Alright R-R'ers
I posted these up on AS and they seem to be reasonably popular so i wondered if you guys might like to see them as well, if you havent already. They are some articles from a french classic car mag about cars which are mega obscure or unheard of over here. Everyone loves reading about some oddball old crate that they've never heard of so I've scanned them in and translated the text. I've done 3 so far: Autobianchi A111, Fiat 127 moretti and Renault 6 TL. Heres the first:
Front-drive, or stick it all at the back? At the end of the 1950’s, this question came up time and time again at the heart of Fiat’s engineering department. The engineer Dante Giacosa was convinced that FWD was the logical choice for family cars. But he doubted that, for city cars and especially for those supposed to be sold at very low prices, FWD was the solution due to the higher complexity and associated costs relative to a RWD layout. The commercial success and the reliability of the 500 and 600, and across the Alps the Beetle and the 4CV and Dauphine, gave plenty of validity to these thoughts. Even the 1959 arrival of the mini did not change his view. He certainly admired the technical solutions of that car, particularly the gearbox-in-sump arrangement, but reasoned that even if this setup gained some inches of cabin space, it shortened considerably the bank balance of the owner during purchase and maintenance. He reckoned that at that time, Fiat buyers could not afford that luxury. Following the tricky launch of the 500, the Italian company struggled to find its place in the newly opened-up market of the EEC. The 850 of 1964 and the 126 of 1972 would thus remain loyal to the all-at-the-back layout. Buyers would have to wait until the 1980 Panda to see Fiat offer a true FWD city-car.
We’ll not get into the politico-psychological reasons why, before the war, Fiat got so firmly into the RWD habit (noting that ‘Le Senatore’ Agnelli pushed it very firmly following a serious accident he’d had in an early FWD Fiat prototype). But anyway this layout had served Fiat well, though without convincing Giacosa of its universal applicability. He regularly opened this question up to discussion, particularly with test director Carlo Salamano. To take it further, they needed a ruse....
Project G123
At the end of the 50’s, when the aging Fiat 1100 was due for a replacement following its final restyle in 1953, Giacosa asked his advanced engineering function to look into some recent technical developments “without worrying too much about the final outcome” but with a particular product in mind: a prototype mid-market vehicle known as G123 (G for Giacosa, 123 being the next available number in the Fiat project nomenclature system) which would incorporate the latest and greatest technologies available. Advanced Engineering was of course created for such a task. Alongside commercial activities, its job was to conquer unknown technical territories, test out ideas, take concepts and develop them into marketable solutions or conclusively prove they were unfeasible, and to come up with prototypes which would often be exhibited in exhibitions round the world, showing Fiats technical know-how. This helped to cancel out images of Fiat as a manufacturer of basic, commodious buzz-boxes with little flair or personality.
It was clear to most within Fiat that despite the grandiose wording surrounding the project title, what was being worked on here was a prototype of a high-volume next-generation family saloon. The team came up with 4 options - all were a 4-dr saloon of 760-780kg with an 1100cc engine mounted in the front or rear. The first two, G123 E1 and E2, were startlingly avant-garde, including the engine. The old 1100cc ohv four was gone, replaced by an in-line 3 with overhead cam and cooling by air and oil! Two engine configurations were proposed: one was the more classical vertical installation; the other, more audacious with a horizontal engine block. This remarkable 1157cc unit was certainly more compact than the 600’s 4-cyl unit and a lot more powerful. To go with it the engineers devised a clean-sheet 3-speed gearbox with semi-automatic change and dash-mounted selector buttons rather than the usual gearstick. Not a million miles in fact, from the Ferlec system found on Renner dauphines and 8’s.
Non-conformism
These technical innovations were complimented with an exterior style equally radical; two-box saloons with a stubby short ‘bustle back’ boot (achieved by prolonging the rear wings in the style of the Austin A40), hatchback and panoramic rear window, grill-less front end and, on the rear-engined E2, the horizontal engine layout permitted a boot area above the engine to add to the space available in the front luggage compartment. This seemed the most enticing prospect from a customers viewpoint, but not for Giacosa who found it too radical and, encouraged by the warm responses to two of the other prototypes by Fiat management, pushed these two forward for further development. The nomination to the post of company strategy adviser of Salamano in January 1962, complicated the situation somewhat, but his successor Montabone in test engineering broadly agreed with Giacosa’s thoughts on small and medium cars.
