Fiat Gilco Siata

Donald Osborne has always been a lover of Italian Art, culture, food and, above all, automobiles. His enthusiasm is infectious. We collaborated on a show in November 2017 of vintage Ferraris in Palm Desert. Donald curated the show and called it “Ferrari and Futurists an Italian Look at Speed”. He produced a fabulous catalogue and video. You may still find it on the internet.

I was lucky enough to acquire a rare car built by Gilco to do the Mille Miglia in 2018. It did the Mille in 1954 and 1955.The car was restored in a fashion. We prepared it to do the 2018 historical Mille Miglia. The car had several issues and we had not engaged local support. Luckily, Donald was there and got us needed help. His contacts in Italy are amazing. At the conclusion of the event, with Donald’s advice, we decided to leave the car in Italy to be restored correctly. Donald agreed to oversee the restoration, interviewed appropriate restoration shops, recommended the correct shop and researched the car and its history. Since the car was a “one off”, all the correct details had to be researched and documented.

The Gilco car is unique and was known in the race as a Fiat Gilco Siata. The body design is a striking design reminiscent of a Micholotti design but was supposedly designed by Gilco themselves. The car was finished and returned to us in the U.S. We have shown it twice. Once at Amelia Island, Florida and The Audrain Concours in Newport Rhode Island. This restoration would not have happened without Donald’s expert guidance. Carol and I feel lucky to call Donald a friend. His advice is priceless and it would be a privilege to work with him again.