Autobianchi Primula
Encyclopedia
The Autobianchi Primula is a small car (supermini
) from the Italian
automaker, Autobianchi
(a subsidiary of the Fiat Group
), built between 1964 and 1970. It was Fiat's first automobile with the front-wheel drive
, transverse engine
setup, as well as the first Fiat group car with rack and pinion
steering. Primulas were built in the Autobianchi factory in Desio
and were priced comparably to the Austin/Morris 1100
models built in Italy by Innocenti
.
. Meanwhile, a practical concept emerged, namely the front-wheel drive
layout with the engine mounted transversely
, which allowed for very efficient space utilization. First popularized by the Mini
, it also found its way to other, bigger models, starting with BMC's
Austin/Morris 1100
.
Fiat's chief designer, Dante Giacosa
, recognized the potential of the concept, but the company decided to experiment without risking damage to the image of its popular Fiat-branded cars. Thus the Autobianchi Primula emerged—a car marketed under a less crucial nameplate, for which it was an entry into a whole new class of vehicles.
"saloon" concept, available with two or four doors and with or without the rear hatch (which made the car effectively a hatchback
), producing four different combinations, referred to in Italian as "berlina". In 1965, a year after the original launch, the lineup was completed by the addition of a coupé
model (effectively a more stylish and spacious 2-door fastback) designed by Carrozzeria Touring
.
(for the coupé it was uprated to 65 hp), but in 1968 it was replaced with Fiat 124
engines—the berlinas received the 1197 cc 60 hp engine from the standard versions, while the coupé was fitted with the more powerful 1438 cc 70 hp unit. All engines used in the Primula had overhead valve
s (OHV)—the later twin cam derivative
of the 1438 cc unit was not used in any Autobianchi (Fiat did use it later in the Lancia Beta
- the issue at the time in a transverse installation of a twin-cam head being the arrangement of the exhaust manifold of the necessarily cross-flow head). Unlike contemporaneous BMC and Peugeot models, which had the transmission in the oil sump
, the Primula had its manual transmission
placed end-on, above the differential
. The Primula also featured disc brakes on all four wheels, uncommon in small cars of the time.
The Primula's particular configuration of front wheel drive and transverse engine, but with a gearbox on the end of the engine and unequal length drive shafts, rather than a gearbox in the sump like the Mini, has become universal among front-drivers, as did its use of conventional steel suspension in almost all other cars except Citroens: usually McPherson struts at the front and a "dead" rear axle. The Primula is thus a car design of far greater significance than is often realised, as its design influence spread, far beyond even the mainstream high volume Fiats such as the 127 and the 128 of the late 1960s which used its driveline layout; to every front wheel drive transverse engined car in production today.
contest, after another front-wheel drive car, the Austin 1800
. This convinced Fiat to develop the concept further. In 1969 the first Fiat with a front-mounted transverse engine, the Fiat 128
, was launched, along with two new front-wheel drive Autobianchis—the Autobianchi A112
, smaller than Primula, and the larger Autobianchi A111
. The 128 secured Fiat the Car of the Year title in 1970, with A112 coming second. Primula production ceased in 1970, by which time 74,858 had been built.
Supermini car
A supermini is a British term that describes automobiles larger than a city car but smaller than a small family car. This car class is also known as the B-segment across Europe, and as subcompact in North America....
) from the Italian
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
automaker, Autobianchi
Autobianchi
Autobianchi was an Italian automobile manufacturer, created jointly by Bianchi, Pirelli and Fiat in 1955. Autobianchi produced only a handful of models during its lifetime, which were almost exclusively small cars, with the biggest being the short-lived Autobianchi A111, a small family car...
(a subsidiary of the Fiat Group
Fiat
FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...
), built between 1964 and 1970. It was Fiat's first automobile with the front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and...
