Officine Realizzazioni Sarde Automobili

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Officine Realizzazioni Sarde Automobili SpA ( Orsa for short ) was a Cagliari- based automobile manufacturer that briefly produced a replica of the Siata Spring in the early 1970s . Orsa was the first and so far only car manufacturer in Sardinia .

Company history

Template for the Orsa Spring Speciale: The Siata Spring from 1967

Orsa was founded in 1971 by Massimo Focanti and two business partners in Cagliari; later Piero Rivolta Barberi was also involved in the company, the son of Renzo Rivoltas and owner of the sports car manufacturer Iso Rivolta . The decision to start automobile production in Sardinia was due to the Italian economic development programs that existed in the 1970s for the structurally weak regions of Mezzogiorno and Sardinia. The state-owned Cassa Mezzogiorno e Regione Sardegna took over 70 percent of the investments that went into building the company.

Orsa started production in 1973. The only model was the Orsa Spring Speciale . This was an almost unchanged new edition of the retro roadster Siata Spring, which was manufactured from 1967 to 1970. The mechanics were taken over from the Spanish Seat 850 Especial , which was identical to the Fiat 850, which has since been discontinued in Italy.

By 1974 "a few hundred vehicles" were built, which were mainly sold abroad. In 1975 and 1976 individual cars were still sold; However, it is unclear whether regular production was still taking place at this time or whether only warehouse vehicles were sold. The end of production at Orsa is partly attributed to the effects of the oil crisis . On the other hand, Seat stopped production of the Seat 850 in 1974, so that Orsa could no longer have sufficient basic vehicles in the future.

Orsa announced a newly developed, 2 + 2-seater coupe in 1975; however, the project was no longer implemented.

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Amtmann, Schrader: Italian Sports Cars, page 377.
  2. ↑ a b c Company history on the website www.focanti.com (accessed on October 14, 2011).