Do you know the Giaur?
10/08/2021
Italian sports cars always liked to have melodious names such as Ferrari, Maserati or Alfa Romeo, so "Giaur" seems a little unwieldy at first glance, even though three vowels made it into the five-letter name.
The Giaur vehicles were the brainchild of enthusiast Berardo Taraschi and the Giannini brothers. They mainly built small Barchettas, which were entered in races such as the Mille Miglia from 1950 onwards, but also in America.
In 1954, however, Giaur presented an elegant GT coupé, the San Remo model, at the Turin Motor Show.
In its coverage of the show, Automobil Revue wrote:
The small two-seater sports coupé is the result of a collaboration between three Italian companies: Chassis construction: Urania, engine: Giannini and bodywork: Motto.
Another small and race-proven twin-camshaft engine can be found on the Giaur stand. The power output of the Giannini engine (Giaur = GIAnnini + URania) is stated as 70 hp at 7000 rpm ."
Not much more could be gleaned from the press at the time, but Giaur itself stated a top speed of 160 km/h and an unladen weight of 415 kg.
It is unlikely that more than one example was produced and, unlike the significantly more numerous Barchettas built (including the Champion model), of which a handful are said to still exist, it has probably not survived.
Anyone interested in the brand and its vehicles can find many pictures and some background information on an extensive website .