, transverse engine
Transverse engine
A transverse engine is an engine mounted in a vehicle so that the engine's crankshaft axis is perpendicular to the long axis of the vehicle. Many modern front wheel drive vehicles use this engine mounting configuration...
setup, as well as the first Fiat group car with rack and pinion
Rack and pinion
A rack and pinion is a type of linear actuator that comprises a pair of gears which convert rotational motion into linear motion. A circular gear called "the pinion" engages teeth on a linear "gear" bar called "the rack"; rotational motion applied to the pinion causes the rack to move, thereby...
steering. Primulas were built in the Autobianchi factory in Desio
Desio
Desio is a town and comune in the Province of Monza and Brianza, Italy.-History:In 1277 it was the location of the battle between the Visconti and della Torre families for the rule of Milan. It is also known as the birthplace of Pope Pius XI and the Arsenal goalkeeper, Vito Mannone...
and were priced comparably to the Austin/Morris 1100
BMC ADO16
ADO16 is the codename for the development of what became the Morris 1100, a small family car built by the British Motor Corporation and, later, British Leyland...
models built in Italy by Innocenti
Innocenti
Innocenti was an Italian machinery works originally established by Ferdinando Innocenti in 1920.After World War II, the company was famous for many years for Lambretta scooters models such as LI125, LI150, TV175, TV200, SX125, SX150, SX200, GP125, GP150 and GP200.From 1961 to 1976 Innocenti built...
.
Concept
Before the Primula, all Fiat Group passenger cars were rear-wheel drive; the larger models followed the classic FR layout (front engine powering the rear axle), and small cars were rear-enginedRR layout
In automotive design, a RR, or Rear-engine, Rear-wheel drive layout places both the engine and drive wheels at the rear of the vehicle. In contrast to the RMR layout, the center of mass of the engine is between the rear axle and the rear bumper....
. Meanwhile, a practical concept emerged, namely the front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and...
layout with the engine mounted transversely
Transverse engine
A transverse engine is an engine mounted in a vehicle so that the engine's crankshaft axis is perpendicular to the long axis of the vehicle. Many modern front wheel drive vehicles use this engine mounting configuration...
, which allowed for very efficient space utilization. First popularized by the Mini
Mini
The Mini is a small car that was made by the British Motor Corporation and its successors from 1959 until 2000. The original is considered a British icon of the 1960s, and its space-saving front-wheel-drive layout influenced a generation of car-makers...
, it also found its way to other, bigger models, starting with BMC's
British Motor Corporation
The British Motor Corporation, or commonly known as BMC was a vehicle manufacturer from United Kingdom, formed by the merger of the Austin Motor Company and the Nuffield Organisation in 1952...
Austin/Morris 1100
BMC ADO16
ADO16 is the codename for the development of what became the Morris 1100, a small family car built by the British Motor Corporation and, later, British Leyland...
.
Fiat's chief designer, Dante Giacosa
Dante Giacosa
Dante Giacosa was an Italian car designer. His work covered a large range from minicars to sports cars, using all the different layouts as and when they were the best solution at the time to meet the design parameters....
, recognized the potential of the concept, but the company decided to experiment without risking damage to the image of its popular Fiat-branded cars. Thus the Autobianchi Primula emerged—a car marketed under a less crucial nameplate, for which it was an entry into a whole new class of vehicles.
Body styles
The car's original body was similar to the BMC's fastbackFastback
A fastback is a car body style whose roofline slopes continuously down at the back. The word can also designate the car itself. The style is seen on two-door coupés as well as four-door sedans.-History:...
"saloon" concept, available with two or four doors and with or without the rear hatch (which made the car effectively a hatchback
Hatchback
A Hatchback is a car body style incorporating a shared passenger and cargo volume, with rearmost accessibility via a rear third or fifth door, typically a top-hinged liftgate—and features such as fold-down rear seats to enable flexibility within the shared passenger/cargo volume. As a two-box...
), producing four different combinations, referred to in Italian as "berlina". In 1965, a year after the original launch, the lineup was completed by the addition of a coupé
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
model (effectively a more stylish and spacious 2-door fastback) designed by Carrozzeria Touring
Carrozzeria Touring
Carrozzeria Touring is an automobile coachbuilder established on March 25, 1926 in Milan, Italy by Felice Bianchi Anderloni and Gaetano Ponzoni...
.
Driveline
Initially, the Primula was fitted with the 1221 cc engine from the Fiat 1100 DFiat 1100
The Fiat 1100 is a compact automobile produced from 1937 to 1969, by the Italian car maker Fiat.- Fiat 508C Nuova Balilla 1100 :The Fiat 1100 was first introduced in 1937 as an updated version of the 508 "Balilla" with a look similar to the 1936 Fiat 500 "Topolino" and the larger 1500, with the...
(for the coupé it was uprated to 65 hp), but in 1968 it was replaced with Fiat 124
Fiat 124
The Fiat 124 is a mid-sized family car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1966 and 1974. It was the replacement of the Fiat 1300 and Fiat 1500...
engines—the berlinas received the 1197 cc 60 hp engine from the standard versions, while the coupé was fitted with the more powerful 1438 cc 70 hp unit. All engines used in the Primula had overhead valve
Overhead valve
An overhead valve engine, also informally called pushrod engine or I-head engine, is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft within the cylinder block , and uses pushrods or rods to actuate rocker arms above the cylinder...
s (OHV)—the later twin cam derivative
Fiat Twin Cam engine
Designed by Aurelio Lampredi the Fiat Twin Cam was an advanced inline-4 automobile engine produced from 1959 through 1994 as a Fiat/Lancia engine until it was replaced by the "family B" series of engines...
of the 1438 cc unit was not used in any Autobianchi (Fiat did use it later in the Lancia Beta
Lancia Beta
The Lancia Beta is a car produced by Lancia. It was the first new model introduced by Lancia after it had been taken over by Fiat in 1969.-Berlina:...
- the issue at the time in a transverse installation of a twin-cam head being the arrangement of the exhaust manifold of the necessarily cross-flow head). Unlike contemporaneous BMC and Peugeot models, which had the transmission in the oil sump
Sump
A sump is a low space that collects any often-undesirable liquids such as water or chemicals. A sump can also be an infiltration basin used to manage surface runoff water and recharge underground aquifers....
, the Primula had its manual transmission
Manual transmission
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
placed end-on, above the differential
Differential (mechanics)
A differential is a device, usually, but not necessarily, employing gears, capable of transmitting torque and rotation through three shafts, almost always used in one of two ways: in one way, it receives one input and provides two outputs—this is found in most automobiles—and in the other way, it...
. The Primula also featured disc brakes on all four wheels, uncommon in small cars of the time.
The Primula's particular configuration of front wheel drive and transverse engine, but with a gearbox on the end of the engine and unequal length drive shafts, rather than a gearbox in the sump like the Mini, has become universal among front-drivers, as did its use of conventional steel suspension in almost all other cars except Citroens: usually McPherson struts at the front and a "dead" rear axle. The Primula is thus a car design of far greater significance than is often realised, as its design influence spread, far beyond even the mainstream high volume Fiats such as the 127 and the 128 of the late 1960s which used its driveline layout; to every front wheel drive transverse engined car in production today.
Reaction
The Primula was favorably received in the marketplace, and came second in the 1965 European Car of the YearEuropean Car of the Year
The European Car of the Year award was established in 1964 by a collective of automobile magazines from different countries in Europe. The current organisers of the award are Auto , Autocar , Autopista , Autovisie , L'Automobile Magazine , Stern and Vi Bilägare .The voting jury consists of motoring...
contest, after another front-wheel drive car, the Austin 1800
Austin 1800
BMC ADO17 was the model code used by the British Motor Corporation for a range of cars produced from September 1964 to 1975 and sold initially under its Austin marque as the Austin 1800. The car was also sold as the Morris 1800 and Wolseley 18/85, and later as the Austin 2200, Morris 2200 and...
. This convinced Fiat to develop the concept further. In 1969 the first Fiat with a front-mounted transverse engine, the Fiat 128
Fiat 128
The Fiat 128 is a small family car manufactured by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1969 to 1985. The engine was designed by the famous Ferrari racing engine designer Aurelio Lampredi.-History:...
, was launched, along with two new front-wheel drive Autobianchis—the Autobianchi A112
Autobianchi A112
The Autobianchi A112 is a supermini produced by the Italian automaker Autobianchi. It was developed using the mechanicals which subsequently underpinned the Fiat 127. It was introduced in 1969, as a replacement for the Bianchina and Primula, and was built until 1986, when it made way for the more...
, smaller than Primula, and the larger Autobianchi A111
Autobianchi A111
The Autobianchi A111 is a small family car from the Italian automaker, Autobianchi , built from 1969 to 1972. Despite rather modest dimensions, it was the largest Autobianchi ever made, as the brand specialized in small cars...
. The 128 secured Fiat the Car of the Year title in 1970, with A112 coming second. Primula production ceased in 1970, by which time 74,858 had been built.
External links
- Contemporary Italian Primula Brochures (Berlina and Coupé) at the Registro Autobianchi site