The Carrozzeria Francis Lombardi was founded in 1947 in

Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...

, Italy, by noted pilot Carlo "Francis" Lombardi. They originally engaged in some aeronautical design, but this soon ended. Their most famous car was the

Lombardi Grand Prix The Lombardi Grand Prix is a small, rear-engined sports car on Fiat 850 underpinnings. It was developed by the Carrozzeria Francis Lombardi with an in-house design by Giuseppe Rinaldi. The car was built from 1968 until 1972 and was also marketed as ...

, which was also marketed under a variety of other names such as O.T.A.S. and

Abarth 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 styliz ...

. The company was closed in 1973.

History

Lancia Aprilia Kombi von Lombardi 1948 vh

Founded in 1947, they focussed exclusively on automobiles after 1950. Their first efforts were coupés on Fiat 1100 and

1400 Year 1400 ( MCD) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. The year 1400 was not a leap year in the Proleptic Gregorian calendar. Events January–December * Henry IV of England ...

basis; these were soon followed by station wagons with wood-panelled bodywork on 1100-basis. Francis Lombardi also made six-seater limousines from Fiat sedans of the period such as the

and

1800 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 18), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 12 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 16), ...

. Intended for ministerial or representational use, they had stretched wheelbases and luxuriously fitted interiors.'' Le Fuoriserie: 1956-1957'', p. 12 Famously, they built a Vatican-commissioned

Fiat 2300 The Fiat 2300 is a six-cylinder executive car which was produced by Italian automotive manufacturer Fiat between 1961 and 1969. The 2300 was made as saloon (styled by Dante Giacosa), estate car and coupé. The 2300 saloon is noteworthy as in 1966 ...

-based limousine with a glass roof for

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

in 1963 - this was the first "true" Popemobile.

1960s

Francis Lombardi also developed four-door versions of the

Fiat 600 The Fiat 600 ( it, Seicento, ) is a rear-engine, water-cooled city car, manufactured and marketed by Fiat Automobiles, Fiat from 1955 to 1969 — offered in two-door fastback sedan and four-door Multipla mini MPV body styles. Measuring only ...

850 ''For codepage, see CP850.'' __NOTOC__ Year 850 (Roman numerals, DCCCL) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * February 1 – King Ramiro I of A ...

, and

127 127 may refer to: *127 (number), a natural number *AD 127, a year in the 2nd century AD *127 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *127 (band), an Iranian band See also *List of highways numbered 127 Route 127 or Highway 127 can refer to multiple roads ...

. This series of small four-door saloons was called Lucciola ("Firefly" in Italian) by Lombardi. The first one was the 600 Lucciola which appeared in early 1957; in addition to four doors without a B-pillar (the rear door opening backwards) it also had a floor mounted shifter unlike the regular 600.'' Le Fuoriserie: 1956-1957'', p. 97 Francis Lombardi's greatest commercial success was with the luxuriously appointed Fiat 500 called "My Car"; which supported an annual production of about 6,000 cars in the sixties, up from about 1,500 towards the late fifties. The Fiat 850 Lucciola was also used by Spain's

SEAT A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense. Types of seat The following are examples of different kinds of seat: * Armchair (furniture), ...

for their 850 four-door sedan, although eventually they developed their own, longer version. Francis Lombardi 850 Lucciola

At the end of the sixties, the

appeared, the closest thing to an independent design from the firm. This model had a convoluted history and was sold in small numbers under a variety of names until 1972, fitted with Fiat engines in various states of tune. Francis Lombardi continued to focus on modifying cars as well, building coupés on Fiat as well as on NSU basis ( 1000 TTS). In the 1970s they made special versions of the

Fiat 128 The Fiat 128 is a transverse front-engine, front wheel drive small family car manufactured and marketed by Fiat from 1969 to 1985 as a two- or four-door sedan, three- or five-door station wagon as well as two- or three-door coupé. The 128 runni ...

and

Lancia 2000 The Lancia 2000 (Tipo 820) is a series of automobiles produced by Lancia between 1971 and 1975. Being the last vehicle designed by Lancia engineers before the marque's acquisition by Fiat, in 2000 was, in both the sedan and coupé versions, a ...

, but in 1973 their doors were closed for good. Ten years later, Carlo Lombardi died.

References

{{Coachbuilders of Italy

Francis Lombardi The Carrozzeria Francis Lombardi was founded in 1947 in Vercelli, Italy, by noted pilot Carlo "Francis" Lombardi. They originally engaged in some aeronautical design, but this soon ended. Their most famous car was the Lombardi Grand Prix, which w ...

Auto tuning companies Car manufacturers of Italy