Innocenti
Encyclopedia
Economy of Italy
Italy has a diversified industrial economy with high gross domestic product per capita and developed infrastructure. According to the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and the CIA World Factbook, in 2010 Italy was the seventh-largest economy in the world and the third-largest in Europe...
machinery works originally established by Ferdinando Innocenti
Ferdinando Innocenti
Ferdinando Innocenti , born in Pescia, Italy, was the founder of the Innocenti company and was the creator of the Lambretta motorscooter.Innocenti started working as an assistant to a blacksmith in 1907...
in 1920.
After World War II, the company was famous for many years for Lambretta scooters models such as LI125, LI150, TV175, TV200
Lambretta TV200
The Lambretta TV200 was a motor scooter produced by Innocenti from April 1963 to October 1965. During this time, 14,982 units were made for and exported to markets outside of Italy....
, SX125, SX150, SX200
Lambretta SX 200
The Lambretta SX200, or SpecialX200, was Lambretta's top of the line scooter, with 20,783 units produced from January 1966 - January 1969. Though not the rarest of the Series 3 Lambrettas, the SX200 continues to be one of the most popular and desirable due to its classic, yet unique styling.Great...
, GP125, GP150 and GP200.
From 1961 to 1976 Innocenti built under licence the BMC
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...
(later the British Leyland Motor Corporation
British Leyland Motor Corporation
British Leyland was a vehicle manufacturing company formed in the United Kingdom in 1968 as British Leyland Motor Corporation Ltd . It was partly nationalised in 1975 with the government creating a new holding company called British Leyland Ltd which became BL Ltd in 1978...
(BLMC)) 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...
, with 998 cc and 1275 cc engines, following with other models, including the Regent (Allegro), with engines up to 1485 cc. The company of this era is commonly called Leyland Innocenti. The Innocenti Spyder (1961–1970) was a rebodied version of the Austin-Healey
Austin-Healey
Austin-Healey was a British sports car maker. The marque was established through a joint-venture arrangement, set up in 1952 between Leonard Lord of the Austin division of the British Motor Corporation and the Donald Healey Motor Company, a renowned automotive engineering and design...
MKII Sprite (styling by Ghia). The car was produced by OSI
OSI
- General :* OSI Pharmaceuticals, an American pharmaceutical company* OSI Restaurant Partners, the restaurant and entertainment group that includes Outback Steakhouse...
(near Milan). In 1972 BLMC took over control of the company.
In 1972 the company's land, buildings and equipment were purchased by British Leyland in a deal involving approximately £3 Million. The British company had high hopes for its newly acquired subsidiary at a time when, they reported to the UK press, Italian Innocenti sales were second only to those of Fiat
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...
, and ahead of Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
and Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
: there was talk of further increasing annual production from 56,452 in 1971 to 100,000. Demonstrating their ambitions, the British company installed as Managing Director one of their youngest UK based senior executives, "32 year old" former Financial Controller Geoffrey Robinson
Geoffrey Robinson
Geoffrey Robinson is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Coventry North West since 1976. He was Paymaster General from May 1997 to January 1999, resigning after it was revealed that he had lent his government colleague Peter Mandelson £373,000 to buy a house...
. Three years later BLMC ran out of money and was nationalised by the UK government.
In 1975, the company passed to Alejandro de Tomaso
Alejandro de Tomaso
Alejandro de Tomaso was a racing driver and industrialist from Argentina. His name is sometimes seen in an Italianised form as Alessandro de Tomaso. He participated in two Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on January 13, 1957...
and was reorganised by the De Tomaso
De Tomaso
De Tomaso Automobili SpA is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso in Modena in 1959. It originally produced various prototypes and racing cars, including a Formula One car for Frank Williams' team in 1970. The company developed a reputation...
Group under the name Nuova Innocenti. The first model had Bertone-designed five-seater bodywork and was available with 998 cc and 1275 cc engines. Later models from modelyear 1983 used 993 cc engines made by Daihatsu of Japan.
This company made cars until 1992. In the late 1980s, when Fiat
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...
took over, Innocenti sold Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian-imported versions of the Fiat Uno
Fiat Uno
The Fiat Uno is a supermini car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries.-First series :...
(Elba station wagon and Uno Mille) for the Italian market. The marque ended in 1996.
List of Innocenti vehicles
- 1947-1971 Lambretta (motorscooter)
- 1960-1967 A40/A40S Berlina/Combinata - hatchbackHatchbackA 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...
