1.
Italy
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Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a unitary parliamentary republic in Europe. Located in the heart of the Mediterranean Sea, Italy shares open land borders with France, Switzerland, Austria, Slovenia, San Marino, Italy covers an area of 301,338 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate and Mediterranean climate. Due to its shape, it is referred to in Italy as lo Stivale. With 61 million inhabitants, it is the fourth most populous EU member state, the Italic tribe known as the Latins formed the Roman Kingdom, which eventually became a republic that conquered and assimilated other nearby civilisations. The legacy of the Roman Empire is widespread and can be observed in the distribution of civilian law, republican governments, Christianity. The Renaissance began in Italy and spread to the rest of Europe, bringing a renewed interest in humanism, science, exploration, Italian culture flourished at this time, producing famous scholars, artists and polymaths such as Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli. The weakened sovereigns soon fell victim to conquest by European powers such as France, Spain and Austria. Despite being one of the victors in World War I, Italy entered a period of economic crisis and social turmoil. The subsequent participation in World War II on the Axis side ended in defeat, economic destruction. Today, Italy has the third largest economy in the Eurozone and it has a very high level of human development and is ranked sixth in the world for life expectancy. The country plays a prominent role in regional and global economic, military, cultural and diplomatic affairs, as a reflection of its cultural wealth, Italy is home to 51 World Heritage Sites, the most in the world, and is the fifth most visited country. The assumptions on the etymology of the name Italia are very numerous, according to one of the more common explanations, the term Italia, from Latin, Italia, was borrowed through Greek from the Oscan Víteliú, meaning land of young cattle. The bull was a symbol of the southern Italic tribes and was often depicted goring the Roman wolf as a defiant symbol of free Italy during the Social War. Greek historian Dionysius of Halicarnassus states this account together with the legend that Italy was named after Italus, mentioned also by Aristotle and Thucydides. The name Italia originally applied only to a part of what is now Southern Italy – according to Antiochus of Syracuse, but by his time Oenotria and Italy had become synonymous, and the name also applied to most of Lucania as well. The Greeks gradually came to apply the name Italia to a larger region, excavations throughout Italy revealed a Neanderthal presence dating back to the Palaeolithic period, some 200,000 years ago, modern Humans arrived about 40,000 years ago. Other ancient Italian peoples of undetermined language families but of possible origins include the Rhaetian people and Cammuni. Also the Phoenicians established colonies on the coasts of Sardinia and Sicily, the Roman legacy has deeply influenced the Western civilisation, shaping most of the modern world
2.
Fiat Automobiles
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Fiat Automobiles S. p. A. is the largest automobile manufacturer in Italy, a subsidiary of FCA Italy S. p. A. which is part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Fiat Automobiles S. p. A. was formed in January 2007 when Fiat reorganized its automobile business, Fiats main market is Europe, mainly focused in Italy. Historically successful in citycars and supermini sector, currently Fiat has a range of models focused on two segments. Fiat does not currently offer any large family car, nor an executive car - these market segments have, to some extent been covered by the Lancia and Alfa Romeo brands, which Fiat also owns. Fiats share of the European market shrank from 9.4 per cent in 2000 to 5.8 per cent in the summer of 2004, at this point Sergio Marchionne was appointed as Fiats chief executive. By March 2009 their market share had expanded to 9.1 per cent, Fiats built their five-story Lingotto plant in 1915 through 1918, at the time it was Europes largest car manufacturing plant. Later the Mirafiori plant was built, also in Turin, to prepare for production of the all-new Fiat 128, Fiat opened their Rivalta plant in October 1968. Until the 128 entered production, the plant was used to build versions of the 850 and 124 as well as parts for the Fiat Dino. Fiats 2014 range of car engines comprised eleven units, eight petrols. The second generation Punto was a seller in the UK after its October 1999 launch. The original Fiat 500 had been one of the few competitors for the iconic Mini during its 1960s heyday. Fiat has invested for a time in South America, mainly in Brazil. They built their first Brazilian car plant in the Greater Belo Horizonte city of Betim in 1973, recently a brand new model developed in Brazil has been launched, the Fiat Uno. Other European models are imported to Brazil, Fiat 500. Some others are still in production, Punto, Idea, Bravo, Fiat has a long history in the United States. In 1908, the Fiat Automobile Co. was established in the country and a plant in Poughkeepsie, N. Y. began producing Fiats a year later, like the Fiat 60 HP and the Fiat 16-20 HP. These luxury cars were produced long before Chrysler Corp. was formed in 1925 from older manufacturers that were acquired by Walter P. Chrysler, the New Jersey factory was closed when the U. S. entered World War I in 1917. Fiat returned to North America in the 1950s, selling the original 500, Fiat 600 Multipla, Fiat 1100, Fiat 1200, for example the Fiat 124 Sport Spider and the Fiat X1/9
3.