However the game was changing externally and Fiat was in greater and greater need of some new products, never mind pushing technology boundaries forwards. Fiat management agreed to carry on with the G123 in some form, on the understanding that the project would give birth to a car that was not just experimental but ’realistic’. Out went the semi-auto box, the 3-cyl OHC engine, and the new-fangled styling. Now the G123 was looking like a fairly dull 3-box saloon with the 1100’s old engine fitted through a ‘false door’ at the back like on the 600!!! The initial enthusiasm soon gave way to general discouragement, but Giacosa tried to play one last card. He came up with an E4 three-box, with lined that were certainly orthodox (‘classical’ in his words) but with a front wheel drive transmission and the good old 1100 engine fitted transversely. “The engine was baptised the 103G1 and the car drawings had the logo ‘109....”
Fiat knocked the idea back but Giacosa presented it in parallel to Nello Valechi, director of Autobianchi, a satellite operation founded in 1955 in a JV between Fiat, Bianchi and Pirelli. He was certainly keener and managed to convince Fiat to let him build the fwd car in his under-utilised Desio factory. The birth of the Primula in 1964 at the Turin Salon allowed Fiat to judge the interest in the new FWD layout. Available in hatchback, saloon and coupe bodyshells, this car would appeal to the many people who deemed the Fiat range too staid, particularly outside Italy where the Autobianchi marque carried much more ‘panache’ than the ubiquitous and rather stodgy Fiat brand.
In parallel, Giacosa worked away at Fiat on the FWD 123 project, but ultimately without success; it was quashed in favour of the more classical 124, a RWD with front-mounted 1200cc engine that woud ultimately replace not the 1100 model but the next range up, that of the 1300-1500 saloons. It would be necessary to wait till March 1969 and the launch of the 128 to see Fiat join the club of FWD converts.
Elsewhere, the Primula was enjoying a very long and successful career; it also installed itself in Fiat showrooms in the hope of extending its lifespan further (in March 1968 it received the 124 engine and a welcome facelift), and the coupe model was offered with the new 1438 engine later to be seen in the 124 Special. In fact its success was a sort of worry to Fiat, who feared it would steal customers who would otherwise buy its own 128 estate which was coming in 1969. The Primula’s modularity, in its 3 and 5-door versions was a boon for customers who like the saloon-like bodyshape but with the ability to transform itself into a useful estate car “without looking like one”. Italy had never been a fan of cars which looked ‘too utilitarian’. This worry grew until eventually, Fiat felt unable to continue Primula manufacture and stopped it point blank! It did not have the intention to kill off Autobianchi however, so dug out a suitable project that would keep the company’s engineers and assembly lines busy. Which one fell to hand.... but the G123 E4! Or, more precisely, one of its variants, abandoned at prototype stage in 1963 and left to fester. A reasonably elegant saloon, with a slight chiselled shape to the bodywork’s shoulderline (not unlike the Alfa Giulia), a neat grille integrating square headlights and indicators right on the corners of the body. Enrico Ghiretti, Autobianchi’s then recently-appointed boss was quick to agree that this car could make a suitable replacement for the Primula. The platform was identical to the Primula, with the wheelbase being lengthened by 6cm and most mechanical parts being shared (the rear springs were upgraded to 4 leaves rather than 3) and engine wise, the 1438cc OHV unit from the 124 coupe was selected.
The A111 is not a cheap car
Just a few months later the project came to realisation, and it was in March 1969 that not the Fiat 123, but the Autobianchi A111, was revealed. It was not proposed as a straightforward Primula replacement, but as an all-new vehicle designed to take Autobianchi upmarket and into new sales territory. The price was 1.316 million Lire, 25% more than a Primula 4-dr and 10% more than a Fiat 124 special. Even an Alfa Giulia 1300 was cheaper, at 1.295 million. The A111 nailed its colours to the mast as a quality saloon car, a ‘premium product’ in today’s marketing speak. This commercial approach was imposed by Fiat who again was protecting its own products, this time a fear of Autobianchi stealing 124 sales, and who attempted to justify the position with a high-quality construction, notably classier than Turin’s usual efforts. Beneath the angular bodywork, the A111 hid a plush interior with a real wood dashboard, a smart 3-dial instrument pack with integral rev-counter, comfy seats, thick carpets and a comprehensive heating and ventilation system. The wheel tubs in the boot were fully trimmed to better protect your suitcases. The influence of the Fiat 125, in both styling and detailing, is undeniable.
