Historic Car Brands

Bianchi – Autobianchi

Edoardo Bianchi founded what is the world’s oldest bicycle manufacturing company in Italy, in 1885 and expanded into producing motorcycles from 1897 and cars from 1900. In 1955 the joint-venture Autobianchi brand was created, with Fiat and Pirelli, to manufacture cars and Autobianchi was subsequently sold to Fiat in 1969.

The early Bianchi cars were powered by 2.25hp de Dion-Bouton engines, followed by Bianchi’s 942cc, 8hp engine

Bianchi 8hp Vetturetta – Museum of Scence & Technology, Milan

In 1905 the company was expanded and soon employed the engineering design talents of Giuseppi Merosi – later to join Alfa Romeo. Merosi designed a range of engines for different Bianchi models.

Bianchi engines in this period were all four-cylinder, T-head and L-head, side-valve types, with displacements from 4.5 litres up to eight litres. Race specials went up to more than 11 litres!

1916 Bianchi armoured car

Just before WWI, these larger-capacity models were joined by the 3.3-litre Bianchi Tipo B and the base-priced, utilitarian Bianchi Tipo S that was powered by a 1244cc engine – later 1460cc – with three-speed transmission. It came in one body style and in only one colour (shades of Henry Ford’s Model T).

WOI Encyclopedia Italia photo

The depressed Post-War economy saw the Bianchi range reduced to one model, based on the 1916 1693cc Tipo 12 and sold as the S15.

Museo Nazionale dell Automobile photo

In 1922, the S15 was replaced by the S16 that featured a detachable cylinder head and then the S18 with a two-litre, overhead-valve engine. The racing version of this engine had twin overhead camshafts and four valves per cylinder.

Museo Nazionale dell Automobile

For 1925, Bianchi introduced the S20 OHV model, with 2293cc and 50hp, as well as the lower-spec’ S4, with 30hp, 1287cc engine. That model became the S5 in 1927 and it scored a 1452cc engine upgrade in 1931.

1928 Bianchi S18 – WOI Encyclopedia Italia

However, throughout the 1920s, Bianchi’s production volumes were quite low, with total sales under 1000 vehicles.

1930 Bianchi S8 – Bob Kauffman

In 1928 came the introduction of the S8, 2.7-litre, dry-sumped, straight-eight model that was aimed at the top end of the market. The engine was enlarged to 2.9 litres in 1930. Its chassis had a long, 3300mm wheelbase as standard, with a shorter wheelbase sporting version available in 1933 that was said to be good for 140km/h.

1930 Bianchi S8 – Bob Kauffman

The global economic situation must have influenced the decision to revert to a one-chassis policy in 1934, when the stylish and successful S9 was introduced. Powered by the S5’s 1452cc engine, the S9 came as a sedan, coupe or cabriolet and all models featured wire, knock-off wheels.

1935 Bianchi S9 – Museo Nicolis

The S9 proved popular and remained in production right up to the outbreak of WWII, in 1939.

The Bianchi S9 featured in Giro d’Italia bicycle racing events, as a support car for Bianchi’s highly successful racing team, headlined by cycling legend Fausto Coppi, who won five Giros and two Tours de France.

Sadly, the S9 was the last Bianchi car model, although motorcycle production continued until 1967 and world-class bicycle manufacturing into the 21st century.

Car production ended in 1939, when the Bianchi factory was dedicated to the production of bicycles, motorcycles and light trucks for the Italian military.

Museo Nazionale del lAutomobile photo

Destruction of the manufacturing facility during WWII was tragic enough, but more calamities struck soon after peace was restored. Edoardo Bianchi died in a car accident, in the city of Varese in 1946; Fausto Coppi’s beloved younger brother, Serse, died in a sprint finish at the 1951 Giro del Piemonte and then Fausto contracted malaria during an exhibition event in Burkina Faso. His health never recovered and he died in January 1960, at the age of 40.

In 1946, leadership of Bianchi passed to Edoardo’s son, Giuseppe, who maintained bicycle and motorcycle production, with the help of War debt repayments from the Italian government.

