Piero Drogo was born in Vignale Monferrato on 8 August 1926 to father Luigi Drogo and mother Rosina Monzeglio. His parents were farmers. Before or immediately after World War II he moved to Venezuela,[1]: 9 along with members of his family.[2][3] While in Venezuela, he began his career as a sports car racing driver. His first recorded result was at the 1956 Premio Nacional Ciudad de Maracay in Venezuela, where he placed first overall driving a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL.
In 1958, Drogo returned to Italy and began living in Modena, where he would remain for the rest of his life. In the late 1950s, he worked as a racing mechanic for Stanguellini to support his racing career.[4]
Drogo married Anna Pia Fornaciari, a nurse from Modena, on 5 December 1959.[1]: 12
Racing career
The first known record of Drogo's racing career is a first-place finish in the 1956 Premio Nacional Ciudad de Maracay, although this may not have been the first event in which he participated. Drogo's racing career included numerous regional sports car races in Latin America, as well as international races such as the 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 1959 Targa Florio. He also drove in the 1960 Formula One season, including an 8th-place finish at the 1960 Italian Grand Prix as well as several non-championship races.[1]: 9–12 He scored no Formula One championship points.
Sports car racing results
Unless otherwise cited, all results below are cited from Koobs de Hartog and De Rijck, 2015.[1]
Drogo at right with Giotto Bizzarrini in the middle on 1 December 1964 with the Iso AC/3.
In 1960, Piero Drogo entered into a partnership in the carrozzeria "Marchesini & Cavalieri S.d.f" alongside Lino Marchesini and Celso Cavalieri. This business would become commonly known as Carrozzeria Sports Cars, although it operated under several legal names during its existence. C.S.C. operated from 1960 to late 1971, during which time the company produced low-volume or one-off bodywork for many Italian automakers as well as racing teams and individuals. C.S.C. customers included Scuderia Ferrari, Giotto Bizzarrini, Iso, Scuderia Serenissma, ASA, NART, Ecurie Francorchamps and others.[1]: 12–14, 22
From the beginning of Carrozzeria Sports Cars, Piero Drogo's role was primarily in managing business operations. His duties included sales, public relations and administration.[1]: 12, 18 Although the name "Drogo" is often used as a synonym for the designs of C.S.C.,[6] Drogo did not practice the craft of coachbuilding nor was he an automobile designer.[1]: 18 It is a common misconception that Drogo designed automobile bodies- in fact, the design work was carried out by C.S.C. workers during the fabrication process, often in collaboration with the customer. No single person was responsible for the automobile designs produced by C.S.C.[1]: 31 In his role as the manager of C.S.C., Drogo became well known in Modena and used his contacts in the racing world to attract business. While multiple other partners joined and left C.S.C, Drogo's presence was a constant from 1960 until the company's bankruptcy in 1971.
By 1971, Carrozzeria Sports Cars was facing financial difficulties. In June 1971, Drogo published an editorial in the magazine Autosprint titled "Modena S.O.S.",[7] which appealed to private and/or public investment to assist C.S.C. and other small Modenese manufacturers facing similar economic troubles. Drogo's efforts to save the business were ultimately unsuccessful and C.S.C. declared bankruptcy on 31 December 1971.[1]: 15
Later life
In 1972, Piero Drogo opened a dealership under the name "Sports Cars S.a.s. di Drogo & Vassallo", selling Ferrari, Maserati, Lamborghini, Porsche and De Tomaso automobiles. This was located on the former premises of Carrozzeria Sports Cars and shared premises with "Carrozzeria ABS", which was founded by former C.S.C. employees. In this way, Drogo maintained some continuity of business operations despite the bankruptcy of C.S.C.[1]: 15
Piero Drogo died on 28 April 1973, at the age of 46, in an automobile accident. He collided with a truck while driving through a dark tunnel near Bologna.[1]: 15 [4][2] A lengthy obituary by journalist Mario Morselli was published in Autosprint.[8]
Drogo's widow, Anna Pia Fornaciari, would later marry Lamborghini test driver and development engineer Bob Wallace.[1]: 12