The launch budget for the A111 was not bank-busting by any means. Autobianchi was used to getting the most out of small investments but the lack of Lire meant that the sales dept had to come up with new ways to get the A111 message out there. The Autobianchi network was thus instructed to invite customers for a test-drive, not for 10 mins with a salesman, but for a full half day without any distance limit and no accompaniment. The aim was to let the A111’s quality and driving appeal speak for itself. The technique worked well and customers were very complimentary. A discreet facelift in 1970 added appeal; the chrome over-riders disappeared, to be replaced by rubber strips on the bumpers, a second set of rear light were fitted (!), a chrome tailpipe fitted, new model badge fitted on the front left wing, chrome wheels were replaced by gloss black ones with a chrome trim ring, the hubcaps were changed and now featured a black centre badge. A strange detail; in preparing a 1971 press pack for the A111, Autobianchi showed a set of photos featuring a new set of chrome embellishments on one side, and the existing ones on the other!!! Plenty of mods happened inside as well, though not all functional – a new glovebox positioned beneath the dashboard, where previously there had been a small shelf for additional storage space. More interestingly, the gearstick was shortened and positioned atop a centre console (no doubt brought on by deleting that shelf) which also held the controls for the heating and ventilation. On the door-tops, a strip of false wood replaced the black trim of previous models, but it looked a bit out of place next to the real wood of the dashboard itself. The seats, in velour or vinyl, were much better finished than on previous models. A bright yellow hue was added to the colour options. No mechanical changes took place. Finally, French market versions were now badged as ‘BS’ (for ‘berline sportive’ – sports saloon).
Premature end
Sadly, the A111 did not live very long. In Autumn 1969, Fiat’s purchase of Lancia reshaped the group strategy somewhat. Fiats new top-line models would now be Lancias and the Beta would now pick up the baton of ‘premium sports saloon’. That spelt the end for the A111 which disappeared from the catalogue in Oct 1972, after 56,894 examples had left the production lines. That doesn’t sound many, but taking into account its high price and unusually angular styling, its not so bad, especially for something thats ‘no more than a re-clothed Primula’ according to Eduardo Cima, owner of two very smart examples. Both series 2 models, one ‘president blue’ with ‘cardinal red’ interior, registered in Dec 1972 (2 months after its official retreat from the market) and the other, white one, slightly older (having hit the road in June 1972).
The slightly brutal square-rigged styling encourages you to look harder for interesting stylistic details. The reversing light, beneath the rear bumper, is not just placed there for want of a better idea, but the rear valance is carefully sculpted to accommodate it. In the boot, the bootlid counterweight springs are covered with fabric sleeves. When the front doors are opened a red warning light on the door edge illuminates, alerting cyclists and pedestrians to the risk (a feature which is missing from many modern cars). Interior accommodation certainly privileges the front passengers, at the cost of unfortunates who have to sit in the back, knees around their ears. The trim is velour or vinyl on the sides and rear of the seats and appears to be of a significantly better-than-usual quality if the condition of our two examples is anything to go by. Many accessories have come from the Fiat 125 (steering wheel, grab handles) or the 124 (gearstick, ignition switch). The instrument pack comprises speedo, rev counter graded to 8000rpm, fuel gauge, temp gauge and 8 warning lights, all of which point sharply upwards, which makes them difficult to read in some lights. The radio, in the middle of the dash below the ashtray, is a period accessory. A small plastic hook is hidden in the front passenger door trim; useful for madam’s handbag perhaps?
