Tazio Nuvolari - Death and Legacy

Death and Legacy

Nuvolari never formally announced his retirement, but his health had deteriorated and he became increasingly solitary. In 1952 he suffered a stroke which left him partially paralysed, and he died in bed a year later from a second stroke. His funeral is said to have seen an attendance of between 25 and 55 thousand people, at least half the population of Mantua. The funeral procession was a mile long, and Nuvolari's coffin was placed on a car chassis which was pushed by Alberto Ascari, Luigi Villoresi and Juan Manuel Fangio.

Nuvolari has had four cars named after him - the Cisitalia 202 spider "Nuvolari", the Alfa Romeo Nuvola, the EAM Nuvolari S1, and the Audi Nuvolari Quattro. Maserati offers the colour Grigio-Nuvolari from their custom palette which is named in his honour for his exploits behind the wheel of their vehicles.

Nuvolari was one of the early proponents (if not the inventor, according to Enzo Ferrari) of the four-wheel drift technique. The technique was later utilised by drivers such as Stirling Moss.

In 1976, Italian singer-songwriter Lucio Dalla wrote the song Nuvolari celebrating his myth. The song is still very famous in Italy, and it's part of Dalla's album Automobili (Cars).

An Italian pay-TV channel dedicated to motor sports is also named Nuvolari.