Differentiating Tipo1 and Tipo2 Touring Sprint coupes  

There are at least three significant visual clues to help the viewer to tell the difference between the Tipo1 Touring Sprint coupe and the Tipo2 Touring Sprint coupe. All three are illustrated in the photo pairs to the right.

First and foremost is door length, as shown in the top photo pair. The doors of the blue Tipo1 clearly extend all the way to the bottom of the body, while the doors of the unrestored Tipo2 below it are shorter and leave room for the exposed sills or rocker panels.

In the second pair of photos on the right, you can see the difference in door length and sills when the doors are opened. The red car is a Tipo1 with the long door that covers or hides the sills. The black car is a Tipo2 and you can see that the door ends at the sill rather than extended past it.

The light-blue Tipo2 in the lowest photo pair also carries the "hockey stick" trim piece that is a second characteristic of Tipo2 Touring Sprints and is also found on Tipo3 Touring Sprint coupes. While the sculptured "swoosh" is present on the Tipo1, it is only on the Tipo2 and Tipo3 that a piece of metal trim is placed on it. Many restored Tipo2s and Tipo3s incorrectly lack this trim piece. 

The third visual clue is a major structural one that may not always be obvious unless the two cars are seen together, as they are in the top and bottom photo pairs. The Tipo2 greenhouse is higher than that of the Tipo1, resulting in a re-curved rear 3/4 window. If you carefully inspect the photo pair on the lower-right, you can realize this distinction. (By the way, the front "cozy wing" or "quarterlight" on the light-blue car is a rarely-ordered piece of original equipment.)

(There are at least three exceptions to this short-door "rule": *01250*,  *01361* "Lusso" and *01420*. All are Tipo1s and have short rather than long doors, but for different reasons.)


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