The public’s interest in motor cars was aroused from racing

Written by Administrator    Monday, 01 September 2008

The public’s interest in motor cars was aroused from racing. Only later did they move into production of light, economical and cheap vehicle. The firt popular car manufactured by Fiat was the 509, introduced in 1925 and sold for L18,500. Ninety thousand of these were built before 1929. The first true 4-seater,however, was the 508, or Balilla, which appeared in 1932, followed in 1936 by the 500 or Topolino.     Lancia, whilst not producing great numbers, was renowned for its refinement of some of its cars’ advanced mechanics. For instance the monocoque body was used on the Lambda in 1923 with a narrow V engine.     The golden era of the car in Italy was the 1930s. The car was represented by such manufacturers as Isotta-Franschini whose cars were considered to be the equals of Rolls-Royce, Hispano-Suiza and Duesenberg. Production  ceased at beginning of the Second World War.     The fist reliable figures on the progress of car production in Italy date from 1925, when 45,800 cars and 4,600 industrial vehicles were produced. Production then fell again and it was not until 1950 that production exceeded 100,000 units. Manufacture has risen continuously since this period and this has enabled Italian industry to meet the competition from other major European car manufacturers.