The unknown 111
There is not just one car with the number "111" in its type designation, but at least three. The best known is probably the C111 sports car from Stuttgart-based car manufacturer Mercedes Benz, which also produced other cars with the memorable number in the W 111 series.
And then there is the ZIL 111 and finally the Autobianchi A 111, which hardly anyone knows anymore (picture above).
The Autobianchi A 111 used the drive concept of the Autobianchi Primulaand combined it with a spacious, albeit very functional notchback body.
The car was actually conceived by Dante Giacosa as the successor to the Fiat 1300/1500, but it was decided to give way to the conventionally powered Fiat 124 (front engine, rear-wheel drive), so that Project 123 went into production as the Autobianchi in 1969.
In terms of design, the A 111 was somewhere between the Fiat 124 and 125 Special. This is probably why many passers-by thought it was a Fiat with a different badge.
In addition to the transversely mounted engine, the rack-and-pinion steering and four disc brakes were progressive.
Weighing 930 kg and just over four meters long, the Autobianchi A 111 ran at 155 km/h with a 1.4-litre, 70 hp four-cylinder engine, but never got beyond a niche role. After 57,000 units, production was stopped in 1972.
When was the last time you saw an A 111?
