Gian Paolo Dallara

Gian Paolo Dallara (2016)

Gian Paolo Dallara (* 16th November 1936 in Parma ) is an Italian automobile design engineer and founder of the construction company Dallara Automobili .

Life

Dallara graduated from the Milan Polytechnic in 1959, specializing in aeronautical engineering . He then worked for the Italian automakers Ferrari , Lamborghini , Maserati and de Tomaso . He was in charge of the manufacture of the Ferrari 250 GTO . For Lamborghini in 1963 he designed the prototype 350 GTV and the production model 350 GT based on it ; later he designed the Espada and the Miura . As director of the new factory, he was responsible for the prototype production process.

In the late 1960s, Dallara moved to De Tomaso . There he worked on the design of the De Tomaso 505 Formula 1 car used by Frank Williams Racing Cars . In 1972 he founded his own company, Dallara Automobili, in Varano de 'Melegari near Parma . His first modern product was a 1000cc sports prototype, followed by other 1300s and 1600s prototypes. In 1973, test runs of the Dallara 16V engines were made in the Fiat X1 / 9 of the Scuderia Filipinetti , directed by Mike Parkes . In 1975 a racing version of Group 5 of the Fiat X1 / 9 was presented at the Paris Motor Show: the Icsunonove Dallara. The car was fitted with a GRP body, the fenders and some parts of the chassis were removed. These measures resulted in a weight of 690 kg. The body was developed by Bertone , the technology by Dallara. The Icsunonove Dallara was mainly used in hill climbs.

In 1978 Dallara constructed his first Formula 3 car, which won the Italian championship in the same year. Dallara Automobili was in Formula 1 from 1986 to 1992 with its own chassis and team . Since 1997 he has been working for various teams in the Indy Car Championship. His vehicles won in 1988, 1999 and 2000 and the Indianapolis 500 in 1998, 1999 and 2001.

In 2017, the Dallara Stradale, the first street-legal Dallara vehicle, was presented as part of its 81st birthday.

Web links

• CV Gian Paolo Dallara (English)
• Dallara Automobili company website (Italian, English)