Disappointing roadholding
If the look of the A111 is encouraging, the feel of it is less so. In period, many people criticised the A111, subsequently finding themselves being labelled as ‘front drive haters’. With the passage of time, its easier to be frank about the car, and to be frank, it disappoints. Its not dangerous by any means, its just not very engaging. Probably the fault of a too-short development cycle which retained the old Primula platform without optimising it for the new larger, heavier and more powerful car. The tyres are too tall (155/13), suspension too soft and very unsporting, and the resulting understeer is marked. Its difficult to position the car well for cornering, at least until you have got the hang of countering the inertia of the front suspension. Don’t try to place it carefully in the hope of following the perfect cornering line. As the Italian magazine Quattroruote said in its October 1969 issue, ‘you have to drive as if the corner starts 100m beforehand!!!’ Edoardo is less harsh, recognising that, compared to the Primula coupe, the A111 requires a much more tranquil driving approach. Its not a sports car. He comments that the gear ratios are exceptionally well chosen for the torque curve of the engine, but the selector mechanism is vague and somewhat obstructive, and the steering very dull indeed during acceleration. Happily, the brakes are excellent and the motor sounds good, good enough to convince you there is some sporty DNA in this car somewhere. Evidently the A111 never had the career, or more particularly the development it deserved. Born from an aborted project and rushed into production, it served above all as a test-bed for front wheel drive technology that Fiat had not yet fully committed to. That it was ultimately sacrificed for reasons more political than commercial, is ultimately not very surprising. Sadly it’s the destiny that often awaits such ‘prototypes’. Shame......
Owner's View
For Edward Cima, 61-yr old shopkeeper from Turin, driving an A111 is entirely natural. “in 1968, to celebrate me getting my degree, my Dad gave me a special present: a brand-new Primula Coupe S in blue. Since then, I’ve had plenty of cars, but i’ve stayed loyal to my first Autobianchi. In fact, I still have it!” Technical registrar for the Autobianchi club of Italy which looks after the legacy of the Desio firm, Edouardo bought a second Primula coupe S before getting ‘into’ A111’s. In 2003, he acquired the blue one. “it had only had two owners from new and needed nothing but a service and coat of paint.” Today it has 134,000 km on the clock and has just been twinned with a second A111, also a series 2, slightly older but less used. “the kilometrage, 51,000, is ridiculous. It was parked up unused for 15 years. I spent 3 years trying to get my hands on it, but the sale of it was blocked by a tribunal, following some complications around the title of the car (the only owner had died 20 years previously). With a fresh battery and some petrol, and a bit of twiddling, the engine started up and sounded sweet. This was not a total surprise, as the 1438 OHV fiat engine is a tough and reliable old unit.
I posted these up on AS and they seem to be reasonably popular so i wondered if you guys might like to see them as well, if you havent already. They are some articles from a french classic car mag about cars which are mega obscure or unheard of over here. Everyone loves reading about some oddball old crate that they've never heard of so I've scanned them in and translated the text. I've done 3 so far: Autobianchi A111, Fiat 127 moretti and Renault 6 TL. Heres the first:
Front-drive, or stick it all at the back? At the end of the 1950’s, this question came up time and time again at the heart of Fiat’s engineering department. The engineer Dante Giacosa was convinced that FWD was the logical choice for family cars. But he doubted that, for city cars and especially for those supposed to be sold at very low prices, FWD was the solution due to the higher complexity and associated costs relative to a RWD layout. The commercial success and the reliability of the 500 and 600, and across the Alps the Beetle and the 4CV and Dauphine, gave plenty of validity to these thoughts. Even the 1959 arrival of the mini did not change his view. He certainly admired the technical solutions of that car, particularly the gearbox-in-sump arrangement, but reasoned that even if this setup gained some inches of cabin space, it shortened considerably the bank balance of the owner during purchase and maintenance. He reckoned that at that time, Fiat buyers could not afford that luxury. Following the tricky launch of the 500, the Italian company struggled to find its place in the newly opened-up market of the EEC. The 850 of 1964 and the 126 of 1972 would thus remain loyal to the all-at-the-back layout. Buyers would have to wait until the 1980 Panda to see Fiat offer a true FWD city-car.
We’ll not get into the politico-psychological reasons why, before the war, Fiat got so firmly into the RWD habit (noting that ‘Le Senatore’ Agnelli pushed it very firmly following a serious accident he’d had in an early FWD Fiat prototype). But anyway this layout had served Fiat well, though without convincing Giacosa of its universal applicability. He regularly opened this question up to discussion, particularly with test director Carlo Salamano. To take it further, they needed a ruse....
Project G123
At the end of the 50’s, when the aging Fiat 1100 was due for a replacement following its final restyle in 1953, Giacosa asked his advanced engineering function to look into some recent technical developments “without worrying too much about the final outcome” but with a particular product in mind: a prototype mid-market vehicle known as G123 (G for Giacosa, 123 being the next available number in the Fiat project nomenclature system) which would incorporate the latest and greatest technologies available. Advanced Engineering was of course created for such a task. Alongside commercial activities, its job was to conquer unknown technical territories, test out ideas, take concepts and develop them into marketable solutions or conclusively prove they were unfeasible, and to come up with prototypes which would often be exhibited in exhibitions round the world, showing Fiats technical know-how. This helped to cancel out images of Fiat as a manufacturer of basic, commodious buzz-boxes with little flair or personality.
It was clear to most within Fiat that despite the grandiose wording surrounding the project title, what was being worked on here was a prototype of a high-volume next-generation family saloon. The team came up with 4 options - all were a 4-dr saloon of 760-780kg with an 1100cc engine mounted in the front or rear. The first two, G123 E1 and E2, were startlingly avant-garde, including the engine. The old 1100cc ohv four was gone, replaced by an in-line 3 with overhead cam and cooling by air and oil! Two engine configurations were proposed: one was the more classical vertical installation; the other, more audacious with a horizontal engine block. This remarkable 1157cc unit was certainly more compact than the 600’s 4-cyl unit and a lot more powerful. To go with it the engineers devised a clean-sheet 3-speed gearbox with semi-automatic change and dash-mounted selector buttons rather than the usual gearstick. Not a million miles in fact, from the Ferlec system found on Renner dauphines and 8’s.
Non-conformism
These technical innovations were complimented with an exterior style equally radical; two-box saloons with a stubby short ‘bustle back’ boot (achieved by prolonging the rear wings in the style of the Austin A40), hatchback and panoramic rear window, grill-less front end and, on the rear-engined E2, the horizontal engine layout permitted a boot area above the engine to add to the space available in the front luggage compartment. This seemed the most enticing prospect from a customers viewpoint, but not for Giacosa who found it too radical and, encouraged by the warm responses to two of the other prototypes by Fiat management, pushed these two forward for further development. The nomination to the post of company strategy adviser of Salamano in January 1962, complicated the situation somewhat, but his successor Montabone in test engineering broadly agreed with Giacosa’s thoughts on small and medium cars.
However the game was changing externally and Fiat was in greater and greater need of some new products, never mind pushing technology boundaries forwards. Fiat management agreed to carry on with the G123 in some form, on the understanding that the project would give birth to a car that was not just experimental but ’realistic’. Out went the semi-auto box, the 3-cyl OHC engine, and the new-fangled styling. Now the G123 was looking like a fairly dull 3-box saloon with the 1100’s old engine fitted through a ‘false door’ at the back like on the 600!!! The initial enthusiasm soon gave way to general discouragement, but Giacosa tried to play one last card. He came up with an E4 three-box, with lined that were certainly orthodox (‘classical’ in his words) but with a front wheel drive transmission and the good old 1100 engine fitted transversely. “The engine was baptised the 103G1 and the car drawings had the logo ‘109....”
Fiat knocked the idea back but Giacosa presented it in parallel to Nello Valechi, director of Autobianchi, a satellite operation founded in 1955 in a JV between Fiat, Bianchi and Pirelli. He was certainly keener and managed to convince Fiat to let him build the fwd car in his under-utilised Desio factory. The birth of the Primula in 1964 at the Turin Salon allowed Fiat to judge the interest in the new FWD layout. Available in hatchback, saloon and coupe bodyshells, this car would appeal to the many people who deemed the Fiat range too staid, particularly outside Italy where the Autobianchi marque carried much more ‘panache’ than the ubiquitous and rather stodgy Fiat brand.
In parallel, Giacosa worked away at Fiat on the FWD 123 project, but ultimately without success; it was quashed in favour of the more classical 124, a RWD with front-mounted 1200cc engine that woud ultimately replace not the 1100 model but the next range up, that of the 1300-1500 saloons. It would be necessary to wait till March 1969 and the launch of the 128 to see Fiat join the club of FWD converts.
