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| Founded | 1948 in Pont-Saint-Martin, Aosta Valley, Italy |
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| Founders | |
| Defunct | 1951 |
The Societa Valdostana Automobili (SVA), was an Italian automobile manufacturer, active in Pont-Saint-Martin from 1948 to 1951.
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| Founded | 1948 in Pont-Saint-Martin, Aosta Valley, Italy |
|---|---|
| Founders | |
| Defunct | 1951 |
The Societa Valdostana Automobili (SVA), was an Italian automobile manufacturer, active in Pont-Saint-Martin from 1948 to 1951.
Founded by Giovanni Savonuzzi and Virgilio Conrero, both originally from Fiat's aviation competitions department, SVA was founded in order to develop the cars made by Cisitalia.
Despite achieving numerous victories in minor races and gaining the confidence of important drivers such as Giovanni Bracco, SVA ran into severe difficulties after Cisitalia went into receivership. The company changed its focus, resulting in the creation of open-wheel single-seaters.
A first experiment was done with a Formula 3 car with a 500 cc (31 cu in) Moto Guzzi engine. Later a Formula One car was built, with a 1,500 cc (92 cu in) supercharged Fiat-derived engine fueled by a mixture of petrol and alcohol.
The SVA 1500, entrusted to driver Rudi Fischer, took to the track in both the Grand Prix of San Remo and the Swiss Grand Prix in 1950, proving to be powerful and fast, but also very fragile.
SVA closed at the end of 1951.
Abarth & C. S.p.A. is an Italian racing- and road-car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Its logo is a shield with a stylized scorpion on a yellow and red background.
The Cisitalia Grand Prix is a single-seater car for the postwar 1.5-litre supercharged Grand Prix class, built by Italian sports car manufacturer Cisitalia and introduced in 1949. It was designed on behalf of Cisitalia by Porsche between 1946–47, and is therefore also known by its Porsche project number, Type 360.
Vanwall was a British motor racing team and racing car constructor that was active in Formula One during the 1950s. Founded by Tony Vandervell, the Vanwall name was derived by combining the name of the team owner with that of his Thinwall bearings produced at the Vandervell Products factory at Acton, London. Originally entering modified Ferraris in non-championship races, Vanwall constructed their first cars to race in the 1954 Formula One season. The team achieved their first race win in the 1957 British Grand Prix, with Stirling Moss and Tony Brooks sharing a VW 5, earning the team the distinction of constructing the first British-built car to win a World Championship race. Vanwall won the inaugural Constructors' Championship in Formula One in 1958, in the process allowing Moss and Brooks to finish second and third in the Drivers' Championship standings, each winning three races for Vanwall. Vandervell's failing health meant 1958 would be the last full season; the squad ran cars in a handful of races in the following years, but finished racing in 1961.
Formula Three, also called Formula 3, abbreviated as F3, is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers.
A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a front-engine, rear-wheel-drive two-door coupé with either a two-seat or a 2+2 arrangement. Grand tourers are most often the coupé derivative of luxury saloons or sedans. Many iconic car models, such as the Ferrari 250 GT, Jaguar E-Type, and Aston Martin DB5, are considered classic examples of gran turismo cars.
NSU Motorenwerke AG, or NSU, was a German manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and pedal cycles, founded in 1873. Acquired by Volkswagen Group in 1969, VW merged NSU with Auto Union, creating Audi NSU Auto Union AG, ultimately Audi. The name NSU originated as an abbreviation of "Neckarsulm", the city where NSU was located.
Cisitalia was an Italian sports and racing car brand. The name "Cisitalia" derives from "Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia", a business conglomerate founded in Turin in 1946 by industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio. One of the most memorable cars manufactured by the company was the 202 GT from 1946, which earned praise for its aesthetically beautiful design, but only sold some 170 units.
Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI. The class was intended to provide an entry level class where drivers could use inexpensive mechanical components from ordinary automobiles. The idea to form the new class came from Count Giovanni "Johnny" Lurani who saw the need of a class for single-seater racing cars where younger drivers could take their first steps. It is often speculated that this class was founded as a reaction to Italy's lack of success in the 500cc Formula Three, and although Italian marques dominated the first year of the formula, they were soon overtaken by British constructors.
Piero Dusio was an Italian footballer, businessman, racing driver and racing car manufacturer.
Amedeo "Amédée" Gordini was an Italian-born race car driver and sports car manufacturer in France.
The Lotus 18 was a race car designed by Colin Chapman for use by Lotus in Formula Junior, Formula Two, and Formula One.
Dante Giacosa was an Italian automobile designer and engineer responsible for a range of Italian automobile designs — and for refining the front-wheel drive layout to an industry-standard configuration.
The Alfa Romeo 158/159, also known as the Alfetta, is a Grand Prix racing car produced by Italian manufacturer Alfa Romeo. It is one of the most successful racing cars ever; the 158 and its derivative, the 159, took 47 wins from 54 Grands Prix entered. It was originally developed for the pre-World War II voiturette formula (1937) and has a 1.5-litre straight-8 supercharged engine. Following World War II, the car was eligible for the new Formula One introduced in 1947. In the hands of drivers such as Nino Farina, Juan Manuel Fangio and Luigi Fagioli, it dominated the first two seasons of the World Championship of Drivers.
The Maserati 4CL and its derived sister model the Maserati 4CLT are single-seat open-wheel Grand Prix racing cars that were designed and built by Maserati. The 4CL was introduced at the beginning of the 1939 season, as a rival to the Alfa Romeo 158 and various ERA models in the voiturette class of international Grand Prix motor racing. Although racing ceased during World War II, the 4CL was one of the front running models at the resumption of racing in the late 1940s. Experiments with two-stage supercharging and tubular chassis construction eventually led to the introduction of the revised 4CLT model in 1948. The 4CLT was steadily upgraded and updated over the following two years, resulting in the ultimate 4CLT/50 model, introduced for the inaugural year of the Formula One World Championship in 1950. In the immediate post-war period, and the first two years of the Formula One category, the 4CLT was the car of choice for many privateer entrants, leading to numerous examples being involved in most races during this period.
The Abarth 205A Berlinetta was a coupé sports car, also known as the Abarth 205A Monza built by Austrian born tuning expert Carlo Abarth in 1950. It was a development of the Abarth Cisitalia 204A but with a new platform chassis, still using the engine and other components from the Fiat 1100 B/E. Only three 205As were finished in 1950; chassis numbers 101, 102, and 103, but an additional car was built in 1953 with an extravagant Ghia body. Slow sales meant that for the next few years Abarth chose to focus on building his exhaust and tuning business, allowing competition and car manufacturing take a backseat. In 1955, the 205A was succeeded by the 207A Spyder and its derivatives.
The Cooper Mark IV was a Formula Three, Formula Two and Formula One racing car designed and built by the Cooper Car Company at Surbiton, Surrey, England, in 1950.
The Fiat 130 HP is a Grand Prix racing car made by Fiat in 1907 to a design by Giovanni Enrico. Built solely for Grand Prix motor racing, the Fiat 130 HP included new design features, such as overhead valves and hemispherical compression chambers.
Giovanni Savonuzzi was an Italian automobile designer.
The Ferrari 212 F1 was a Formula 1 and Formula 2 racing car designed by Aurelio Lampredi for Scuderia Ferrari in 1951.
The Veritas Meteor was a Formula One and Formula 2 race car that raced for Veritas and private stables from 1951 until 1954.