Itala
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Itala was a car manufacturer based in Turin, Italy from 1904-1934, started by Matteo Ceirano and five partners in 1903. T. A. R. / Rapid, SCAT, Itala and S. P. A, giovannis son Giovanni Ernesto was also influential, co-founding Ceirano Fabbrica Automobili and Fabrica Anonima Torinese Automobili. In 1888, after eight years apprenticeship at his fathers watch-making business, Giovanni Battista started building Welleyes bicycles, in October 1898 Giovanni Battista and Matteo co-founded Ceirano GB & C and started producing the Welleyes motor car in 1899. In July 1899 the plant and patents were sold to Giovanni Agnelli, in 1904 Matteo Ceirano left Ceirano GB & C to create his own brand - Itala. In 1906 Matteo left Itala to found S. P. A. with chief designer, in 1906 Giovanni founded SCAT in Turin. In 1919 Giovanni and Giovanni Ernesto co-founded Ceirano Fabbrica Automobili and in 1922 they took control of Fabrica Anonima Torinese Automobili, three cars were offered in the first year, an 18 hp, a 24 hp and a 50 hp. In 1905 they started making very large engined racing cars with a 14.8 Litre 5 cylinder model which won the Coppa Florio, in 1907 a 7,433 cc 35/45 hp model driven by Count Scipione Borghese won the Peking to Paris motor race by three weeks. These sporting successes helped sales dramatically, the continued to grow. The company experimented with a range of engines such as variable stroke, sleeve valve. During the war Itala built aeroplane engines but made a loss producing them, two Tipo 61s did take part in the 1928 Le Mans 24 hour race winning the 2 litre class. The company was bought by truck maker Officine Metallurgiche di Tortona in 1929, the remains of the company was sold to Fiat. A distinctive feature of the pre-World War I50 hp &90 hp models was their use of a rotary valve, each valve fed a pair of cylinders and was mounted alongside, rotating parallel to them. Four ports cast into the valve alternately connected ports to the cylinders through the side of the valve to the inlet and exhaust manifolds at bottom, leo Villa began his career as a racing mechanic working on these rotary valve engines for the driver Giulio Foresti. He met Malcolm Campbell, when in 1923, Campbell took over the Itala, seeing the publicity potential of racing them at Brooklands, Campbell also bought two of Forestis race-prepared cars. Foresti and Villa delivered them in person from Paris to Campbells house at Povey Cross, impressed by Campbells wealth and ambitions, Villa accepted an offer to become his permanent mechanic. Barzini, Luigi and L P De Castelvecchio, Peking to Paris 100th Anniversary Edition. Demontreville Press Inc,2007. ISBN0978956311 Clutton, Cecil, the 1907 &1908 Racing Italas. List of Italian companies List of automobile companies founded by the Ceirano brothers
4.
