Misplaced Pages

Bandini Automobili

Article snapshot taken from Wikipedia with creative commons attribution-sharealike license. Give it a read and then ask your questions in the chat. We can research this topic together.
(Redirected from Bandini Saloncino)
This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
This article may be written from a fan's point of view, rather than a neutral point of view. Please clean it up to conform to a higher standard of quality, and to make it neutral in tone. (August 2019) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
This article's lead section may be too short to adequately summarize the key points. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. (May 2023)
(Learn how and when to remove this message)

Bandini Automobili
Company typeDefunct (1992)
IndustryAutomobile
Founded1946
HeadquartersForlì, Italy
Key peopleEng. H.C. Ilario Bandini, founder
ProductsSports cars
Websitewww.ilariobandini.it
www.bandinicars.com

Bandini Automobili was an Italian automobile manufacturer operating between 1946 and 1992. It was named after its founder Ilario Bandini. It produced about 75 cars, of which around 40 were sold in the United States.

History

Bandini was founded in 1946 in Forlì, the first Bandini, the Prima, used a modified Fiat 1100 engine, the body was made from aluminum and the chassis was a modified Fiat 1100 Bandini hid from the Germans during World War 2. Following on from this, Bandini made the 1100 Sport and the 1100 Siluro. It was the Siluro that gave them their first race victory in the Giro dell'Umbria (not to be confused with the bicycle race of the same name). The chassis for these were built from tubular steel.

American importers, Tony Pompeo (originally from Pescara) and Perry Fina, took an interest in Bandinis and imported a Siluro. The Italian racing driver Giovanni Bracco went over to the States to promote the cars. At the suggestion of Pompeo Bandini began to put 724 cc Crosley engines in the Siluro so that they could compete in H modified racing events. The modified Siluro's won SCCA class championships in 1955 and 1957. In 1957 Bandini made the Sport International "Saponetta". It was a two-seat sports car with a tubular steel frame and room for engines of up to 1.0 litre. Bandini nicknamed the car "Saponetta" (little soap) because of its shape. The Formula 3 car of 1954 had disc brakes on all four wheels, copying the 1951 C-type Jaguar. The Zagato bodied Bandini GT raced in Daytona and 12 Hours of Sebring. The coupé made by the coachbuilder Corna had a 1000 cc engine mounted in the front.

Racing history

A Saponetta in action

The company's owner, Ilario Bandini, divided his time between design and manufacturing of the cars, and as a race driver. He entered and drove Bandinis in more than 60 races both hillclimb events and track racing, including the Mille Miglia from 1947 until 1965, achieving 19 first-place finishes and 18 podiums in the 750 cc and 1000 cc classes. In 1953 750 Siluro driven by Massimo Bondi won the Trofeo Franco Mazzotti on the Mille Miglia.

In the United States, a Bandini 750 Siluro driven by Dolph Vilradi won the SCCA HM class championship in 1955. In 1957, Melvin Sachs won the HM class, one of five Bandini's in the first ten positions. The successes resulted in Ilario being presented with the Gold Key of Daytona and later in 1981 the Laurea H.C. award in mechanical engineering from Pro Deo university of New York. In 1959 he produced one of the most successful Formula Juniors. Bandinis won SCCA Class HMod races well into the mid-1960s. A Bandini Siluro won the SCCA Southwest Regional Championship from 1961–1963 and the Saponetta took 3rd place in the National Hmod class in 1961. Bandini continued to make one-off cars well into the 1980s.

Bandini Museum and Register

Bandini Collection

In 1992 Dino Bandini turned the company workshop into a museum to preserve all documents and the most representative cars for display. Dino did this after discovering misinformation about Bandini in a car magazine. Ten Bandinis were in the museum at the time. 47 Bandinis exist in the world today and are acknowledged by the Register. They are owned from the United States to Japan.

