CARROZZERIA CAMPANA ONORIO: 60 YEARS OF HISTORY

The Carrozzeria Campana Onorio body shop is the oldest in the city and province of Modena. It was founded back in 1947 by the Campana brothers, Onorio and Erasmo and, since its founding, has changed location four times.

Onorio and Erasmo Campana opened their own shop after having worked before the war for Bacchelli and Bertolini (one of the very first body shops in Modena). They began by restoring cars coming from the centers that recycled wartime materials (ARAR). They then began building bodies for Staguellini (the 750 and 1100). They also created some custom-built prototypes, such as (in 1948), the small “barchetta” on the chassis of the FIAT Topolino with two-cylinder BMW (motorcycle) engine. In a short time, the Campana brothers even began working with Ferrari (the bodies of the early 166 were made by them), AlfaRomeo and Maserati.

But it was with the House of the Trident (Maserati) that, over the years, their relationship has grown and intensified. When Alejandro De Tomaso acquired Maserati (1975), Campana began to work for this Italo-Argentinian manufacturer. A few years later (1981-82) the company also began working withLamborghini (for a limited time), handling the paint jobs on the mass production Jalpa that were performed directly by the Carrozzeria Campana for this manufacturer located in Sant’Agata Bolognese.

Naturally, collaboration with De Tomaso was not limited to Maserati alone: Carrozzeria Campana worked directly on a number of De Tomaso vehicles, directly for Alejandro’s own company, for example in the production of the Pantera GR3, participating directly in the development of the last Pantera ’90 as well as the last De Tomaso GT produced, the Guarà. It is no accident that, today, Carrozzeria Campana is the only De Tomaso authorized body shop (for which the De Tomaso family still retains all trademark rights) that can offer De Tomaso customers not only qualified service, but also a complete line of spare parts unavailable elsewhere. Its relationship with Maserati has become so close that Carrozzeria Campana is the only complete Maserati Service center (body work + mechanical service) officially recognized by the House of the Trident in the world today.