1935 Bianchi S – Museo Nicolis

Also, Bianchi’s engineering department readied a prototype for a new, mid-sized model to spearhead its return to passenger car production.

However, it became apparent that setting up volume passenger car production would not be feasible without additional capital and technological support. Bianchi approached Fiat and Pirelli with a proposal to form a new company to produce automobiles. The Autobianchi company was born on 11th January 1955, with the Bianchi family holding only one-third of the capital.

A modern, purpose-built plant for the production of Autobianchi cars was erected on an area of 140,000 square metres, in Desio.

It was obvious from the outset who held the cards in this game, because Fiat supplied the platform and components for the assembly of the cars, while Pirelli supplied only the tyres.

Bianchi’s job was to come up with designs that could challenge the specialist Italian bodybuilders, including Moretti and Vignale, who were building low-volume, premium-priced, high-profit cars on Fiat chassis.

Via its Bianchi ‘partner’ Fiat could retain some of the profit that would otherwise go to the after-market. Also, it controlled what chassis Autobianchi could access and prevented Autobianchi going ‘rogue’ and bulling on other OEM platforms.

The first car to be produced by the new company was the Bianchina, whose name was a tribute to Edoardo Bianchi’s first 1899 car.

The Bianchina was based on the Fiat 500 platform, with a two-cylinder, air-cooled engine mounted in the rear, but featured a stylish two-door landaulet body designed by Luigi Rapi, who was in charge of Fiat’s special body unit and helped to set up production in Desio.

The first Bianchina Trasformabile (indicating its transformable, semi-convertible bodywork) rolled off the production line in September 1957 and was joined in 1960 by a Cabriolet full convertible model, and then a three-door estate Panoramica and a two-door Berlina saloon. Last came two van versions.

1964 Autobianchi Stellina – Dinkum

At the 1963 Turin Motor Show, the Autobianchi Stellina, two-door spider, based on the Fiat 600D’s chassis was released. It was Italy’s first production car with a fibreglass body on a steel frame and carried a high, one million lire price tag.

It was produced for two years and only 502 Stellinas were made, but its design paved the way for Fiat’s successful 850 Spider, of which more than 140,000 were sold.

The Stellina’s success in pioneering an innovative design prompted Fiat to repeat the exercise when it needed to come up with a competitor for Alec Issigonis’ trail-blazing Mini. The slightly revamped Mini was being assembled in Italy by Innocenti and was stealing a large slice of Fiat’s traditional entry-level car market.

Autobianchi Primula – Torino Museo Nazionale dell Automobile

The Autobianchi Primula was Fiat’s first attempt at a front-wheel drive car with a transverse engine and was designed by Fiat’s technical director, Dante Giacosa. Mechanically, it was simpler than the Mini, having a separate transmission and steel suspension, thus setting the basic design parameters for all successive Mini competitors, including Fiat 127 and 128 successors.

However, the European motorcycle industry was facing a Japanese competition crisis in the late 1960s, so Bianchi was forced to concentrate on its core bicycle business and divest itself of automotive interests.

Bianchi sold its share in Autobianchi and the company was fully integrated into Fiat SpA in 1968, sitting under the newly-acquired Lancia brand’s control.

The 1969 Autobianchi A111 was built on Primula mechanicals, but with a more spacious body. Only around 50,000 A111s were made, before production ended in 1972 and it was replaced by the much more successful A112.

1973 Autobianchi A112E

The A112 built strong demand and a loyal following, reinforced by the introduction of Abarth sporting versions and Autobianchi’s engagement in racing with modified versions of the model.

1985 Autobianchi A112 Abarth – Bring A Trailer

The A112 continued in production for 17 years, with frequent changes. After production of more than 1,250,000 cars, the last A112 was built in May 1986 and was replaced by the Autobianchi Y10, based on the Fiat Panda.

Autobianchi Y10 – Charles01

The Autobianchi brand production ended in 1996 and rights to the brand passed to the Registro Autobianchi, the official club of the marque in Italy. This club’s many links and a Bianchi family member were the sources of much of the information in this report.

Bianchi more than 140 years later