Carrozzeria Fissore

The Carrozzeria Fissore was an Italian coachbuilder from Savigliano in Turin ( Piedmont).

History

The company was founded in 1920 by brothers Antonio Bernardo, Giovanni and Costanzo Fissore and employed in the first years of its existence first with the manufacture of carriages and a little later with the repair of cars and trucks. From 1936, when Bernardo Fissore took over the management of the company, began the Carrozzeria Fissore, establish special bodies for automobiles, especially hearses, postal vehicles and small buses. During the Second World War, the product range changed; Like many other companies put Fissore now since military vehicles.

After the war, Fissore turned back to civilian vehicles. The company completed while both the design in his own studio as well as the structure of the body in its own workshops. 1947 thus creating a first station wagon on a standard chassis of the Fiat 1100, which received the designation Giardinetta. This concept, which was first used by Fissore is still in use in Italy for station wagon and found himself both at the corresponding derivatives of Fiat ( eg Fiat 500 ) and Alfa Romeo ( Alfa eg 33). In 1953 Fissore, designed by Mario Revelli Coupe 1000 TV before, which was based on the chassis of the Fiat 1100 and an independent line had. The car was the first major success of the Carrozzeria Fissore. There were other models on various Fiat chassis. With increasing success, the company has grown so that it possessed the mid-1960s on nearly 200 employees. During this time, Fissore began to work for other car manufacturers. Here either body designs were created or entire vehicles manufactured in single or small series production, among them DKW, TVR and de Tomaso. Even if the Carrozzeria Fissore overall not played within the League of Pininfarina, Bertone, Frua Pietro Michelotti or she was at this time but a veritable design studio and body shop with a solid reputation and national importance.

A financial security reached the Carrozzeria Fissore 1969, when they Monteverdi the job (if not all) produce a majority of sports cars of the high-speed series. This order ensured the existence of the company for the next few years, even if the initially announced by Monteverdi quantities of 100 copies per year were never achieved. This changed when the SUV Monteverdi Safari began to produce in large quantities. This showed that a pure handicraft production, as Fissore they had previously practiced, the desired quantities could not be sure. Therefore invested Fissore and Monteverdi in any case, a partially industrial production with metal presses and the like. In return Monteverdi received larger portions of the Carrozzeria Fissore and took over the factory in the late 1970s ultimately complete. The production of Monteverdi's made at this time from the main part of the Fissore production. However, next came still prototypes and single pieces for other companies.

As Monteverdi 1984, the car gave up production, this also meant the end for the Carrozzeria Fissore. Lack follow-up orders, the company was liquidated in 1984.

The company Rayton Fissore founded in 1976, has no legal relationship with the Carrozzeria Fissore. It is an independent body shop, which was founded and led by Giulio Malvino. The name similarity is due to the wife of Malvino, which is a native of Fissore and comes from the family that the Carrozzeria Fissore had operated. Rayton Fissore presented from 1985 Magnum ( sold in the U.S. as Laforza ) ago, a discretely designed and luxuriously appointed SUV with an Iveco chassis of the Monteverdi Safari was not dissimilar in concept, but apart from that nothing with the Swiss-Italian car had to do.

Rolling stock

Fissore and Fiat

Presented, particularly in the 1950s and 1960s Fissore manufactures a range of special bodies on chassis by Fiat. Some of them were produced in small series. These included:

Fiat 1100 TV Fissore Coupé ( 1953). This is a fastback coupe with a pontoon body based on the Fiat 1100. The car had a surprisingly massive front end that recalled the lines of the Saab 92. The coupe was produced in several copies and was described by Fissore first major success.

Sabrina, a four -to six- seat car based on the Fiat Multipla with heavily modified body.

Mongho 650, almost a coupe based on the Fiat Nuova 500 with a design by Alessandro Sessano. The line of small cars leaning partially on to the British Bond Bug; However, it saw with four wheels and conventional doors more like a real car from. The memory of the bond was supported by the orange paint. The engine of the Fiat 500 was tuned by Giannini, so the car has shown quite lively performance. Fissore built the prototype, which was a unique piece. The car is now in Italy.

Fissore Scout 127, an open fun car in the style of Citroën Mehari with the technology of the Fiat 127, the car was first developed in 1971 by a company called MAINA and was presented as a Gypsy. In the absence of sufficient capacity, the production of the car had been quickly passed to the Carrozzeria Fissore, which produced and marketed it under their own name. Initially, body parts were used in fiberglass, later you put a sheet steel components. The Scout was quite a successful car, which was well received in Germany. Autokinitoviomihania Ellados from Greece was granted a license.

