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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 - Italian coupé elegance with American technology

Name: Italmeccanica I.T. 160 1950
Brand: Italmeccanica

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Created on January 19, 2024

Text:

Bruno von Rotz

Photos:

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

RM Auctions

Archiv

Darin Schnabel - Courtesy RM Auctions

RM Auctions

Archiv

Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - the shape is reminiscent of the Cisitalia 202

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - the body is said to have been made by Stabilimenti Farina

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - Interior with extensively instrumented dashboard

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - interesting Italian fittings

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - a Ford V8 flathead is fitted, but the "power press" is missing

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - beautiful trademark, reference to Ford

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - Hood for the air supply to the engine (and once to the compressor)

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - elegant air vents for the engine exhaust heat

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - recessed door handles

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - trunk accessible from the outside

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - Farina sign on the rear

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - simple tail lights

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - Turin Motor Show 1950 - the completed coupé - the photo was retouched at the windshield at the time

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - Turin Motor Show 1950 - View of the Ford eight-cylinder with supercharger

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - Test drive by designer Foglia with the chassis without superstructure

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - the chassis made of chrome-molybdenum steel tubes

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Italmeccanica I.T. 160 (1950) - Front suspension and radiator

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Italmeccanica compressor for a four-cylinder MG engine around 1950

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Italmeccanica Supercharger - sold by RM Auctions in 2009 - I wonder if this was once part of the Italmeccanica I.T. 160 from 1950?

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Summary

Hardly anyone had heard of this car, even though it was the center of attention at the 1950 Turin Motor Show. However, like so many projects, the Italmeccanica I.T. 160 was not a success, despite its easy to maintain Ford series technology and captivating Italian design. Nevertheless, it is worth taking a look back, as original photographs and technical documents relating to this coupé can now be published for the first time.

This article contains the following chapters

Presentation in Turin
New design
Coupé body from Stabilimenti Farina
Two or even three prototypes?
A single surviving example?

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

There are probably not too many examples of cars before 1950 that combined American technology with European design and construction knowledge as consistently as the Italmeccanica I.T. 160 did. This coupé was actually a pioneer that was later followed by Facel Vega, Iso Rivolta, Jensen and De Tomaso, to name just a few examples. Nevertheless, the I.T. 160 was not a success story, even the undisputed elegance of the coupé did not help. The coupé was shown to the public for the first time in Europe in May 1950 at the 32nd Turin Motor Show, which featured products from five different countries. The Automobil Revue noted in its Salon report: "A new brand: Italmeccanica: A really new car can be found under the Italmecanica brand, which, as our readers know, previously referred to the small Roots blowers that were installed in Fiat touring cars in particular, but also in models of other brands. Ing. Foglia from Italmeccanica teamed up with Gigi Platé, the original designer and inventor and uncle of the famous sportsman Enrico Platé; the first result of this collaboration is a sporty car with maximum performance. The engine is the 3.9-liter Ford V-8, which, thanks to a voluminous Italmeccanica blower whose drive can be switched on and off while driving, achieves between 160 and 170 brake horsepower at 4000 rpm. The supercharger is fed by two original Ford Holley carburetors, while a single carburetor is used for operation without the supercharger. The engine, blocked with the normal Warner high-speed gearbox, rests in a rather peculiar tubular frame chassis, which is very low thanks to a special arrangement of the front and rear wishbones. The two- to four-seater coupe developed by Stabilimenti Farina, which is on display, is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful cars at the show. With an unladen weight of around 1260 kg, the car has a tremendous power reserve. "

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