Models

1946 "La prima"
  • "La prima" 1100/46 (1946). Made from a modified Fiat 1100 chassis. The suspension used components from a Gilera motorcycle with torsion bar independent front suspension and independent rear suspension, inboard brakes, and two-seater sports car aluminium sports car body made by Rocco Motto.
  • 1100 sport (1947–50). Designed for road use. The chassis for both this and the Siluro was made from aircraft grade materials and assistance from Caproni.
  • 1100 siluro (1947–49). This two seater was designed as a track car. It had cycle wings.
  • 750 sport siluro (1950–56). A 724cc Crosley engine - bored out to 747cc and fitted with a Bandini twin cam head for racing primarily in the United States.
  • Bandini-Maserati 1500 (1952). Only one of these was built. In 1954 it exported to the United States and fitted with a 1500cc Maserati engine for SCCA FM class championship. Drivers included Bernhard Vihl, George Parrington, and David Michaels. It was to race at Sebring on 16 March 1955 but did not arrive.
  • Formula 3 (1954–58). At least four of these racing cars were built and were powered by an under 500c four cylinder Crosley engine.
  • 750 GT Veloce - Zagato (1955). Reports suggest the car was built Alex Raymond, a cartoonist. It won Best of Show at the 1957 Rimini Concorso di Eleganza. In 1959 the GT was raced in the United States by Victor Lukens and Fred Haynes at Daytona, Watkins Glen, and Sebring under the Racemasters/Scuderia Bandini. During 1960 it achieved two class wins, two DNFs, and a couple non-podium finishes.
  • 750 sport internazionale "Saponetta" (1957–61). This replaced the Siluro and was more streamlined. Originally called the 750 Sport Internazionale, to commemorate Ilario Bandini's motor racing wins, Ilario called it the Saponetta (little bar of soap because of its shape. Two of the cars were built for the 1957 Mille Miglia without success, but in 1958 had a number of class wins.
  • Formula Junior (1959–62). Ten of these were made and mostly sold to the United States. In total 9 were made.
  • 1000/62 P (1962–65). A barchetta Sports prototype race car with fully independent suspension.
  • 1000 GT (1963). A coupe
  • 1000/66 sport (1966)
  • 1000 Sports Coupe - Saloncino (1968). This car was first shown at the Salone Internazionale dell'Automobile di Torino in 1968. It was the first sports coupé the company made.
  • 1000/70 V (1970)
  • 1000 SP (1972). Original orange in colour, prototype entered the 1972 "Targa Florio" but did not start due to an accident. Repainted blue when repaired by Bandini. The prototype had an adjustable rear wing that could also be increased in width.
  • 1300 prototipo (1980). A barchetta style open race car.
  • 1000 turbo berlinetta (1992). Under final construction when Ilario Bandini passed away.

Gallery

  • 1947 1100 Siluro Sport 1947 1100 Siluro Sport
  • 1947 1100 Siluro 1947 1100 Siluro
  • 1950 750 Siluro Sport 1950 750 Siluro Sport
  • 1952 Badini Maserati 1500 1952 Badini Maserati 1500
  • 1954 Formula 3 1954 Formula 3
  • 1955 GT Veloce Zagato 1955 GT Veloce Zagato
  • 1957 Saponetta 1957 Saponetta
  • 1959 Formula Junior 1959 Formula Junior
  • 1962 1000 P 1962 1000 P
  • 1963 1000 GT 1963 1000 GT
  • 1966 1000 sp66 1966 1000 sp66
  • 1968 1000 Sports Coupe - Saloncino 1968 1000 Sports Coupe - Saloncino
  • 1970 1000 V 1970 1000 V
  • 1972 1000 SP 1972 1000 SP
  • 1980 1300 prototipo 1980 1300 prototipo
  • 1992 1000 turbo berlinetta 1992 1000 turbo berlinetta

See also

References

  1. ^ Strohl, Daniel (11 March 2022). "Bandinis rarely come up for sale. A collection of six of them will cross the block at the same time". Hemmings. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  2. ^ Cordey, Serge (24 June 2022). "Bandini collection: racing in the blood". Classic & Sports Car. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  3. "1953 BANDINI 750 SPORT SILURO Chassis no. 156". Bonhams. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
  4. "SCCA Results 1955". Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  5. "SCCA Results 1957". Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  6. Sebring 12 hours - entry list, Racingsportscars.com, retrieved 23 May 2023
  7. 1957 Rimini, Carrozzieri-italiani.com, retrieved 23 May 2023
  8. Targa Florio, Piccolo Circuito delle Madonie - 21 May 1972 retrieved 23 May 2023

External links

Bandini Automobili
- Models -
Barchette:
"La prima" 1100/46
1100 sport
1100 siluro
Bandini-Maserati 1500
750 sport siluro
750 sport internazionale "saponetta"
Formula:
Formula Three
Formula junior
GT:
750 GT Zagato
1000 GT
Sport coupé:
Saloncino
Berlinetta 1000 turbo 16Vi
Sport prototipo:
1000/62 P
1000/66 sport
1000/70 V
Mille s.p.
1300 16Vi
Eng. H.C. Ilario Bandini
Italy Automotive industry in Italy
Active
Passenger cars
and LCVs
Commercial vehicles
Quadricycles
Racing cars
Design, engineering,
and coachbuilding
Defunct
Passenger cars
and LCVs
Commercial vehicles
Quadricycles
Racing cars
Design, engineering,
and coachbuilding
Components
Foreign subsidiaries
Related topics
Categories: