Hornet… a sting in the tale

The Hudson Hornet is widely – and justifiably – considered to be a landmark American classic. The closely related Italia, by contrast, is not, but it has its own singular appeal. The car was penned by the firm’s chief stylist, Frank Spring, and Carlo Felice Bianchi Anderloni of Carrozzeria Touring, hence the name. According to popular belief, the Italia project only came about because Spring was somewhat aggrieved that his design for the Jet had been chopped and changed prior to reaching production. He threatened to quit in disgust so the management endeavoured to placate the talented artiste by letting him design a ‘sporty’ show car; something he had been petitioning for some time.
Read more of Richard Heseltine’s article in the From Here to Obscurity feature in September’s issue of Classic American, on sale now.