti joined his friend Enzo Ferrari in selling his business to Fiat.
His firm had been struggling due to labor struggles, so the opportunity was too good to miss.
Today, the Scaglietti brand is entirely owned by Ferrari.
Sadly, Sergio Scaglietti passed away in November 2011 at the age of 91.
It is often said that he is responsible for the most beautiful generation of Ferrari cars ever built.
Keelin McNamara is a content writer at Supercar Blondie from Ireland, covering cars, technology, and lifestyle. Despite being a Law graduate, he discovered his passion for journalism during the COVID-19 pandemic, and has worked in the industry ever since. Outside of work, he is an avid MotoGP fan, and is a self-confessed addict of the sport.