Austin A40 FarinaAustin A40 FarinaThe Austin A40 Farina was a compact car introduced by the British Motor Corporation in 1958, replacing the earlier A40 Devon.It combines many of the virtues of a saloon and estate car in one body. There is more headroom for the rear passengers because of the angular instead of curved lines of the... - 1961-1968 950/1100 Spider - roadsterRoadsterA roadster is a two-seat open car with emphasis on sporty handling and without a fixed roof or side weather protection. Strictly speaking a roadster with wind-up windows is a convertible but as true roadsters are no longer made the distinction is now irrelevant...
based on Austin-Healey SpriteAustin-Healey SpriteThe Austin-Healey Sprite is a small open sports car which was announced to the press in Monte Carlo by the British Motor Corporation on 20 May 1958, just before that year's Monaco Grand Prix. It was intended to be a low-cost model that "a chap could keep in his bike shed", yet be the successor to...
with original body designed by Ghia - 1963-1974 IM3/IM3S/Austin I4/I5 - rebadged sedan BMC ADO16 (Austin/Morris 1100)
- 1963 Innocenti 186 GT - prototype of the coupé with a 1.8-Litre V6 Ferrari (Dino) engine
- 1965-1975 MiniMiniThe 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...
- rebadged fastback sedans and station wagons BMC ADO15 (MiniMiniThe 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...
) - 1973-1976 Regent - sedan Austin AllegroAustin AllegroThe Austin Allegro is a small family car manufactured by British Leyland under the Austin name from 1973 until 1983. The same vehicle was built in Italy by Innocenti between 1974 and 1975 and sold as the Innocenti Regent...
- 1974-1982 Innocenti MiniInnocenti MiniThe Innocenti Mini is an automobile introduced by Leyland Innocenti in 1974. The vehicle was a rebodied, 3-door hatchback version of the Mini, styled by Bertone....
90L and 120L - Bertone rebodied MiniMiniThe 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... - 1976-1987 Innocenti Mini de Tomaso - sport version of Innocenti MiniInnocenti MiniThe Innocenti Mini is an automobile introduced by Leyland Innocenti in 1974. The vehicle was a rebodied, 3-door hatchback version of the Mini, styled by Bertone....
developed by de TomasoDe TomasoDe Tomaso Automobili SpA is an Italian car-manufacturing company. It was founded by the Argentine-born Alejandro de Tomaso in Modena in 1959. It originally produced various prototypes and racing cars, including a Formula One car for Frank Williams' team in 1970. The company developed a reputation...
, initially equipped with BLMC 1275 engine, since 1982 with 1.0-litre 3-cylinder turbocharged Daihatsu engine - 1982-1992 3-Cilindri/Minitre/650/500 - further development of Innocenti MiniInnocenti MiniThe Innocenti Mini is an automobile introduced by Leyland Innocenti in 1974. The vehicle was a rebodied, 3-door hatchback version of the Mini, styled by Bertone....
with Daihatsu 3-cylinder and 2-cylinder engines - 1986-1992 Mini 990 - longer version of Innocenti MiniInnocenti MiniThe Innocenti Mini is an automobile introduced by Leyland Innocenti in 1974. The vehicle was a rebodied, 3-door hatchback version of the Mini, styled by Bertone....
with 1.0-litre 3-cylinder Daihatsu engine - 1991-1993 Koral - Yugo KoralZastava KoralThe Zastava Koral , also known simply as the Yugo, was a subcompact car built by the Zastava corporation. The first Yugo 45 was handmade on 2 October 1978....
rebadged for the Italian market - 1991-1996 Innocenti ElbaFiat ElbaThe Innocenti Elba was an automobile that replaced the Fiat Duna Weekend in 1991.After the flop of "Duna Berlina", the Fiat produced only the wagon version of Duna, the Duna Weekend, after named Innocenti Elba....
- European version of the Brazilian Fiat ElbaFiat ElbaThe Innocenti Elba was an automobile that replaced the Fiat Duna Weekend in 1991.After the flop of "Duna Berlina", the Fiat produced only the wagon version of Duna, the Duna Weekend, after named Innocenti Elba.... - 1994-1997 Mille - Brazilian Fiat UnoFiat UnoThe Fiat Uno is a supermini car produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. The Uno was launched in 1983 and built in its homeland until 1995, with production still taking place in other countries.-First series :...
for Italian market (not to be confused with Innocenti MiniInnocenti MiniThe Innocenti Mini is an automobile introduced by Leyland Innocenti in 1974. The vehicle was a rebodied, 3-door hatchback version of the Mini, styled by Bertone....
version under the same name manufactured between 1980–1982)
External links
- http://vea.qc.ca/vea/marques1/innocenti.htm
- http://gerardsgarage.com/GarageContent/UniqueSprites/innocenti/Innocenti.htm
- http://ideahobby.it/DB-Auto/innocenti.html
- http://www.austin-rover.co.uk/index.htm?inniminif.htm
- Photo of large Innocenti boring mill during installation in the United states
- Innocenti models with detailed specifications in automobile-catalog.com