Elsewhere, the Primula was enjoying a very long and successful career; it also installed itself in Fiat showrooms in the hope of extending its lifespan further (in March 1968 it received the 124 engine and a welcome facelift), and the coupe model was offered with the new 1438 engine later to be seen in the 124 Special. In fact its success was a sort of worry to Fiat, who feared it would steal customers who would otherwise buy its own 128 estate which was coming in 1969. The Primula’s modularity, in its 3 and 5-door versions was a boon for customers who like the saloon-like bodyshape but with the ability to transform itself into a useful estate car “without looking like one”. Italy had never been a fan of cars which looked ‘too utilitarian’. This worry grew until eventually, Fiat felt unable to continue Primula manufacture and stopped it point blank! It did not have the intention to kill off Autobianchi however, so dug out a suitable project that would keep the company’s engineers and assembly lines busy. Which one fell to hand.... but the G123 E4! Or, more precisely, one of its variants, abandoned at prototype stage in 1963 and left to fester. A reasonably elegant saloon, with a slight chiselled shape to the bodywork’s shoulderline (not unlike the Alfa Giulia), a neat grille integrating square headlights and indicators right on the corners of the body. Enrico Ghiretti, Autobianchi’s then recently-appointed boss was quick to agree that this car could make a suitable replacement for the Primula. The platform was identical to the Primula, with the wheelbase being lengthened by 6cm and most mechanical parts being shared (the rear springs were upgraded to 4 leaves rather than 3) and engine wise, the 1438cc OHV unit from the 124 coupe was selected.
The A111 is not a cheap car
Just a few months later the project came to realisation, and it was in March 1969 that not the Fiat 123, but the Autobianchi A111, was revealed. It was not proposed as a straightforward Primula replacement, but as an all-new vehicle designed to take Autobianchi upmarket and into new sales territory. The price was 1.316 million Lire, 25% more than a Primula 4-dr and 10% more than a Fiat 124 special. Even an Alfa Giulia 1300 was cheaper, at 1.295 million. The A111 nailed its colours to the mast as a quality saloon car, a ‘premium product’ in today’s marketing speak. This commercial approach was imposed by Fiat who again was protecting its own products, this time a fear of Autobianchi stealing 124 sales, and who attempted to justify the position with a high-quality construction, notably classier than Turin’s usual efforts. Beneath the angular bodywork, the A111 hid a plush interior with a real wood dashboard, a smart 3-dial instrument pack with integral rev-counter, comfy seats, thick carpets and a comprehensive heating and ventilation system. The wheel tubs in the boot were fully trimmed to better protect your suitcases. The influence of the Fiat 125, in both styling and detailing, is undeniable.
The launch budget for the A111 was not bank-busting by any means. Autobianchi was used to getting the most out of small investments but the lack of Lire meant that the sales dept had to come up with new ways to get the A111 message out there. The Autobianchi network was thus instructed to invite customers for a test-drive, not for 10 mins with a salesman, but for a full half day without any distance limit and no accompaniment. The aim was to let the A111’s quality and driving appeal speak for itself. The technique worked well and customers were very complimentary. A discreet facelift in 1970 added appeal; the chrome over-riders disappeared, to be replaced by rubber strips on the bumpers, a second set of rear light were fitted (!), a chrome tailpipe fitted, new model badge fitted on the front left wing, chrome wheels were replaced by gloss black ones with a chrome trim ring, the hubcaps were changed and now featured a black centre badge. A strange detail; in preparing a 1971 press pack for the A111, Autobianchi showed a set of photos featuring a new set of chrome embellishments on one side, and the existing ones on the other!!! Plenty of mods happened inside as well, though not all functional – a new glovebox positioned beneath the dashboard, where previously there had been a small shelf for additional storage space. More interestingly, the gearstick was shortened and positioned atop a centre console (no doubt brought on by deleting that shelf) which also held the controls for the heating and ventilation. On the door-tops, a strip of false wood replaced the black trim of previous models, but it looked a bit out of place next to the real wood of the dashboard itself. The seats, in velour or vinyl, were much better finished than on previous models. A bright yellow hue was added to the colour options. No mechanical changes took place. Finally, French market versions were now badged as ‘BS’ (for ‘berline sportive’ – sports saloon).