Fiat 500 "Topolino"
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The Fiat 500, commonly known as Topolino, is an Italian city car produced and manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955. The name Topolino translates literally as little mouse in Italian, but is also the Italian name for Mickey Mouse, the Topolino was one of the smallest cars in the world at the time of its production. Launched in 1937, three models were produced until 1955, all only minor mechanical and cosmetic changes. It was equipped with a 569 cc four-cylinder, side-valve, water-cooled engine mounted in front of the front axle, the radiator was located behind the engine which made possible a lowered aerodynamic nose profile at a time when competitors had a flat, nearly vertical grille. The shape of the front allowed exceptional forward visibility. With horsepower of about 13 bhp, its top speed was about 53 mph, the target price given when the car was planned was 5,000 lire. In the event the price at launch was 9,750 lire, though the decade was one of falling prices in several part of Europe, despite being more expensive than first envisioned, the car was competitively priced. Model A and B shared the body, only the engine of model B had 16 hp, vs.13 hp of Model A. Model A was produced from 1937 to 1948. Model A was offered as a 2-door saloon, 2-door convertible saloon, Model C was introduced in 1949 with a restyled body and the same engine as Model B, and was offered in 2-door saloon, 2-door convertible saloon, 3-door estate and 2-door van versions. In 1952, Giardinetta was renamed Belvedere, Model C was produced until 1955. In 1955 the larger rear-wheel-drive Fiat 600 was launched by Fiat and that would become the basis for the new Fiat 500. The 500 A is known to be hot rodded, once the car came to America and it was mostly hot rodded to a dragster, or a street rod. Fiat 500 History - Gizmohighway Auto Guide Jay Leno talks about his Topolino Soviet-italian comic car AHCHOO-2
5.
Fuel injection
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Fuel injection is the introduction of fuel in an internal combustion engine, most commonly automotive engines, by the means of an injector. All diesel engines use fuel injection by design, petrol engines can use gasoline direct injection, where the fuel is directly delivered into the combustion chamber, or indirect injection where the fuel is mixed with air before the intake stroke. On petrol engines, fuel injection replaced carburetors from the 1980s onward, the functional objectives for fuel injection systems can vary. All share the task of supplying fuel to the combustion process. Carburetors have the potential to atomize fuel better, Fuel injection also dispenses with the need for a separate mechanical choke, which on carburetor-equipped vehicles must be adjusted as the engine warms up to normal temperature. Furthermore, on spark ignition engines, fuel injection has the advantage of being able to facilitate stratified combustion which have not been possible with carburetors, Fuel injection generally increases engine fuel efficiency. With the improved cylinder-to-cylinder fuel distribution of multi-point fuel injection, less fuel is needed for the power output. Exhaust emissions are cleaner because the precise and accurate fuel metering reduces the concentration of toxic combustion byproducts leaving the engine. The more consistent and predictable composition of the exhaust makes emissions control devices such as catalytic converters more effective, herbert Akroyd Stuart developed the first device with a design similar to modern fuel injection, using a jerk pump to meter out fuel oil at high pressure to an injector. This system was used on the engine and was adapted and improved by Bosch. Fuel injection was in commercial use in diesel engines by the mid-1920s. Another early use of direct injection was on the Hesselman engine invented by Swedish engineer Jonas Hesselman in 1925. Hesselman engines use the ultra lean-burn principle, fuel is injected toward the end of the compression stroke and they are often started on gasoline and then switched to diesel or kerosene. Direct fuel injection was used in notable World War II aero-engines such as the Junkers Jumo 210, the Daimler-Benz DB601, the BMW801, German direct injection petrol engines used injection systems developed by Bosch from their diesel injection systems. Later versions of the Rolls-Royce Merlin and Wright R-3350 used single point fuel injection, due to the wartime relationship between Germany and Japan, Mitsubishi also had two radial aircraft engines utilizing fuel injection, the Mitsubishi Kinsei and the Mitsubishi Kasei. Alfa Romeo tested one of the first electronic systems in Alfa Romeo 6C2500 with Ala spessa body in 1940 Mille Miglia. The engine had six electrically operated injectors and were fed by a semi-high-pressure circulating fuel pump system, all diesel engines have fuel injected into the combustion chamber. The invention of mechanical injection for gasoline-fueled aviation engines was by the French inventor of the V8 engine configuration, Leon Levavasseur in 1902, the first post-World War I example of direct gasoline injection was on the Hesselman engine invented by Swedish engineer Jonas Hesselman in 1925
6.
Diesel engine
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Diesel engines work by compressing only the air. This increases the air temperature inside the cylinder to such a degree that it ignites atomised diesel fuel that is injected into the combustion chamber. This contrasts with spark-ignition engines such as an engine or gas engine. In diesel engines, glow plugs may be used to aid starting in cold weather, or when the engine uses a lower compression-ratio, the original diesel engine operates on the constant pressure cycle of gradual combustion and produces no audible knock. Low-speed diesel engines can have an efficiency that exceeds 50%. Diesel engines may be designed as either two-stroke or four-stroke cycles and they were originally used as a more efficient replacement for stationary steam engines. Since the 1910s they have used in submarines and ships. Use in locomotives, trucks, heavy equipment and electricity generation plants followed later, in the 1930s, they slowly began to be used in a few automobiles. Since the 1970s, the use of engines in larger on-road and off-road vehicles in the US increased. According to the British Society of Motor Manufacturing and Traders, the EU average for diesel cars accounts for 50% of the total sold, including 70% in France and 38% in the UK. The worlds largest diesel engine is currently a Wärtsilä-Sulzer RTA96-C Common Rail marine diesel, the definition of a Diesel engine to many has become an engine that uses compression ignition. To some it may be an engine that uses heavy fuel oil, to others an engine that does not use spark ignition. However the original cycle proposed by Rudolf Diesel in 1892 was a constant temperature cycle which would require higher compression than what is needed for compression ignition. Diesels idea was to compress the air so tightly that the temperature of the air would exceed that of combustion, to make this more clear, let it be assumed that the subsequent combustion shall take place at a temperature of 700°. Then in that case the pressure must be sixty-four atmospheres, or for 800° centigrade the pressure must be ninety atmospheres. In later years Diesel realized his original cycle would not work, Diesel describes the cycle in his 1895 patent application. Notice that there is no longer a mention of compression temperatures exceeding the temperature of combustion, now all that is mentioned is the compression must be high enough for ignition. In 1806 Claude and Nicéphore Niépce developed the first known internal combustion engine, the Pyréolophore fuel system used a blast of air provided by a bellows to atomize Lycopodium
7.
Auto racing
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Auto racing is a sport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Almost as soon as automobiles had been invented, races of various sorts were organised, by the 1930s specialist racing cars had developed. There are now numerous different categories, each with different rules and it was won by the carriage of Isaac Watt Boulton. Internal combustion auto racing events began soon after the construction of the first successful gasoline-fueled automobiles, the first organized contest was on April 28,1887, by the chief editor of Paris publication Le Vélocipède, Monsieur Fossier. It ran 2 kilometres from Neuilly Bridge to the Bois de Boulogne, on July 22,1894, the Parisian magazine Le Petit Journal organized what is considered to be the worlds first motoring competition, from Paris to Rouen. One hundred and two competitors paid a 10-franc entrance fee, the first American automobile race is generally held to be the Thanksgiving Day Chicago Times-Herald race of November 28,1895. Press coverage of the event first aroused significant American interest in the automobile, brooklands, in Surrey, was the first purpose-built motor racing venue, opening in June 1907. It featured a 4.43 km concrete track with high-speed banked corners, One of the oldest existing purpose-built automobile racing circuits in the United States, still in use, is the 2. 5-mile -long Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It is the largest capacity venue of any variety worldwide, with a top capacity of some 257. NASCAR was founded by Bill France, Sr. on February 21,1948, the first NASCAR Strictly Stock race ever was held on June 19,1949, at Daytona Beach, Florida. From 1962, sports cars temporarily took a seat to GT cars. From 1972 through 2003, NASCARs premier series was called the Winston Cup Series, the changes that resulted from RJRs involvement, as well as the reduction of the schedule from 48 to 31 races a year, established 1972 as the beginning of NASCARs modern era. The IMSA GT Series evolved into the American Le Mans Series, the European races eventually became the closely related Le Mans Series, both of which mix prototypes and GTs. The best-known variety of racing, Formula One, which hosts the famous Monaco Grand Prix. In single-seater, the wheels are not covered, and the cars often have aerofoil wings front, in Europe and Asia, open-wheeled racing is commonly referred to as Formula, with appropriate hierarchical suffixes. In North America, the Formula terminology is not followed, the sport is usually arranged to follow an international format, a regional format, and/or a domestic, or country-specific, format. In North America, the used in the National Championship have traditionally been similar though less sophisticated than F1 cars. The series most famous race is the Indianapolis 500, the other major international single-seater racing series is GP2
8.
