Lacking sufficient capital to develop a new model, Hudson reached an agreement for a prototype to be built in Milan by Carrozzeria Touring. A complete Hudson Jet was shipped to Italy. A new body design, based on sketches by Frank Spring, was formed over a steel tubular frame. This unibody system of aluminum panels was known as superleggera (equivalent to “very lightweight” in Italian), and "was expensive and fairly revolutionary in its day." The work done by Carrozzeria Touring was under the supervision of Spring and Hudson's vice-president, Stuart Baits. The Italia was the only project that Carrozzeria Touring undertook for a U.S. automaker.