Although this car is the 4th Vignale Spyder restoration carried out in our workshop, it was the most demanding one. We could not start from scratch but rather took over a restoration project 'in progress'. We found AM101.1421 in 2015 as what looked like a restored bodyshell. The car came in boxes filled with spare parts – a lot were unrestored, and some were partially restored. However, most of the restoration work was carried out to a vague standard in the 1990s.
Based on what we found, the rebuilding strategy was decided. That was to bring the car to a world-class standard without overstressing an already ambitious budget. It turned that out many crucial parts were missing. When planning the project, the primary challenge was to analyse and understand the quality of the work already done and the quality of the existing parts and components.
We outsourced and supervised the painting and interior trimming. All other work, including rebuild, was carried out in our workshop. The restoration process required a total of 1800 hours. The major technical challenge was handcrafting all the missing parts – specifically chrome trim; window and door mechanisms, etc.
These cars are exceptional and parts mutated and altered over the model's lifetime. Most of the technical components were rebuild to our LP – standard without compromise. Our aim was to build the car to precise factory specs and still allow a satisfying driving experience by avoiding to a maximum degree the noises, vibration and heat.
Leo Peschl, August 2020