1954 Hudson Italia GT Sport Coupe

Frank Spring, Hudson's design chief, crafted much of this Italo-American hybrid. The car (chassis IT 10025) has a coupe body built by Touring Milan on a Hudson Jet. Today, 21 of the original 26 cars manufactured still exist. This unrestored coupe was the last of the series and still carries its original paint over the hand-formed aluminum body.

This Hudson Italia is the 17th of 25 produced for the Hudson Motor Car Company from 1953 to 1955 by Touring Body Works in Milano, Italy. The Italia started out as Hudson's compact model, the Jet. Touring removed the Jet's monobuilt body from its substructure and modified the floor plan to allow adequate headroom. A thin-walled tube frame was then welded to the pan from which they attached their hand-formed aluminum panels. Frank Spring, Hudson's chief engineer, worked closely with Touring's Carlo Anderloni to create the design. Trend-setting advances such as air-cooled brakes, flow-through ventilation, and lumbar supporting seats were incorporated into the design. All 25 cars were delivered in the same color - Italian Cream with a red and cream leather interior. Several of the first units were premiered at dealerships around the country. When customers desired to purchase a car, they had to pay the down payment and turn in their car (trade-in) three to six months before receiving the car.