The Italia had been shown and promoted in August of 1953, when announcements were made of intentions for production. Hudson was in dire straits, financially, at the time, and only months away from the merger with Nash-Kelvinator that produced American Motors Corporation.
In August of 1954, Hudson ceased production of its exotic Italia dream car.
Though some Italias were produced in 1953, and there are cases of 1955 registrations, the car is essentially only a 1954 model, discontinued after some 26 units of production. Looming over this project was the merger of two companies on the edge of survival, and some programs had to be pared off.
photo from: velocityjournal.com
This was a truly unique car, in many ways. Mechanically it was essentially the same as a Hudson Jet, the compact car in the lineup. One of the more famous features was that the doors wrapped over and into the roof by 14 inches to facilitate boarding the vehicle. Brake and cabin ventilation scoops were integrated into the design as well.
mike
