Isotta Fraschini

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Isotta Fraschini is an Italian engine manufacturer - and a former automobile manufacturer - that became famous in the 1920s and 1930s for its particularly luxurious passenger cars .

history

The beginnings

The Fabbrica Automobili Isotta Fraschini Milano was in 1899 by Cesare Isotta and Vincenzo Fraschini in Milan founded. At first they limited themselves to the assembly and sale of Renault vehicles. In 1903, the first own model was presented, in 1905 began production of the racing car Tipo D with 17,203 cc engine capacity , which at the Targa Florio took part in Sicily, then one of the most important car race.

In 1907, Isotta Fraschini was briefly taken over by the French luxury automobile manufacturer Lorraine-Dietrich , who then designed bodies for Isotta Fraschini chassis . The production of racing cars continued; 1908 won Vincenzo Trucco the legendary Targa Florio on a Isotta Fraschini. In addition, were sports cars built with four-cylinder engines.

1919-1945

Isotta Fraschini 8A (1926) from the Schlumpf Collection

After the First World War , during which aircraft engines were built, the production of luxury automobiles with large eight-cylinder in - line engines began in 1919 with the Tipo 8 .

With this model and its successor Tipo 8A (from 1924) Isotta Fraschini acquired a reputation as a manufacturer of extremely high-quality vehicles and was seen as the Italian counterpart to Rolls-Royce and Hispano-Suiza . As the US became more prosperous in the 1920s, these cars became popular with the new upper class. The company's clients included famous actors such as Clara Bow , Rudolph Valentino and Greta Garbo . Another important customer of Isotta Fraschini was the Vatican . The sporty version 8A Super Spinto followed in 1926 .

The global economic crisis of 1929 did not leave Isotta Fraschini completely unscathed, the sales of luxury cars declined, so that 1930 turned out to be a very difficult year. Henry Ford , the president of the Ford Motor Company , who also owned a Tipo 8A, suggested that the luxury cars for the US market should be manufactured in the country in order to avoid the high import duties, which the Italian government under Benito Mussolini rejected . Isotta Fraschini still had a second mainstay in the manufacture of aircraft engines, which ensured the company's long-term survival.

In 1931, the stylistically and technically refined successor model Tipo 8B appeared . This version received an even more refined bodywork and a hydraulically assisted semi-automatic preselector , which made operation easier for the driver and further increased the already good driving comfort . In the interwar period, Isotta Fraschini was one of the most expensive luxury car brands ever; the vehicles impressed with their enormous reliability , which was by no means taken for granted at the time.

In 1936, the production of passenger cars was suddenly stopped. Isotta Fraschini started manufacturing trucks for the Italian army together with Zagato in neighboring Rho . The construction of trolleybuses began around the same time . The Swiss arms manufacturer Oerlikon also began building anti-aircraft guns under license . The Cannone-mitragliera da 20/77 (Scotti) was built until 1942 .

During the Second World War , the production of trucks such as the D65 and D80 as well as aircraft engines continued unabated. The factories were relocated from Milan, which was threatened by bombing, to Saronno in 1944 and were therefore hardly damaged in the further course of the war.

1946-1949

Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8C Monterosa Boneschi Cabriolet (1948)

Because the factory facilities remained largely intact, Isotta Fraschini, in contrast to numerous other European car manufacturers, was able to present a model that had been completely redesigned in the previous two years as early as 1948. It was the Tipo 8C Monterosa , a luxurious four-door sedan with a modern body shape and up to 120 hp V8 engines in the rear. The model got its nickname from the company's former location in Via Monterosa in Milan. However, serial production could not be started because only about 20 copies were made due to the high price. Thus, automobile production ended in 1949; the company ceased operations but was not removed from the commercial register.

After the car production

In 1955, the Isotta Fraschini brand was reactivated through the merger with the Milanese engine manufacturer Motori Breda , an outsourced shipbuilding section of the Breda Group . The FA Isotta Fraschini e Motori Breda produced industrial engines and small to medium-sized marine engines in Saronno . In addition, Isotta Fraschini built new trolleybuses , especially for the Milan Transport Authority (ATM). In the early 1960s, a factory for diesel engines was built in Bari .

In the 1980s the company was renamed Isotta Fraschini Motori SpA and taken over by the Trieste ship engine manufacturer Fincantieri . Since then, the company's administration has been based in the old factory in Bari, while engines for ships , industry and railways are manufactured there and in Trieste . The factory in Saronno still exists, but is almost no longer used.

Picture gallery

  • Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 Phaeton with Sala body

  • Isotta Fraschini 8A (1926) from the Schlumpf collection

  • Isotta Fraschini 8A (1926) from the Schlumpf collection

  • Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A S Boattail Roadster with LeBaron body

  • Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8B with Castagna body

  • Isotta Fraschini Delta RC.31 air-cooled hanging V12 aircraft engine

Trivia

  • In the 1940 film Rebecca by Alfred Hitchcock , an Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Cabriolet Landaulet by Castagna (built around 1930) appears.
  • A similar Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8A Castagna Transformabile from 1929 can be seen in the 1950 movie Sunset Boulevard . In this film, the car is driven by Erich von Stroheim in his role as butler and chauffeur. Because von Stroheim could not drive, the car was pulled by another car in these scenes. He drove the Isotta against the gate during the recordings for a film scene that took place in front of the factory gate to Paramount Studios . The first owner of the vehicle was Peggy Hopkins Joyce , who received it as a gift from Walter P. Chrysler .
  • Isotta Fraschini from Sunset Boulevard can be seen briefly in a scene in the movie Mulholland Drive - Street of Darkness by David Lynch , parked in a gate entrance.
  • In his book "The Art of Thinking About Money" by André Kostolany , he chooses the automobile manufacturer as an example of one of his boldest and most successful speculative objects.

Known vehicles

Passenger cars

  • Tipo 8, 1919-1924
  • Tipo 8A, 1924-1931
  • Tipo 8B, 1931-1936
  • Tipo 8C Monterosa, 1948-1949

race car

  • Tipo D, 1905-1907
  • Tipo FE, 1908 (Voiturette)

Trucks

  • D65
  • D80, 1934-1955

Trolleybuses

  • TS 40F1
  • F1

literature

  • Richard v. Frankenberg, Marco Matteucci: History of the Automobile. Sigloch Service Edition / STIG Torino, Künzelsau 1973, DNB 760297916 .
  • Hans-Otto Neubauer (ed.): Chronicle of the automobile. Chronik Verlag in Bertelsmann Lexikon Verlag, Gütersloh / Munich 1994, ISBN 3-570-14338-4 .
  • Harald H. Linz, Halwart Schrader : The great automobile encyclopedia. 100 years of history. 2500 brands from 65 countries. 2nd Edition. BLV Buchverlag, Munich / Vienna / Zurich 1992, ISBN 3-405-12974-5 .
  • George Nick Georgano (Ed.): Complete Encyclopedia of Motorcars, 1885 to the Present. 2nd Edition. Dutton Press, New York 1973, ISBN 0-525-08351-0 . (English)
  • Ernest Schmid, Martin Wiesmann: Car veterans. Gloria-Verlag, Bergdietikon (Switzerland) 1967, DNB 988869462 .
  • Roger Gloor: Post War Car. 2nd Edition. Hallwag AG, Bern / Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-444-10263-1 .
  • Hugh G. Conway: Les Grandes Marques: Bugatti. Gründ, Paris 1984, ISBN 2-7000-5175-8 . (French)

Web links

Commons : Isotta Fraschini  - collection of images, videos and audio files