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Dugu Miniautotoys
Dugu Miniautotoys was a brand of diecast metal models, mostly in 1:43 scale, made in Varallo Sesia, Vercelli Province, Piedmont, Italy, north of Turin and west of Lake Orto. The company made models for the Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia Automobile Museum in Turin. They were made from approximately 1961–1975, and perhaps a few years longer. History and rationale In the early 1960s, Bartolomeo Chiodo, an auto enthusiast, named his company Dugu from the name of one of the two districts of Varallo Sesia that was Mr. Chiodo's home – 'Dugu' means owl; the other district was 'falcet' – meaning falcon. So, 'Owl Models' was born in 1961 and the logo for the company became a stylized angular owl with large round yellow eyes. This follows somewhat of a tradition of other European toy companies naming named their lines after cute or diminutive animals (e.g. Corgi, Husky, or Budgie). The first Dugu Miniautotoys were made by Stampopolastica for a year, and like the name some of the first D ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Varallo Sesia
Varallo Sesia (Piedmontese: ''Varal''), pronouciation (Vhuh-rahl-loh) commonly known as Varallo, is a ''comune'' and town in the province of Vercelli in the Piedmont region of Italy. It is situated in Valsesia, at above sea level and some north-northeast of Vercelli and northwest of Novara. Once called Varade, it is divided in two boroughs (Varallo Vecchia and Varallo Nuova) by the Mastallone stream. In 1971, Varallo was awarded the Golden Medal for Military Valor for the deeds of its population against the German occupation in the late stages of World War II. Geography The valley of the Sesia is very narrow at this point as it nears its source. Varallo lies on the left bank where the Mastallone flows into the Sesia. The town is surrounded by the foothills of the Alps and is not far from the Monte Rosa, which is visible from the surrounding hills. Main sights The churches of San Gaudenzio, Santa Maria delle Grazie, and Santa Maria di Loreto, all contain works by Gaudenzi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cisitalia
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 and controlled by the wealthy industrialist and sportsman Piero Dusio. The Cisitalia 202 GT of 1946 is well known in the world as a "rolling sculpture". Cisitalia D46 Using Fiat street car parts as a base Dante Giacosa designed the D46 which made its successful debut in 1946. Giacosa had a vast knowledge of Fiat bits and pieces as he had designed the legendary 500 Fiat Topolino before WWII. The engine and suspension were directly derived from the small Fiat but extensively modified for street and racing. The engine received dry sump lubrication and further tweaks considerably increased the power output to 60-70 bhp. With a spaceframe chassis and weighing under the available power was more than enough for competitive performance. Dusio's dream of a one model series came to nothing, but instead hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dinky Toys
Dinky Toys was the brand name for a range of die-cast toy, die-cast zamak zinc alloy scale model model car, vehicles produced by British toy company Meccano Ltd. They were made in England from 1934 to 1979, at a factory in Binns Road in Liverpool. Dinky Toys were among the most popular die-cast vehicles ever made – pre-dating other popular die-cast marques, including Corgi Toys, Corgi, Matchbox (brand), Matchbox and Mattel's Hot Wheels. Vehicles commercialised under the "Dinky" name include model car, cars, model commercial vehicle, trucks, model aircraft, aircraft, model military vehicle, military, model ship, ships. Pre-war history Frank Hornby established Meccano Ltd. in 1908 to make metal construction sets. The company later moved into model railways, with its O scale, O gauge clockwork trains appearing in 1920. In the early 1930s, Meccano made many types of tinplate and other metal cars, such as its Morgan and Birmingham Small Arms Company, BSA three-wheelers, mostl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polistil