Fissore and OSCA

1962 designed and built by Fissore in the early 1960s, some bodies for the Maserati brothers owned company OSCA. In this case, the chassis of OSCA 1600 was used. Fissore initially designed an elegant, almost cut notchback coupe, which had a round front end with adjacent double headlights. The roof line was very angular and pointed filigree A-, B- and C- pillars. The coupe was produced in a total of 22 copies. There were two vehicles that were built as a convertible.

Fissore and DKW

In the early 1960s had the Carrozzeria Fissore business contact to the German DKW or Auto Union. Three DKW models that should be built in Brazil VEMAG and sold on the South African market, were first revised by Fissore. This is to be

The DKW F93 (3 = 6). The vehicle was built from 1958 to 1967 in Brazil VEMAG and sold under the name DKW VEMAG Belcar ( = nice car ). The wagon version was called Vemaguet. With an unchanged technology revised Fissore primarily the front and rear sections. The sweeping fenders were maintained, but the VEMAG DKWs were equipped with front -hinged doors and double headlights. In total, about 51,000 copies were manufactured.

Another vehicle was VEMAG Fissore, a two-door sedan with a smooth-surfaced pontoon body whose front end took on the features of the recently introduced OSCA 1600 Coupé. The body of the body was similar in outline to the German DKW F 102 as a single piece also a station wagon was placed on the legs. The VEMAG Fissore was basically a new body version of the Belcar, which was sold in the light of the updated, more elegant designs at an approximately 25% higher price than the Belcar. With its two-stroke engine of the Fissore was, however, no serious competition for American or Italian imports. Between 1964 and 1967 more than 2,500 VEMAG Fissore were produced. The car is now in South America a sought-after rarity.

Finally Fissore Coupé and Spyder designed on the base of the Auto Union SP 1000th The Fissore designs away from the originally copied Ford Thunderbird and created instead a resemblance to the Renault Dauphine Spyder. License productions gave the coupe and Spyder existed in Argentina and Spain.

Fissore and De Tomaso

For de Tomaso Vallelunga Fissore designed the model. First, a Spyder, which does not progress beyond the stage of a prototype was built. Shortly thereafter, designed Fissore a closed version, which was produced in about 50 copies until the mid- 1960s. However, the series production was not - as possibly hoped for - at Fissore place, but at Carrozzeria Ghia, which at the time Alejandro de Tomaso was proportionately.

Fissore and Monteverdi

Of particular importance was the relationship between Fissore and the Swiss sports car manufacturer Monteverdi. She secured the Carrozzeria Fissore in the 1970s survival.

Initially Monteverdi had had to design and build his coupe at Pietro Frua. However, Monteverdi had 1968, after only half a year, again separated by Frua, since its factory in Turin did not have the necessary capacity for small-scale production of high-speed models in the quantity desired by Peter Monteverdi. First Monteverdi commissioned Carrozzeria Fissore with the production of sports cars in the previous Frua design; Pietro Frua after, however, had successfully sued for royalties, Monteverdi changed the design of the sports car. Whether this body was designed by Fissore or whether the design actually came from Peter Monteverdi himself, as he claimed repeatedly, is unclear. Anyway Fissore has the claim Monteverdi's never denied. Perhaps the baselines of the coupe from Monteverdi come while Fissore the detailed implementation took over. The same may be true of the derivatives of the high-speed, ie for the short wheelbase coupes, cabriolets and sedan.

The production process was complicated. In Basel, a first chassis was produced, which was then connected in Savigliano with the body. After the car was returned to Basel, where it was provided and completed in the workshop of Monteverdi with motor and drive components.

It is certain that Fissore created many, but not all of Monteverdi's high-speed series. Besides Fissore were certainly still the works of Poccardi and Embo engaged in the manufacture of individual vehicles. Probably this diversification was for capacity reasons.

Fissore also questioned the bodies forth for the successful Monteverdi Safari. Whether in addition also the Monteverdi Sierra, a modification of the Dodge Aspen, was built by Fissore, is not assured. Contradicted by the fact that no completely own body had to be built for this model; Rather, only a few parts such as fenders and hoods were replaced.

Other Designs

For the TVR Fissore designer Trevor Fiore designed a two -seat coupe with tight lines. Before it went into production, TVR sold the rights to the design to a TVR dealer, who brought it under the name of Trident on the market and sold in about 220 to 1976 copies.
For Alpine Trevor Fiore designed in the late 1960s, a successor of the A 110 Before the designs for the car, the A should be 310 later, could be implemented in France, Monteverdi took over the lines for his own mid-engined coupe called Hai. While Peter Monteverdi claims to have designed the shark itself, Monteverdi, according to Fiore's viewed your Alpine design with him, and later used without licensing for his own car. The similarities between the Alpine A 310 and the Monteverdi Hai are certainly striking.
For Opel presented Fissore at the beginning of the 1970 years since a four-door convertible version of the Opel Diplomat B. The car remained a one piece; it still exists.
Ota, a small sports car based on the Autobianchi A112.

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