Autobianchi Primula E A111

Product description

Finally following up on a project he had had in mind from the time of the Topolino, in the autumn of 1964 engineer Dante Giacosa was able to launch the first front wheel drive Fiat. In reality it wasn’t a Fiat at all but an Autobianchi, the satellite marque based at Desio. As well as for its “all up front”, the Primula also stood out due to another courageous and unusual decision: the 3-door body with a hatchback. Unveiled to a rather cool reception from the marketplace, in part for its not exactly competitive price, the Primula declined into a series of almost infinite bodies: 2, 4 and 5 door and a coupé. In the mechanical area, the old engine was derived from the 1100, but that was replaced by a new power unit from the Fiat 124. A year later, the car joined the A111 and then replaced it, with the mechanics of the Primula and a much more conventional, three-volume body. It was a saloon more sought after than the Fiat models of the day, but it left the market in the autumn of 1972. Unpublished colour pictures, detailed technical specifications and a section on restoration tell of the genesis and evolution of these two unique Autobianchis, not expressly conceived and designed as utilities.