Polistil S.p.A. (initially called Politoys) is an Italian toy brand and former manufacturing company headquartered in Milan, with production center in Chiari, near Brescia. Polistil specialized in die-cast and plastic scale model vehicles of all sizes. The company also made toy and model tanks, dolls, robots and TV tie-ins. After a 33-year span, and a collaboration with Tonka, Polistil went out of business in 1993, but now is a brand under the May Cheong Group (owner of the brand Maisto), along with the name of former competitor Bburago. Traditionally, the principal Italian competitors to Polistil were Mercury, Mebetoys, and the shorter run Ediltoys. History The origins of Politoys as a company are somewhat unclear. The company began as "Politoys APS" about 1960, and started production of 100 plastic cars in 1:41 scale (Sinclair 1979, pp. 387–388). Some of these were contemporary cars and some were veteran vehicles – like an Alfa racing car from the late 'teens and an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Safir (models)
Société Anonyme de Fabrication d'Injection et de Recherches ( en, Injection Study and Fabrication Company Limited, mostly known for its acronym Safir, sometimes called Safir Champion) was a French manufacturing company that produced diecast metal classic veteran and contemporary plastic race cars and other vehicles in the 1960s through the 1970s. It arose out of the previous French toymaker, "Jadali". History In 1952, a French company called Jadali was started by Léon Gouttman and his son Jacques-Henri Gouttman. 'Jadali' was an acronym of "Jacques, Daniel, and Linette, the names of Gouttman's three children. Jadali made a variety of toys, including cars and trucks, space man, and cowboy pistols that were often D.C.M.T. (Lone Star Toys) or Matchbox retoolings, done under license. These toys were first made in Nanterre on the western edge of Paris and later in Issy les Moulineaux, to the southwest of Paris. Another source says they were made in Montreuil. In 1955–1957, Léon ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pininfarina
Pininfarina S.p.A. (short for Carrozzeria Pininfarina) is an Italian car design firm and coachbuilder, with headquarters in Cambiano, Turin, Italy. The company was founded by Battista "Pinin" Farina in 1930. On 14 December 2015, the Indian multinational giant Mahindra Group acquired 76.06% of Pininfarina S.p.A. for about €168 million. Pininfarina is employed by a wide variety of automobile manufacturers to design vehicles. These firms have included long-established customers such as Ferrari, Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, Fiat, GM, Lancia, and Maserati, to emerging companies in the Asian market with Chinese manufactures like AviChina, Chery, Changfeng, Brilliance, JAC and VinFast in Vietnam and Korean manufacturers Daewoo and Hyundai. Since the 1980s, Pininfarina has also designed high-speed trains, buses, trams, rolling stocks, automated light rail cars, people movers, yachts, airplanes, and private jets. Since the 1986 creation of "Pininfarina Extra", it has consulted on indu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mephistofeles (car)
The Fiat Mephistopheles (known in Italian as ''Mefistofele'') is a one-off racing car created by Ernest Eldridge, Ernest A.D. Eldridge in 1923 by combining a Fiat racing car chassis and Fiat aeroplane engine. The name is from the Mephistopheles, demon of the same name. The name alluded to the infernal noise emitted from the unmuffled engine, and it was "baptised" by the Frenchmen. Eldridge broke the World Land Speed Record on 12 July 1924 with the Mephistopheles, by driving at in Arpajon, France. The last car to set a land speed record on a public road. The Mephistopheles was created by combining the chassis of the 1908 Fiat SB4 with a 6-cylinder, 21.7 litre (21706 cc) Fiat A.12 aeroplane engine producing . ''Mephistopheles'' was restored over 5 years, with another example of the same engine, and returned in 2011 with a display at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. References External links Fiat.com - Story of the Fiat Mefistofele {{Fiat Fiat vehicles, Mefistofele Raci ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cord 810/812
The Cord 810, and later Cord 812, was a luxury automobile produced by the Cord Automobile division of the Auburn Automobile Company in 1936 and 1937. It was the first American-designed and built front wheel drive car with independent front suspension. It was preceded by Cord's own 1929 Cord L-29, and the French 1934 Citroën Traction Avant front wheel drive cars, but the 810 / 812 was commercially less successful than these. The Cord 810 and 812 were also the first production cars to feature hidden / pop-up headlights. Additionally, the radical new styling of its nose completely replaced the traditional radiator grille, in favor of horizontal louvers, that curved all around the sides of the nose, earning the car's styling the nickname of 'coffin nose'. History The styling of the Cord 810 was the work of designer Gordon M. Buehrig and his team of stylists, which included young Vince Gardner and Alex Tremulis. While the first American front-wheel-drive car with independent f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiat 500 "Topolino"
