Isotta Fraschini 1902-1949 - successful in racing and the luxury market
Summary
There were around 10,000 car brands and designers - most of them have disappeared. One of these vanished brands is Isotta Fraschini from Italy. The vehicles of this brand shone with racing successes such as the Targa Florio victory in 1908, but they were also progressive, including the use of four-wheel brakes in 1910. After the war, the focus was on luxury sports cars and chauffeur-driven limousines, with stars such as Rudolph Valentino and Greta Garbo among the clientele. Passenger car production had to be discontinued in 1934. Several restarts were unsuccessful.
Estimated reading time: 3min
Preview (beginning of the article)
Between the world wars, all the major automotive nations had their own super-luxury brand: in England it was Rolls-Royce, in France Hispano-Suiza, in Germany Maybach, in the USA Duesenberg and in Italy Isotta Fraschini. The latter was founded in Milan in 1899 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Oreste and Antonio Fraschini. The import of Renault models was followed by their assembly, and in 1902 the first in-house model with a French single-cylinder engine was presented. From 1905, the designers Giustino Cattaneo and Antonio Chiribiri produced elaborate four-cylinder touring cars and racing models with displacements of up to 17.2 liters. In 1907/08, the French competitor De Dietrich held the majority of shares, resulting in a Targa Florio victory in 1908. In the main market, the USA, racing successes ensured prestige. The Maserati brothers were engaged to further develop the IF racing cars. From 1910, four-wheel brakes were fitted as standard.
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