The unknown 111
01/30/2015
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?
