Stabilimenti Industriale Farina

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Stabilimenti Industriale Farina
SAIO

logo
legal form società anonima
founding 1906
resolution 1953
Seat Turin
management Giovanni Farina
Nino Farina
Attilio Farina
Pietro Frua
Branch Body shop

Stabilimenti Industriale Farina (short: Stabilimenti Farina or Farina ), after a change of name in 1953, last SAIO , was a manufacturer of automobile bodies from Turin , which in the first half of the 20th century designed and manufactured bodies primarily for Italian chassis . In the interwar years, Farina was one of the most important companies in its industry in Italy. There is no direct connection with the still existing body manufacturer Pininfarina ; however, the founders of Stabilimenti Farina and Pininfarina were siblings.

Company history

Factory building on Corso Tortone in Turin

The founder of Stabilimenti Farina was Giovanni Carlo Farina (1884–1957). He was the older brother of Battista "Pinin" Farina and father of the future Formula 1 world champion Nino Farina .

Before the First World War

Giovanni Farina learned the craft of wheelwright in Turin at the end of the 19th century . In 1906 - according to another source in 1911 - he set up his own business with Stabilimenti Farina in Turin. In the early days, Farina manufactured carriage wagons. The first car bodies were created as early as 1907, with chassis from popular brands such as De Dion-Bouton , Diatto , Itala , Lancia , Peugeot and SCAT being clad. Even before the outbreak of World War I , a special relationship began with Fiat , based on a friendship between Giovanni Farina and Fiat founder Giovanni Agnelli . Farina became a stylistic advisor to Fiat and designed some bodies on their behalf, which Farina later built himself, but in some cases other body manufacturers. During the First World War, Farina produced aircraft parts, including for the German manufacturer Aviatik .

The interwar years

After the end of the war, Farina resumed the manufacture of automobile bodies. In the 1920s, the company built many standardized car bodies, which were no longer manufactured by hand, but with mechanical support. One source says Farina learned about industrial manufacturing in the United States. As a result, Farina temporarily became the largest car body manufacturer in Italy. At the same time, the company continued to build individual luxury bodies for upper-class chassis. Despite the difficult economic situation at the beginning of the 1930s, Farina managed to expand into markets outside of Italy during this time. Farina now also produced bodies for Mercedes-Benz and Rolls-Royce chassis .

In the interwar period, Farina's designs were considered technically and stylistically innovative. In the 1920s, Felice Mario Boano was responsible for the design, some designs also came from Battista “Pinin” Farina, who was trained in the company of his older brother Giovanni. When Boano left the company in 1930 to found the rival company Pininfarina together with Battista Farina, Pietro Frua took over the management of the Stabilimenti Farina design studio with some delay . Under Frua's direction, Farina trained Giovanni Michelotti and Alfredo Vignale , who became successful independent designers after the Second World War. After Frua's departure in 1937, Mario Revelli di Beaumont temporarily determined the design of Farina, which at that time showed emphatically aerodynamic lines.

During the Second World War , Farina primarily built aircraft engines for the state. At this time Giovanni Farina retired from the company's management. Since then, day-to-day business has been carried out by his sons Nino and Attilio. During the war, the Farina factories were badly damaged by bombing.

Decline after World War II

After the end of the war, Farina initially built a few special series based on the Lancia Aprilia and the Fiat 1100 , the designs of which went back to Michelotti and Vignale. In the early 1950s, however, the company did not succeed in establishing itself permanently. Farina initially bodyworked some of the first Ferrari road vehicles , including several 166 Inter , for each of which three coupé and convertible bodies were created based on designs by Giovanni Michelotti. Farina hoped in vain for regular factory orders from Ferrari, because in 1952 Ferrari agreed a long-term collaboration with Pininfarina, which was almost exclusive. In 1953 Farina built a few more individual pieces for Cisitalia and Siata , including several superstructures for the 208CS . However, this did not result in any lasting business relationships.

In 1953, after an economic restructuring, the company was given a new company, SAIO (Società per Azioni Industriale Oropa), which was only used for a short time. At the end of 1953 the company was liquidated due to insolvency.

gallery

  • Fiat 525 N Spider (1929)

  • Lancia Augusta (1935)

  • Alfa Romeo 6C 2500 Farina Cabriolet
    (1947 Michelotti design)

  • Ferrari 166 Inter (1949)

  • Siata 208SC (1953)

literature

Web links

Commons : Stabilimenti Industriale Farina  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Alessandro Sannia: Enciclopedia dei carrozzieri italiani , Società Editrice Il Cammello, Torino, 2017, ISBN 978-8896796412 , p. 214.
  2. ↑ Markus Caspers: Designing Motion: Automobildesigner from 1890 to 1990 , Birkhäuser, 2016, ISBN 9783035607772 , p. 101.
  3. ↑ a b Alessandro Sannia: Enciclopedia dei carrozzieri italiani , Società Editrice Il Cammello, Torino, 2017, ISBN 978-8896796412 , p. 215.
  4. ^ History of Pietro Frua on the website www.pietro-frua.de (accessed on June 11, 2019).
  5. ↑ Markus Caspers: Designing Motion: Automobildesigner from 1890 to 1990 , Birkhäuser, 2016, ISBN 9783035607772 , p. 142.
  6. ↑ Alessandro Sannia: Enciclopedia dei carrozzieri italiani , Società Editrice Il Cammello, Torino, 2017, ISBN 978-8896796412 , p. 216.
  7. ↑ Matthias Braun, Ernst Fischer, Manfred Steinert, Alexander Franc Storz: Ferrari road and racing cars since 1946 . 1st edition Stuttgart 2006 (Motorbuch Verlag). ISBN 978-3-613-02651-3 , p. 21.