Info für Besucher ohne Javascript

Premium

Universal genius in car construction: "Sammy" Sampietro

This article was auto-translated. We apologize if some words are confusing or simply amusing. Would you like to help us improve?

Created on September 24, 2020

Text:

Karl Ludvigsen (Übersetzung Simon Kwasny)

Photos:

Archiv Karl Ludvigsen

11

Archiv

8

Archiv Karl Ludvigsen

11

Archiv

8

The first Healey sports car and behind it from left to right - Sammy Sampietro, Donald Healey and Ben Bowden

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

This photo was taken when Sammy Sampietro was 57 years old at the launch of the Tornado six-cylinder engine

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Sammy Sampietro and Reid Railton before the 1934 Alpine trip

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Sampietro patented a centrifugal compressor with an integrated oil pump shortly before finishing his work at Thomson & Taylor

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Sammy Sampietro was also a good friend of Railton's children - here in a friendly conversation with young Tim Railton

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Healey 2.4 Litre (1947) - the "Factory Demonstrator"

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Healey 2.4 Litre (1947) - at the 1947 Paris Motor Show

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Healey 2.4 Litre (1948) - Chassis shown at the 1948 Geneva Motor Show

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Healey 2.4 Litre (1947) - Rear suspension

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Healey 2.4 Litre (1946) - the chassis of the sports car

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Healey 2.4 Litre (1945) - the chassis of the first Healey as it was built at the end of 1945

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

The engine of the Healey Silverstone with innovative Wade Ventor Supercharger

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Sampietro designed and patented a new cylinder head for the Nash in-line six-cylinder with V-shaped overhead valves and hemispherically shaped combustion chambers

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Nash-Healey (1951) - the six-cylinder engine from the Nash construction program

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Nash-Healey (1951) - early variant with the Panelcraft bodywork

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

The test drive with the Isotta Fraschini 8C Monterosa was not to end well ...

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

The test drive with the Isotta Fraschini 8C Monterosa did not end well, as the photo taken afterwards shows ...

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

As chief engineer at Kaiser Jeep, he designed and patented a new cylinder head with a single overhead camshaft

When logged in, you see more images in larger size.

Sampietro's Jeep Tornado engine, the same design was used for the six- and four-cylinder engines.

You have only

1 out of 19

images seen in high resolution

Summary

The unusual name "Sampietro" crops up again and again in the history of automotive engineering achievements from the 1930s to the 1960s. Who was this versatile and creative mind? This article is intended to help you discover this man and his works through his life of activity. And to find out how the first post-war Healey sports car was created and how the famous Isotta-Fraschini Monterosa rolled over ...

This article contains the following chapters

Under the wing of Railton
Difficult times of war
The road to the first Healey sports car
From the Healey to the Nash Healey
The Isotta-Fraschini interlude
Universal genius

Estimated reading time: 14min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In 1932, Thomson & Taylor's chief engineer Reid Railtons met the lively and attractive Achilles Sampietro during one of his relaxing stays in Italy's warm and friendly north and even managed to hire him. Aged 27 at the time, Achilles was a decade younger than Railton. According to British engineer Sam Heron, Sampietro had graduated from the University of Ghent with degrees in mathematics, electrical engineering and physics. Heron on Sampietro: "He was an extraordinarily imaginative designer who chose electrical engineering because these engineers were such poor craftsmen who couldn't make anything mechanical work".

Welcome to Zwischengas!

Continue reading this article for free?

Images of this article

Source: