Bandini Automobili was an Italian

automobile manufacturer The automotive industry comprises a wide range of companies and organizations involved in the design, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industries by revenue (from 16 % such ...

operating between 1946 and 1992. It was named after its founder

Ilario Bandini Ilario Bandini (18 April 1911 – 12 April 1992) was an Italian businessman, racing driver, and racing car manufacturer. Early years Bandini was born in Villa Rovere, today part of the administrative region of Forlì in Romagna. After finish ...

History

Founded in 1946 in Bandini’s hometown

Forlì Forlì ( , ; rgn, Furlè ; la, Forum Livii) is a ''comune'' (municipality) and city in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, and is the capital of the province of Forlì-Cesena. It is the central city of Romagna. The city is situated along the Via E ...

, the first Bandini used a modified

Fiat 1100 The Fiat 1100 is a small family car produced from 1953 until 1969 by the Italian manufacturer Fiat. It was an all-new unibody replacement for the Fiat 1100 E, which descended from the pre-war, body-on-frame Fiat 508 C Balilla 1100. The 1100 was ...

engine, the body was made from hand hammered aluminium and the chassis from aviation-grade tubular steel. Many other post-war Italian sports car companies followed a similar design. But Bandini’s sharp mind, racing knowledge and his eye for detail ensured that Bandini cars were a force to be reckoned with in Europe and the US. Interest in America surged when Bandini Siluros, with their screaming 750-cc engines and wildly flared front fenders, won

SCCA The Sports Car Club of America (SCCA) is a non-profit American automobile club and sanctioning body supporting road racing, rallying, and autocross in the United States. Formed in 1944, it runs many programs for both amateur and professional r ...

class championships in 1955 and 1957. His slightly modified Crosley engines became famous thanks their

DOHC An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion c ...

Bandini heads. Bandini himself continued to race in Italy, including the

Mille Miglia The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...

, while newer models were being built and developed at the factory. One of these included the new 1957 Sport International "Saponetta". It was a two-seat sports car with a tubular steel frame and room for engines of up to 1.0 litre. The design of the car body was very striking. The smooth lines and petite dimensions gave the car the Italian nickname "Saponetta" (little soap). The

Formula 3 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 driv ...

car of 1954 had disc brakes on all four wheels, following closely on the 1951 C-type Jaguar. The

Zagato Zagato is an independent coachbuilding company and total design centre located northwest of Milan in Terrazzano, a small village near Rho, Lombardy, Italy. The company's premises occupies an area of 23,000 square metres (250,000 sq ft)- 11,000 of ...

bodied Bandini GT raced in Daytona and

12 Hours of Sebring The 12 Hours of Sebring is an annual motorsport endurance race for sports cars held at Sebring International Raceway, on the site of the former Hendricks Army Airfield World War II air base in Sebring, Florida, US. The event is the second round ...

. The coupé by Corna was a 1000 cc and the engine was mounted in front. Depliant Bandiniautomobili

Racing history

Ilario divided his time between design and manufacturing of the cars, and as a race driver. He entered and drove his cars in more than 60 races, both hillclimb events and track racing, including the Mille Miglia from 1947 until 1965, achieving 19 first-place finishes and 18 podiums in the 750cc and 1000cc classes. Bandinicollection

In the United States, Bandini cars won the

HM class championship in 1955 thanks to driver Dolph Vilardi. In 1957 Melvin Sachs won the HM class, one of five Bandini's in the first ten positions. The successes resulted in Ilario being presented with the Gold Key of Daytona and later in 1981 the Laurea H.C. award in mechanical engineering from PRODEO university of New York. In 1959 he produced one of the most successful

Formula Junior Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...

s. Bandinis won SCCA Class HMod races well into the mid-1960s. A Bandini Siluro won the SCCA Southwest Regional Championship from 1961–1963 and the Saponetta took 3rd place in the National Hmod class in 1961. Bandini continued to make one-off cars well into the 1980s. Ilario, sometimes known as the "great Drake of Forli" died in 1992.

Memorial to Ilario Bandini

On 16 November 2002 the city of Forlì, Italy remembered Ilario Bandini who is considered one of the most important Italian constructors of performance sports and race cars. The city dedicated a plaza (town square) to honor his name and the racing cars that bear his name.

Bandini Museum and Register

Since 1992, in Bandini's last workshop, Ilario's family has preserved all documents and collected the most representative cars for display. Ten Bandinis are in the museum and are shown by appointment. 46 Bandinis exist in the world today and are acknowledged by the Register. They are owned from the U.S. to Japan.

Models

* "La prima" 1100/46 (1946) * 1100 sport (1947–50) * 1100 siluro (1947–49) * 750 sport siluro (1950–56) *

Bandini-Maserati 1500 Bandini Automobili was an Italian automobile manufacturer operating between 1946 and 1992. It was named after its founder Ilario Bandini. History Founded in 1946 in Bandini’s hometown Forlì, the first Bandini used a modified Fiat 1100 engin ...

(1952) *

formula 3 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 driv ...

(1954–58) * berlinetta Zagato (1955) * 750 sport internazionale "saponetta" (1957–61) *

formula junior Formula Junior is an open wheel formula racing class first adopted in October 1958 by the CSI (''International Sporting Commission'', the part of the FIA that then regulated motorsports). The class was intended to provide an entry level class ...

(1959–62) * 1000/62 P (1962–65) * 1000 GT (1963) * 1000/66 sport (1966) * saloncino (1968) * 1000/70 V (1970) * mille s.p. (1972) * 1300 16 V i. (1980) * berlinetta 1000 turbo (1992) File:1100 siluroBandini.jpg, A Bandini 1100 File:Bandini750ssgara.jpg, A bandini 750 and Mr.Bandini File:Bandini Saponetta2.jpg, 2 Bandini "Saponettas" with Mr.Bandini between them File:Hassen bandini.jpg File:Ilario Bandini motori.JPG File:BandiniGTZAGATO.jpg, Bandini GT File:1000 sport.jpg, A Bandini sport File:BandiniTurbo.JPG File:Bandini day Forlì 2002.JPG, The Bandini square as of 2002, at the Bandini Day.

References

External links

Current Italian Official WebsiteBandini info on Wheels Of ItalyBandini Collection info
{{Automotive industry in Italy Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Italy Sports car manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1946 Italian racecar constructors Sports cars World Sportscar Championship teams Italian auto racing teams Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1992 1992 disestablishments in Italy Italian companies established in 1946