Overhead camshaft
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Compared to OHV pushrod systems with the same number of valves, the reciprocating components of the OHC system are fewer and have a lower overall mass. Though the system drives the camshafts may be more complex, most engine manufacturers accept that added complexity as a trade-off for better engine performance. The fundamental reason for the OHC valvetrain is that it offers an increase in the ability to exchange induction. Another performance advantage is gained as a result of the better optimised port configurations made possible with overhead camshaft designs, with no intrusive pushrods, the overhead camshaft cylinder head design can use straighter ports of more advantageous cross-section and length. The OHC design allows for higher speeds than comparable cam-in-block designs. The higher engine speeds thus allowed increases power output for a given torque output, in earlier OHC systems, including inter-war Morrises and Wolseleys, oil leaks in the lubrication systems were also an issue. Single overhead camshaft is a design in which one camshaft is placed within the cylinder head, in the SOHC design, the camshaft operates the valves directly, traditionally via a bucket tappet, or via an intermediary rocker arm. SOHC cylinder heads are less expensive to manufacture than double overhead camshaft cylinder heads. Timing belt replacement can be easier since there are fewer camshaft drive sprockets that need to be aligned during the replacement procedure, SOHC designs offer reduced complexity compared to overhead valve designs — when used for multivalve cylinder heads, in which each cylinder has more than two valves. Exhaust and inlet manifolds were both on the side of the engine block. This did, however, offer excellent access to the spark plugs, in the early 1980s, Toyota and Volkswagen Group also used a directly actuated, SOHC parallel valve configuration with two valves for each cylinder. The Toyota system used hydraulic tappets, the Volkswagen system used bucket tappets with shims for valve clearance adjustment. Honda later used a similar system in their motorcycles, using the term Unicam for the concept. This system uses one camshaft for each bank of cylinder heads, with the cams operating directly onto the valve and indirectly, through a short rocker arm. This allows a compact, light valvetrain to operate valves in a combustion chamber. The Unicam valve train was first used in single cylinder dirt bikes, a dual overhead camshaft valvetrain layout is characterised by two camshafts located within the cylinder head, one operating the intake valves and the other one operating the exhaust valves. This design reduces valvetrain inertia more than is the case with a SOHC engine, a DOHC design permits a wider angle between intake and exhaust valves than do SOHC engines. This can allow for a less restricted airflow at higher engine speeds, DOHC with a multivalve design also allows for the optimum placement of the spark plug which, in turn, improves combustion efficiency
9.
Fiat 500
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Launched as the Nuova 500 in July 1957, it was a cheap and practical town car. Measuring 2.97 metres long, and originally powered by a 479 cc two-cylinder, air-cooled engine, the 500 is considered one of the first city cars. In 2007, the 50th anniversary of the Nuova 500s launch, Fiat launched another new 500, stylistically inspired by the 1957 Nuova 500, featuring a front-mounted engine and front-wheel drive. To meet the demands of the market which called for economy cars. It had a 2-door coupe body with sun-roof, which was complemented by an Estate version. Both continued until 1954 when they were replaced by an all-new, the new car had a rear-mounted engine, on the pattern of the Volkswagen Beetle, just like its bigger brother the 1955 Fiat 600. Several car makers followed the now uncommon rear engine configuration at the time and were quite successful, the Neckar version of the 500 was manufactured in Heilbronn under a complicated deal involving NSU, and was introduced in October 1961. Steyr-Puch produced cars based on the Fiat 500 under license in Graz, despite its diminutive size, the 500 proved to be an enormously practical and popular vehicle throughout Europe. Sports models were produced by Abarth, as well as by Giannini. An Austrian variant, produced by Steyr-Daimler-Puch, the 1957–1973 Steyr-Puch 500, had a motorcycle-derived Puch boxer twin motor, production of the 500 ended in 1975, although its replacement, the Fiat 126, was launched two years earlier. The 126 was never as popular as its predecessor in Italy, but was popular in the former Eastern Bloc countries. The Fiat 500 has a Cx of 0,38, a good performance for its time. The 500 features a 479 cc two-cylinder engine, hence the name, producing just 13 horsepower. This model also features a roof, foldable to the rear of the vehicle, like that of a Citroën 2CV — rather than the later roof design. The Nuova 500 is one of three models featuring suicide doors, including the Sport model, in total 181,036 examples of the Nuova 500 were produced from 1957 to 1960. In mid-1958 Fiat introduced the Nuova 500 Sport, featuring a powerful engine. Unique to the Sport was a rigid roof with three longitudinal grooves. A short-open-roof model was added a later, in 1959
10.