The Fiat 500, commonly known as "Topolino", is an Italian city car produced and manufactured by Fiat from 1936 to 1955. The name ''Topolino'' () is Italian and translates literally as "little mouse", but is also the Italian name for Mickey Mouse. History The Topolino was one of the smallest cars in the world at the time of its production. Launched in 1936, three models were produced until 1955, all with only minor mechanical and cosmetic changes. It was equipped with a 569 cc four-cylinder, side-valve, water-cooled engine mounted in front of the front axle (later an overhead valve motor), and so was a full-scale car rather than a cyclecar. The radiator was located behind the engine which made possible a lowered aerodynamic nose profile at a time when competitors had a flat, nearly vertical grille. The shape of the car's front allowed exceptional forward visibility. Rear suspension initially used quarter-elliptic rear springs, but buyers frequently squeezed four or five pe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fiat 4 HP
The Fiat 4 HP (also known as the 3½ HP or 3½ CV) was the first model of car produced by FIAT, from 1899 to 1900 based on a third party design. Background The 4 HP is related to the Ceirano brothers—Giovanni, Ernesto and Matteo—who were an influential force in kick-starting the Italian automotive industry. In fact, they are variously responsible for creating companies including Ceirano GB & C, Itala, SCAT (Società Ceirano Automobili Torino) and SPA (Società Piemontese Automobili). Design In 1888, after eight years apprenticeship at his father's watch-making business, Giovanni Ceirano started building ''Welleyes'' bicycles, so named because English names had more sales appeal in Italy. In October 1898, Giovanni then co-founded Ceirano GB & C and started producing the ''Welleyes'' motor car in 1899. Its coachwork was by Marcello Alessio. In July 1899, the Welleyes' plant and patents were sold to Giovanni Agnelli who then produced the 4 HP, which became the first ever FIAT ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Duesenberg
Duesenberg Automobile and Motors Company, Inc. was an American race car, racing and luxury car, luxury automobile manufacturer founded in Indianapolis, Indiana, by brothers Fred Duesenberg, Fred and August Duesenberg in 1920. The company is known for popularizing the straight-eight engine and four-wheel hydraulic brakes. A Duesenberg car was the first American car to win a Grand Prix race, winning the 1921 French Grand Prix. Duesenbergs won the Indianapolis 500 in 1924, 1925, and 1927. Transportation executive Errett Lobban Cord acquired the Duesenberg corporation in 1926. The company was sold and dissolved in 1937. History Fred Duesenberg, Fred and August Duesenberg began designing engines in the early 1900s after Fred became involved with bicycle racing. The brothers designed a vehicle in 1905 and in 1906, formed the Mason Motor Car Company with funds from lawyer Edward R. Mason in Des Moines, Iowa. Frederick Louis Maytag I, F.L. and Elmer Henry Maytag, Elmer Maytag acqu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Mercedes-Benz AG produces consumer luxury vehicles and commercial vehicles badged as Mercedes-Benz. From November 2019 onwards, Mercedes-Benz-badged heavy commercial vehicles (trucks and buses) are managed by Daimler Truck, a former part of the Mercedes-Benz Group turned into an independent company in late 2021. In 2018, Mercedes-Benz was the largest brand of premium vehicles in the world, having sold 2.31 million passenger cars. The brand's origins lie in Daimler-Motoren-Gesellschaft's 1901 Mercedes and Carl Benz's 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen, which is widely regarded as the first internal combustion engine in a self-propelled automobile. The slogan for the brand is "the best or nothing". Hi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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