Premature end
Sadly, the A111 did not live very long. In Autumn 1969, Fiat’s purchase of Lancia reshaped the group strategy somewhat. Fiats new top-line models would now be Lancias and the Beta would now pick up the baton of ‘premium sports saloon’. That spelt the end for the A111 which disappeared from the catalogue in Oct 1972, after 56,894 examples had left the production lines. That doesn’t sound many, but taking into account its high price and unusually angular styling, its not so bad, especially for something thats ‘no more than a re-clothed Primula’ according to Eduardo Cima, owner of two very smart examples. Both series 2 models, one ‘president blue’ with ‘cardinal red’ interior, registered in Dec 1972 (2 months after its official retreat from the market) and the other, white one, slightly older (having hit the road in June 1972).
The slightly brutal square-rigged styling encourages you to look harder for interesting stylistic details. The reversing light, beneath the rear bumper, is not just placed there for want of a better idea, but the rear valance is carefully sculpted to accommodate it. In the boot, the bootlid counterweight springs are covered with fabric sleeves. When the front doors are opened a red warning light on the door edge illuminates, alerting cyclists and pedestrians to the risk (a feature which is missing from many modern cars). Interior accommodation certainly privileges the front passengers, at the cost of unfortunates who have to sit in the back, knees around their ears. The trim is velour or vinyl on the sides and rear of the seats and appears to be of a significantly better-than-usual quality if the condition of our two examples is anything to go by. Many accessories have come from the Fiat 125 (steering wheel, grab handles) or the 124 (gearstick, ignition switch). The instrument pack comprises speedo, rev counter graded to 8000rpm, fuel gauge, temp gauge and 8 warning lights, all of which point sharply upwards, which makes them difficult to read in some lights. The radio, in the middle of the dash below the ashtray, is a period accessory. A small plastic hook is hidden in the front passenger door trim; useful for madam’s handbag perhaps?
Disappointing roadholding
If the look of the A111 is encouraging, the feel of it is less so. In period, many people criticised the A111, subsequently finding themselves being labelled as ‘front drive haters’. With the passage of time, its easier to be frank about the car, and to be frank, it disappoints. Its not dangerous by any means, its just not very engaging. Probably the fault of a too-short development cycle which retained the old Primula platform without optimising it for the new larger, heavier and more powerful car. The tyres are too tall (155/13), suspension too soft and very unsporting, and the resulting understeer is marked. Its difficult to position the car well for cornering, at least until you have got the hang of countering the inertia of the front suspension. Don’t try to place it carefully in the hope of following the perfect cornering line. As the Italian magazine Quattroruote said in its October 1969 issue, ‘you have to drive as if the corner starts 100m beforehand!!!’ Edoardo is less harsh, recognising that, compared to the Primula coupe, the A111 requires a much more tranquil driving approach. Its not a sports car. He comments that the gear ratios are exceptionally well chosen for the torque curve of the engine, but the selector mechanism is vague and somewhat obstructive, and the steering very dull indeed during acceleration. Happily, the brakes are excellent and the motor sounds good, good enough to convince you there is some sporty DNA in this car somewhere. Evidently the A111 never had the career, or more particularly the development it deserved. Born from an aborted project and rushed into production, it served above all as a test-bed for front wheel drive technology that Fiat had not yet fully committed to. That it was ultimately sacrificed for reasons more political than commercial, is ultimately not very surprising. Sadly it’s the destiny that often awaits such ‘prototypes’. Shame......
Owner's View
For Edward Cima, 61-yr old shopkeeper from Turin, driving an A111 is entirely natural. “in 1968, to celebrate me getting my degree, my Dad gave me a special present: a brand-new Primula Coupe S in blue. Since then, I’ve had plenty of cars, but i’ve stayed loyal to my first Autobianchi. In fact, I still have it!” Technical registrar for the Autobianchi club of Italy which looks after the legacy of the Desio firm, Edouardo bought a second Primula coupe S before getting ‘into’ A111’s. In 2003, he acquired the blue one. “it had only had two owners from new and needed nothing but a service and coat of paint.” Today it has 134,000 km on the clock and has just been twinned with a second A111, also a series 2, slightly older but less used. “the kilometrage, 51,000, is ridiculous. It was parked up unused for 15 years. I spent 3 years trying to get my hands on it, but the sale of it was blocked by a tribunal, following some complications around the title of the car (the only owner had died 20 years previously). With a fresh battery and some petrol, and a bit of twiddling, the engine started up and sounded sweet. This was not a total surprise, as the 1438 OHV fiat engine is a tough and reliable old unit.
Ax GTi Turbo
- definitely now on the lotto win must find and purchase list 
