Cisitalia

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emblem
Cisitalia 202
Cisitalia 202 Coupe rear
Cisitalia 202, early model with split windshield

Cisitalia was an Italian automobile manufacturer . The company was one of the first to manufacture sports cars in the immediate post-war period, from which road vehicles were later derived. The cars still have an excellent reputation today, which is derived on the one hand from the sporting successes, on the other hand from the fact that Ferdinand Porsche , Carlo Abarth and a few other engineers were temporarily involved in the project with top-class staff.

Company history

The company Cisitalia SpA was founded in 1943 in Turin founded. The term “Cisitalia” is short for C ompagnia I ndustriale S portiva Italia na . The company was founded by Piero Dusio , a northern Italian businessman who had competed as a private driver in several grand prizes and mountain races since the 1930s. In the early years, Cisitalia mainly produced machine tools, garage equipment and bicycles. However, planning for the production of a racing car began as early as 1944. From 1946 pure sports vehicles, and later road vehicles, were produced in small series. In 1950 the company founder Piero Dusio moved to Argentina after the failure of the complex Tipo 360 project ; the car production in Italy was meanwhile continued under the direction of his son Carlo ("Carletto") Dusio. Production continued - with interruptions - until 1964; after that the operation was stopped.

vehicles

race car

Cisitalia D46

Cisitalia D46
Cisitalia D46

The young company's first vehicle was the Cisitalia D46, which was also the first newly developed Italian racing car after the Second World War .

The concept

The beginning of the development work, in which the vehicle was still called Cisitalia D201, go back to 1944; they were initially done by the Fiat designer Dante Giacosa and later - from 1945 - continued by Giovanni Savonuzzi under the difficult, material shortage conditions of the post-war period . The D46 was a small, compact racing car that was largely based on Fiat components. It had a tubular space frame and was powered by a 1.1-liter four-cylinder Fiat engine that delivered between 60 and 70 hp depending on the degree of machining. Later models had partially bored out engines with a displacement of 1.2 or 1.3 liters.

In 1946 series production of the D46 began in Turin. The information on the scope of production of the D46 vary. Some sources give 31 copies, others speak of "more than 40".

Racing successes

The main area of ​​application of the compact D46 was the Voiturette class or - from 1948 - its successor, the Formula 2 .

When the Coppa Brezzi , Italy's first post-war race, was held in Turin on September 3, 1946 , seven Cisitalia were at the start: In addition to the company owner Piero Dusio, the cars were for Clemente Biondetti , Louis Chiron , Franco Cortese , Tazio Nuvolari , Raymond Sommer and Piero Taruffi reported. The Cisitalia constructions prevailed in the race against the competition's pre-war cars - including a Maserati 6CM and several Stanguellini  : Dusio, Cortese and Chiron took the first three places.

In 1947, the Cisitalia D46 dominated the Italian races in the Voiturette class (mostly held with only a few participants); in the races in other countries, in which other manufacturers also competed with new or at least well-revised designs, the superiority of the Italian cars was not so clear. Finally, in 1948, the D46 had an increasingly difficult position in the newly established Formula 2 even in the Italian races and gradually fell behind against younger competitors such as the Ferrari 166 or the OSCA 1100 .

For a while, Cisitalia tried to introduce pure brand racing. The first attempt at this was the Grand Prix of Egypt in March 1947, an event organized and financed by Piero Dusio in Cairo , at which only Cisitalia D46 vehicles competed. Piero Taruffi won the race . The concept of the brand races proved to be financially unsustainable after the first event, so Dusio did not pursue it any further.

A Cisitalia D46 was last used in Formula 2 on July 22, 1951, when André Morel started a private D46 at the French Grand Prix des Sables d'Olonne .

Spider Nuvolari and Cisitalia 204

On the basis of the D46, Carlo Abarth developed a partially disguised Spider, which was initially called the Spider Nuvolari and was first used by Tazio Nuvolari in the 1947 Mille Miglia . Four works cars took part in the road race from Brescia to Rome and back again. Incio Bernabei and co-driver Tullio Pacini drove a 202 Cassone Berlinetta which was developed by Rocco Motto. The car had a closed body and was Cisitalia's first aerodynamic racing car. Piero Taruffi drove a 202CMM and Eugenio Minetti a 202SMM. At the start in Brescia the weather was fine, but on the way to Rome the sky darkened more and more and there were squalls and heavy rain. Franco Cortese, Luigi Villoresi and Piero Taruffi dropped out due to accidents. On the return trip to Florence , the Cisitalias were in first, third and fourth place, with Nuvolari in the lead. The race was broadcast live on radio all over Italy and the big question was: can the national hero Nuvolari win his third Mille Miglia after 1930 and 1933? Nuvolari led to Asti, then the conditions on the Milan-Brescia motorway became out of the question. In a severe hailstorm, Nuvolari arrived in Brescia on Sunday June 27th at 4:30 pm. The already seriously ill racing driver needed medical help immediately. His team-mate Bernabei crossed the finish line six minutes behind him. Minetti in the third works car was classified as third. Then everyone was waiting for Clemente Biondetti , who had started an hour to Nuvolari in the Alfa Romeo 2900B Touring , but had clear advantages on the straight northern Italian roads despite the rain. In the end, Biondetti won by 15 minutes. The Cisitalia racing cars were on everyone's lips in Italy.

In 1948 Abarth further developed the Spider Nuvolari into the Cisitalia 204. The car differed from its predecessor in that it had a slightly drilled out engine and a new front suspension developed in collaboration with Ferdinand Porsche. A few copies of the 204 were produced and were used in a number of Italian races by the factory and by private drivers until the early 1950s.

Cisitalia Tipo 360

Porsche 360 ​​Cisitalia, location of the former Porsche Museum
Porsche 360 ​​Cisitalia, Porsche Museum

The Cisitalia 360, also known as “Porsche-Cisitalia” , was an ambitious racing car project that was designed for the highest racing class, the Grand Prix series, but was ultimately never used on a regular basis. Development work began in 1948; Ferdinand Porsche , Carlo Abarth and other Austrian and German engineers were involved at times. Most of them had worked on the Auto Union racing car before World War II . Not least because of this, the Cisitalia 360 was conceptually similar to the German racing car.

The 360 had one of Karl Rabe developed mid-engined , a twelve-cylinder piston engine with 1493 cc capacity, two line shafts driven overhead camshafts per cylinder bank and two Roots compressor or compressors as well as rear-wheel drive with optionally connectable four-wheel drive . The curb weight of the vehicle was 718 kg, of which the engine accounted for 145 kg. The complex design of the 360 ​​overstrained the financial resources of the small company.

On the occasion of the Turin Motor Show in 1949, a copy of the 360 ​​was presented and received by the public with pronounced benevolence; after that, however, the development work had to be stopped. The completed vehicle, along with numerous parts for a second car, was brought to Argentina in early 1950 , where Piero Dusio started a new car production under the name Autoar . There is evidence that the Argentine racing driver Clemar Bucci carried out test drives with the 360 ​​model in Buenos Aires in 1952 .

The information in the literature diverges widely about the further fate of the car, especially with regard to possible racing use. Some sources say that a Cisitalia 360 was used in a regular Argentine race under Clemar Bucci and Felice Bonetto. It is sometimes reported that it was a record attempt at an Argentine airport, which, however, failed due to a defective piston. Still others accept an appearance as part of a Formula Libre race. It is also reported that an American privateer attempted in the mid-1950s to convert the Cisitalia into a dragster by installing a large-volume American eight-cylinder - depending on the source, a Ford or a Chevrolet engine is being discussed. Alternatively, individual sources suggest that Clemar Bucci himself was the driving force behind this project. In any case, this approach could not be realized. This example was taken over by Ferdinand Porsche in 1960. It is now in the Porsche Museum .

A second, rudimentarily assembled vehicle appeared in Switzerland in 1970. It's in the Donington Exhibition today.

Road vehicles

In addition to these racing cars, Cisitalia manufactured a number of attractive street sports cars. The Cisitalia 202 is still best known today, although its reputation is based not so much on its engineering as on the groundbreaking bodywork from Pininfarina .

Cisitalia 202 Gran Sport

Cisitalia 202 Spider from 1951

The Cisitalia 202 was the young brand's first road vehicle. Technically, it was very similar to the D46 racing car. Both vehicles were developed by Dante Giacosa. They rested on a conceptually largely identical tubular frame, and both models used an engine from the Fiat 1100, which was equipped with a separate cylinder head and, in the case of the 202, delivered 50 to 65 hp depending on the processing stage. Giacosa also used many other Fiat components: the front axle was taken over from the Fiat 500 Topolino , the rear axle, however, from the Fiat 1100. Overall, the technology of the 202 did not come close to the level of the Maserati or the later Ferrari . Rather, the 202 model primarily drew its charm from its bodywork:

  • Most of the vehicles were fitted with a coupé body made by Vignale, designed by Pininfarina and featuring state-of-the-art design elements. It was a wide, low hatchback coupe with integrated front fenders in the newly developed pontoon style. The headlights were embedded in the fenders, and there were indicated bulges above the rear wheels, citing a dynamic jumping movement. Pininfarina's design was innovative and sensational in its clarity. This assessment led to the fact that the Cisitalia Coupé has been on permanent display in the Museum of Modern Art in New York since 1951 . At the same time as the coupé, Pininfarina designed a convertible, although only a few were produced. The purchase price for the Pininfarina Coupé in 1948 was 3.9 million lire .
  • A sensational coupé designed by Giovanni Savonuzzi had faired rear wheels and large tail fins on the rear fenders, which were supposed to increase stability at high speeds. The vehicle was used by Piero Taruffi in the Mille Miglia in 1947, but did not see the target due to technical defects. Two vehicles were created from the Savonuzzi Coupé.
  • The Carrozzeria Vignale produced some convertible versions of the Cisitalia 202 with an independent body.
  • Other special bodies were produced in individual pieces by Castagna , Frua or Vignale .

Production of the Cisitalia 202 continued until around 1952. The scope of production is not exactly clarified. A single source speaks of 485 vehicles. Numbers of this magnitude are not confirmed elsewhere. In contrast, most sources assume numbers in the region of around 170 copies (with variations in detail).

The Cisitalia 202 was the technical basis for Carlo Abarth's first own car, the Abarth 205.

Cisitalia 203

The Cisitalia 203 was a further development of the 202, which was made around 1950. The technology was now borrowed from the Fiat 1400, and the car was equipped with a self-supporting coupé body. Only a few copies are said to have been made.

Cisitalia 202D

The Cisitalia 202D was a further development of the 202 from 1951, which essentially went back to Giovanni Savonuzzi. Externally, the 202D - apart from a widened radiator grille - corresponded to the familiar 202 with a Pininfarina body; however, the drive technology differed considerably. Instead of the small Fiat engine, Savonuzzi had installed a large-volume four-cylinder from the boat engine manufacturer Botta e Puricelli (BPM) from Milan. Initially, the displacement was 2.8 liters and the power was 160 hp. A year later, a smaller version with a displacement of 2.0 liters and an output of 130 hp was presented. In total, only two copies of the 202D were made - one as a convertible and another as a coupé; none of them were regularly sold.

Cisitalia 808XF

Cisitalia 808XF
Cisitalia 808XF

The Cisitalia 808XF was an attempt to combine American drive technology with an independent Italian body. The project was initiated by Piero Dusio's son Carlo and Henry Ford II . Ford, who owned a Cistitalia 202 and loved Italian design, pursued the idea of ​​having a sports car designed by a local stylist with drive components from Ford manufactured in Italy, which was to be sold on the American market. There were two separate attempts at this; none of them ended up in the initially planned series production.

After Dusio and Ford had reached an agreement on a joint project in the spring of 1951, Cisitalia quickly constructed a first prototype, which can be regarded as the forerunner of the 808XF. The prototype - like the Cisitalia 202, which was valued by Henry Ford - had a body designed by Giovanni Savonuzzi, which Ford described as "the most beautiful Italian body" he had ever seen. An eight-cylinder Mercury engine served as the drive . The car was built in the Carrozzeria Ghia. After its completion, the car was examined from a technical point of view by Ford engineers and found to be defective.

In February 1953, a second design was created, which was called the Cisitalia 808XF. Unlike in the case of the first prototype, the car did not have a Savonuzzi body; rather, Aldo Brovarone and Giovanni Michelotti had designed the structure. The 808XF also differed from the first prototype from a technical point of view: While this used a chassis designed by Cisitalia, the 808XF rested on a largely standard Mercury chassis, which was reflected in a comparatively long wheelbase and high structure. A 3.7 liter in-line six-cylinder Mercury engine now served as the drive. Cisitalia took over numerous American features that contradicted the sporting goal of the car; this included the continuous bench and the steering wheel gearshift. Two drivable copies of the 808XF were made. One vehicle was designed as a coupé, the other as a convertible. Vignale built both vehicles . Here, too, Ford engineers found numerous technical deficiencies that should be eliminated before starting series production. But it didn't come to that. Henry Ford decided against further cooperation with Cisitalia during the year. The reason for this was the presentation of the Chevrolet Corvette prototype, which, according to Ford, was superior to the Cisitalia design in every respect.

Ford then initially occupied the sports car segment with its own Thunderbird . Two decades later, Ford finally realized the idea of ​​an Italian sports car for the American market. This time he used the resources of Alejandro de Tomaso , who temporarily delivered the De Tomaso Pantera to the American Lincoln Mercury dealers.

The Cisitalia 808XF convertible still exists. It was driven by Henry Ford's son-in-law in the 1960s, then stood unused at various Ford dealerships for a long time and was extensively restored a few years ago. Its market value is estimated at $ 350,000 in late 2010.

Cisitalia 750/850 Turismo Speciale

Cisitalia 850 GT Coupé from 1963

After Piero Dusio and Carlo Abarth had offered some modified versions of the Fiat 1100 and Fiat 1900 under the designations 34 DF , 35 DF and 36 DF with displacements between 1089 cm³ and 1246 cm³ in the late 1950s , Cisitalia presented it in 1961 the Speciale Turismo , a small, two-seater convertible based on the Fiat 600 . The design of the sloping front section was reminiscent of the Renault Floride , while the side line was found on the Fiat 1600 Spider . On the drive side, various engines designed by Carlo Abarth were offered. They had a displacement of 735 or 847 cm 3 and were each available in different performance versions. Overall, only a few copies of the Turismo Speziale were made by 1964. It was the last vehicle to bear the name Cisitalia.

literature

  • Georg Amtmann, Halwart Schrader: Italian sports cars . 1st edition Stuttgart, Motorbuch Verlag 1999. ISBN 3-613-01988-4 .
  • Lothar Boschen, Jürgen Barth: The big book of Porsche special types and constructions , Motorbuchverlag, Stuttgart 1984, ISBN 3-87943-805-6 .
  • George Nick Georgano : Cars. Encyclopédie complète. 1885 à nos jours. Courtille, 1975 (French)
  • Mike Lawrence: Grand Prix Cars 1945-65 , London (Motor Racing Publications Ltd.) 1998. ISBN 1899870393 (English)
  • Hartmut Lehbrink, Frank Oleski, Rainer W. Schlegelmilch: Gericke's 100 - 100 years of sports cars . Düsseldorf 2005. ISBN 3-938118-00-8 .
  • David Lillywhite, Halwart Schrader : Encyclopedia of Classic Automobiles . Motorbuch Verlag, Stuttgart 2005, ISBN 3-613-02552-3 .
  • Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader: The great automobile encyclopedia. BLV, Munich 1986, ISBN 3-405-12974-5 .
  • Andrew Montgomery: Sports Cars in Pictures and Facts , Parragon, London 2005, ISBN 978-1-4054-8267-7 .

Web links

Commons : Cisitalia  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Hodges, Racing Cars from AZ after 1945, p. 56
  2. ^ Hodges, Rennwagen von A – Z after 1945, p. 56
  3. ^ Georg Amtmann, Halwart Schrader: Italian Sports Cars, p. 93
  4. ↑ Race result of the Coppa Brezzi 1946 on www.formula2.net
  5. ↑ a b Mike Lawrence, Grand Prix Cars 1945-65, p. 62
  6. ^ Giorgio Nada, Mille Miglia Race, The Postwar Years, p. 8 ff
  7. ↑ Amtmann, Schrader: Italian Sports Cars, p. 8 f.
  8. ↑ Amtmann and Schrader (Italian Sports Cars) speak of 1950. That is incorrect; In 1950 there was no motor show in Turin
  9. ↑ Post in Classicdriver.com ( Memento of the original from August 7, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.classicdriver.com
  10. ^ Boschen / Barth, Porsche special types and constructions
  11. ^ Andrew Montgomery, Sports Cars in Pictures and Facts, p. 79
  12. ^ Website of the Museum of Modern Art New York .
  13. ↑ a b www.classicargarage.com ( Memento of the original from March 22, 2010 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.classicargarage.com
  14. ↑ For example Hartmut Lehbrink in "Gericke's 100", p. 72
  15. ↑ Motor Klassik, issue 1/2010
  16. ↑ Amtmann, Schrader: Italian Sports Cars, p. 96
  17. ↑ Quoted from Thoroughbred & Classic Cars, Issue 1/2011, p. 76.
  18. ↑ Illustration of the Cisitalia 808XF with Brovarone-Michelotti body
  19. ↑ Amtmann, Schrader: Italian Sports Cars, p. 97
  20. ↑ For the history of the model, see Thoroughbred & Classic Cars, issue 1/2011, p. 74 ff. There numerous images of the restored convertible.
  21. ↑ Lillywhite / Schrader, Encyclopedia of Classic Automobiles, p. 119