The Cisitalia Grand Prix is a single-seater car for the 1.5-litre supercharged race car class, prewar called voiturette, postwar promoted to Grand Prix class (later F1), built by Italian sports car manufacturer Cisitalia and introduced in 1949.[1][2] It was designed on behalf of Cisitalia by Porsche between 1946–47, and is therefore also known by its Porsche project number, Type 360.[3][4]
An extremely advanced design, Rear mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout and four-wheel-drive on top of state of the art Grand Prix technology, it proved too complex to build for the small Italian firm—leading to a lengthy development and eventually to the financial downfall of the company. Between Cisitalia's 1949 liquidation and the fact that due to lack of entries, supercharged engines, and all large F1 engines, were banned for the 1952 Formula One season that was run according to F2 rules, the car never raced in Grands Prix.[5]
The car was commissioned by Piero Dusio in 1946 after Porsche family members had been imprisoned by French Occupation Zone authorities in December 1945. Ferry Porsche was released after six months. Dusio paid a large sum of money upfront, part of which was used to free 71 year old Ferdinand Porsche in August 1947 from the French prison in which he was being held effectively for ransom. Dusio gave Porsche only 16 months to complete the car which proved too short a time to sort out the advanced design.
Porsche 360 Cisitalia in the old Porsche museumPorsche 360 Cisitalia in the new Porsche museum
Design
The 1939 Tripoli Grand Prix was turned it into a Voiturette race for smaller, 1500cc supercharged cars, like the factory Alfa Romeo 158/159 Alfetta and Maserati 4CL and 4CLT. Mercedes, believing that these rules might get adopted for GP racing, decided to invest in a new, smaller model, the V8-powered Mercedes-Benz W165, which won the race 1-2. Engineers of Auto Union racing cars had witnessed that Mercedes was testing a "Tripoli car" at the old Hockenheimring in April 1939.[6] They had a similar project, a Porsche designed unraced 1939 1,482 cc (53.0 x 56.0mm) 2-stage Roots supercharged flat-12 "Auto Union Typ E"[7], projected to deliver 327bhp (244kW) at 9,000 rpm.
In 1946, the Voiturette rules were promoted to Grand Prix motor racing rules, later called Formula One. The Auto Union concept provided the basis of the Cisitalia 360 car which was built in Italy by Cisitalia personnel with help from former Porsche employee Robert Eberan von Eberhorst[8] around a mid mountedsupercharged 1,492 cc (56.0 x 50.5mm) flat 12 engine giving a conservative 300hp (224kW) at 8,500 rpm and a top speed of 300km/h (186mph). A fully enclosed streamlined body for fast circuits was planned giving over 320km/h (200mph). Later bench tests showed about 385bhp (287kW) at 10,500 rpm. The chassis was of chromoly tubing and featured on/off four-wheel-drive with a sequential gear-shift and a rear-mounted transaxle, also sending power through a driveshaft to a front differential. Suspension was independent with Porsche type trailing arms in front and parallel acting arms in the rear.[8] Porsche's experience with the pre-war Auto Union Grand Prix cars showed through in the layout and design of the Cisitalia to the extent that it has been referred to as the "Auto Union Type E".
Legacy
By the time the only prototype was finished Dusio was out of cash. The car languished in development until 1951, at one point being shipped off to Argentina to try to persuade president Juan Perón to invest in the company. By 1952 Formula One rules had changed and while Dusio attempted to source a 2-liter motor for the car a lack of funds relegated one of the most advanced Grand Prix cars of its day to a few Formula Libre events and quick retirement. The car is currently on display in the Porsche Museum in Stuttgart.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