Abarth
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S. p. A. is a racing car and road car maker founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Its logo is a shield with a scorpion on a red. S. p. A. is an owned subsidiary of FCA Italy S. p. A. the subsidiary of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles controlling its European automotive production activities. Carlo Abarth was sporting director of the Cisitalia factory racing team starting in 1947,1948 saw the financial downfall of Cisitalia, spurred by the investments needed to put the 202 coupé into production. The following year the manufacturer folded, and founder Piero Dusio flew to Argentina, Carlo Abarth, funded by Armando Scagliarini, took over Cisitalias assets and on 31 March 1949 Abarth & C. was founded in Bologna. Carlos astrological sign, Scorpio, was chosen as the company logo, from the Cisitalia liquidation Abarth obtained five 204 sports cars, a D46 single seater and various spares. The 204s were immediately rechristened Abarth 204 A. Abarth built, in addition to Guido Scagliarini, the «Squadra Abarth» racing team lined up celebrated drivers such as Tazio Nuvolari, Franco Cortese and Piero Taruffi. Notably Tazio Nuvolari made his last appearance in racing at the wheel of an Abarth 204 A, alongside racing, the companys main activity was producing and selling accessories and performance parts for Fiat, Lancia, Cisitalia and Simca cars, like inlet manifolds and silencers. On 9 April 1951 the companys headquarters were moved to Turin, Abarth began his association with Fiat in 1952. In the 1960s, Abarth was successful in hillclimbing and sports car racing, mainly in classes from 850cc to 2000cc, competing with Porsche 904, hans Herrmann was a factory driver from 1962 until 1965, winning the 500 km Nürburgring in 1963 with Teddy Pilette. Abarth promised Johann Abt that he could race a car for free if he won all the races he entered. Abt almost succeeded, of the 30 races he entered, Abt won 29, Abarth produced high-performance exhaust pipes, diversifying into tuning kits for road vehicles, mainly for Fiat. A racing exhaust was produced for the 1950s Lambretta models D, original Abarth LD exhausts are now valuable collectors items. Reproductions are available which carry the Abarth name, how Fiat feels about this is not known, Lambretta even held several 125cc Motorcycle land speed records during the 1950s thanks partly to the exhaust that Abarth developed for them. Abarth also helped build sports or racing cars with Porsche and Simca, Carlo sold Abarth to Fiat on 31 July 1971. The acquisition was made public by Fiat with a press release on 15 October. As Fiat was not interested in the Reparto Corse racing operations, Osella obtained cars, spares, technicians and drivers, and continued the racing activity founding the Osella racing team. Thus ended for Abarth the days of sport prototype and hill climb racing, under Fiat ownership, Abarth became the Fiat Groups racing department, managed by engine designer Aurelio Lampredi
11.
