CISITALIA (Italy) 1946 -1965

Directly after the Second World War the demand for automobiles was so great, that car factories started popping up like mushrooms out of the ground, so did they in Italy. The well-off Piero Dusio built cars there, but more for his pleasure than for a living. In 1945 the first cars, under the name Cisitalia, came out of his working place. The mechanical parts were from Fiat. The engines were tuned up so strong that the small cars could easily compete with the larger cars. The cars made fame in the Formula Junior and many racers of fame won their first races with a Cisitalia.

On the Cisitalia chassis the Italian coachwork designers built many beautiful bodies. A Cisitalia 202 Berlinetta from 1947, with a design of Pinin Farina, still stands in the Museum of Modern Art in New York. The money Dusio earned with his small race cars and sports cars, he lost due to his notorious Grand Prix car. The design came from Porsche and was ahead of its time in 1948. It had a four-wheel drive and the engine in the middle with a 12 cylinder, provided with four camshafts and a compressor. The car did drive, but never participated in a race. It almost meant bankrupcy for Piero Dusio and he emigrated to Argentina. He left his business to his son Carlo Dusio. The latter founded a new company called Cisitalia and concentrated on building sports cars.

From 1953 it went from bad to worse for Cisitalia. There was less demand for expensive sports cars. The factory switched, like many of its competition, to producing special bodies , based on family cars of Fiat. In 1964, the company had to close its gates.

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