This 1954 Hudson Italia is one of 26 coupes built with aluminum bodywork by Carrozzeria Touring in Milan, Italy, over Hudson Jet underpinnings during a single year of production. Chassis 10007 is believed to have been displayed at the 1954 Paris Motor Show before being first registered in July 1955 in Sweden, where it passed through several owners through the 1970s. The car then spent 22 years under the stewardship of one Swedish owner before being purchased by its current owner and imported to the US in 1999. Subsequent work included an overhaul of the 202ci Twin-H L-head inline-six and the installation of replacement twin Carter carburetors. Offered as a project with unpainted bodywork, the car is also equipped with a column-shifted three-speed manual transmission, four-wheel hydraulic drum brakes, independent front suspension, 15” Borrani wire wheels, and red and black leather upholstery over bucket seats with dual-cushion backrests. This Hudson Italia is now offered as a project in need of refurbishment with previous Swedish ownership documents, various spare parts, and a clean California title.

Development of the Italia began in the early 1950s under the watch of Hudson chief designer Frank Spring, who sought to channel the momentum of Chrysler’s publicity-generating Ghia-bodied specials. Initially called the Super Jet, the Italia incorporated the floor pan and cowl of the contemporary Hudson Jet with Touring Supperleggera coachwork featuring aluminum body panels covering a steel thin-wall tubular substructure. After a single prototype was showcased at various US Hudson dealers, just 25 production examples were sold as orders were wound down in the wake of the company’s merger with Nash-Kelvinator Corporation to form American Motors Corporation.

Sitting around 9” lower than the Jet, the Italia’s bodywork was penned by Frank Spring and incorporated an inverted “V” centered in the front bumper, V-shaped brake-cooling scoops above the headlights, a wraparound windshield, brake-cooling scoops, upper door edges contouring into the roofline, and triple chrome tubes recessed into the rear fenders to hold rear lighting elements. This example’s unpainted body exhibits various dents, patches, and areas of primer, and it is devoid of its bumpers. The lower left-hand corner of the windshield is damaged.

Sitting around 9” lower than the Jet, the Italia’s bodywork was penned by Frank Spring and incorporated an inverted “V” centered in the front bumper, V-shaped brake-cooling scoops above the headlights, a wraparound windshield, brake-cooling scoops, upper door edges contouring into the roofline, and triple chrome tubes recessed into the rear fenders to hold rear lighting elements. This example’s unpainted body exhibits various dents, patches, and areas of primer, and it is devoid of its bumpers. The lower left-hand corner of the windshield is damaged.

The cabin houses a pair of bucket seats with dual contoured back cushions trimmed in black and red leather with matching upholstery over the door panels. The seat surfaces are said to have been re-dyed. Additional features include red carpeting over the floors and rear shelf, a red crinkle-finish over the dashboard, roll-up windows, and leather rear luggage straps. A non-working push-button radio is situated in the dash.

The two-spoke steering wheel wears a textured wrap and sits ahead of a 200-km/h speedometer and rectangular ancillary gauges. The five-digit odometer shows 98k kilometers (~61k miles).

The 202ci L-head inline-six incorporates an aluminum cylinder head, an 8.0:1 compression ratio, and twin downdraft carburetors. The engine is said to have been overhauled in 2011, at which time replacement carburetors were fitted.

Power is sent to the rear wheels via a column-shifted three-speed manual transmission. Suspension features coil-sprung double-wishbones up front and a leaf-sprung solid rear axle.