Lombardi Grand Prix
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The Lombardi Grand Prix is a small, rear-engined sports car on Fiat 850 underpinnings. It was developed by the Carrozzeria Francis Lombardi with a design by Giuseppe Rinaldi. The car was built from 1968 until 1972 and was marketed as the OTAS820, as a Giannini. It was first shown in March 1968, at the Geneva Motor Show, the design had a Kammback rear and a very low nose with flip-up headlights, and a large single windshield wiper. The bodywork was all steel, except the rear panel, the design was originally shown as a prototype based on the front-wheel drive Autobianchi A112, and was adapted by Lombardi for the 850 sedans floorpan. At Turin 1969 a targa version was shown, called the Monza. At least two were built but it is whether any were sold. The original Lombardi Grand Prix as presented had the regular 843 cc Fiat 850 engine with 37 PS DIN at 5000 rpm, low drag resistance and weight meant that this was supposedly enough for a top speed of 160 km/h. Later production models had the 850 Special engine, with 47 PS at 6400 rpm - in a period German test the speed of the more powerful variant was 153.8 km/h. Luggage space is limited, with little space next to the spare wheel up front. In case the electric wind-up mechanism for the headlights should fail, the single round tail lights are Fiat 850 Coupé units. The front suspension consists of a leaf spring on the bottom and A-arms on top. The Lombardi Grand Prix was built in two series, early models used the regular, metal engine cover from the Fiat 850 while the Series II has a unit in black metal. A Cypriot casino owner and millionaire had also shown interest in the Lombardi Grand Prix around the time of its introduction, frixos Demetriou intended to market the car in the United Kingdom and began planning for an order of 1000 cars. After his death in a British Army tank accident in Cyprus, only ten cars were imported into the UK, with the remaining parts languishing in storage in Turin. A few unsold cars were re-exported to Cyprus in 1969 to avoid pending customs bills, the resulting OTAS Grand Prix has a tuned,982 cc twin-cam Tigre engine. In Italy, this model was sold as the Giannini 1000 Grand Prix, in a very convoluted operation, Francis Lombardi sold engineless cars to Giannini, while Giannini sold their engines to OTAS for sale outside of Italy. Responding to interest in the important North American market, OTAS also sold the Grand Prix in the United States and in Canada as the OTAS Grand Prix 820cc, sixty-five of these cars were brought to North America, or perhaps as many as a hundred
12.
Fiat 126
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The Fiat 126 is a city car introduced in October 1972 at the Turin Auto Show as a replacement for the Fiat 500. Some were produced in Bielsko-Biała, Poland, as the Polski Fiat 126p until 2000 and it was replaced by the front-engined Fiat Cinquecento in 1993. The 594 cc engines were available in early 1983 production. A subsequent increase took the size to 704 cc in new restyling model Fiat 126 Bis. In Italy, the car was produced in the plants of Cassino, by this time 1,352,912 of the cars had been produced in Italy. The car continued however to be manufactured by FSM in Poland, even after the introduction of the 126 Bis, the original model continued to be produced for the Polish market. The car was produced under licence by Zastava in Yugoslavia. In 1984, the 126 received a facelift, giving it plastic bumpers and this model named Fiat 126p FL. In 1994, the 126p received another facelift, and some parts from the Fiat Cinquecento, the 126 ELX introduced a catalytic converter. Despite clever marketing, the 126 never achieved the popularity of the 500. The total number of 126 produced is,1,352,912 in Italy,3,318,674 in Poland,2,069 in Austria, and an unknown number in Yugoslavia. For a brief period in the early 1990s, a German company called POP also offered versions of the 126 BIS. Two models were offered, a lesser equipped one called the POP650, the car was produced in Poland under the brand Polski Fiat 126p between 1973 and 2000. To distinguish it from the original Italian car, the p was added to its name. It was produced by Fabryka Samochodów Małolitrażowych in Bielsko-Biała and Tychy under Italian Fiat licence, throughout the 1980s the 126p was continuously modified. Some owners upgraded to a 45 Amp-hour battery from Fiat 125p to improve the cold start reliability, due to a relatively low price it was very popular in Poland and was arguably the most popular car there in the 1980s. Its very small size gave it the nickname maluch, the nickname became so popular that in 1997 it was accepted by the producer as the official name of the car. It was exported to many Eastern Bloc countries and for years it was one of the most popular cars in Poland
