The Cisitalia Grand Prix is a single-seater car for the postwar 1.5-litre supercharged

Grand Prix Grand Prix ( , meaning ''Grand Prize''; plural Grands Prix), is a name sometimes used for competitions or sport events, alluding to the winner receiving a prize, trophy or honour Grand Prix or grand prix may refer to: Arts and entertainment ...

class, built by Italian sports car manufacturer

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 Dusi ...

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, Typ 360. An extremely advanced design, it proved too complex to build for the small Italian firm—leading to a lengthy development and eventually to the financial downfall of the company. Between Cisitalia's 1949

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a company is brought to an end in Canada, United Kingdom, United States, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, and many other countries. The assets and property of the company are redistr ...

and the fact that supercharged engines were banned for the 1952 Formula One season, the car never raced. The ''Type 360'' is also noticeable for using an early form of

sequential manual transmission A sequential manual transmission, also known as a sequential gearbox, or a sequential transmission, is a type of non-synchronous manual transmission used mostly for motorcycles and racing cars. It produces faster shift times than traditiona ...

, and was one of the first

race cars Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...

to do so.

History

The car was commissioned by Piero Dusio in 1946. Dusio paid a large sum of money upfront, part of which was used to free

Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was an Austrian-German automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first gasoline– electric hybrid vehicle ( Lohner–Porsche), the Vol ...

from the French prison in which he was being held effectively for

ransom Ransom is the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release, or the sum of money involved in such a practice. When ransom means "payment", the word comes via Old French ''rançon'' from Latin ''re ...

. Dusio gave Porsche only 16 months to complete the car which proved too short a time to sort out the advanced design.

Design

The Dr. Porsche designed unraced 1939 1,482.56 cc (53.0 x 56.0 mm) 2-stage Roots supercharged flat-12 Auto-Union had been projected to deliver at 9,000 rpm. This provided the basis of the Cisitalia 360 car which was built in Italy by Cisitalia personnel with help from former Porsche employee Robert Eberan von Eberhorst around a mid mounted supercharged 1,492.58 cc (56.0 x 50.5 mm)

flat 12 A flat-twelve engine, also known as a horizontally opposed-twelve, is a twelve-cylinder piston engine with six cylinders on each side of a central crankshaft. Flat-twelve engines are less common than V12 engines, but they have been used in vario ...

engine giving a conservative at 8,500 rpm and a top speed of . A fully enclosed streamlined body for fast circuits was planned giving over . Later bench tests showed about at 10,500 rpm. The chassis was of chromoly tubing and featured on/off four-wheel-drive with a sequential gear-shift and a rear-mounted

transaxle A transaxle is a single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission, axle, and differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual and automatic versions. Engine and drive at the s ...

also sending power through a

driveshaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft ( Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power and torque and rotation, usually used to conne ...

to a front differential. Suspension was independent with Porsche type

trailing arm A (semi) trailing-arm suspension, sometimes referred to as (semi) trailing-link is a vehicle axle or wheel suspension design in which one or more horizontal arms (or "links"), perpendicular to and forward of the axle, are connecting the axle or ...

s in front and parallel acting arms in the rear. Porsche's experience with the pre-war

Auto Union Auto Union AG, was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm ...

Grand Prix cars showed through in the layout and design of the Cisitalia to the extent that it has been referred to as the "E-Type".

Legacy

By the time the only prototype was finished Dusio was out of cash. The car languished in development until 1951, at one point being shipped off to

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

to try to persuade president

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine Army general and politician. After serving in several government positions, including Minister of Labour and Vice President of a military dictatorship, he was electe ...

to invest in the company. By 1952

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

rules had changed and while Dusio attempted to source a 2-liter motor for the car a lack of funds relegated one of the most advanced Grand Prix cars of its day to a few

Formula Libre Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppo ...

events and quick retirement. The car is currently on display in the

Porsche Museum The Porsche Museum is an automobile museum in the Zuffenhausen district of Stuttgart, Germany on the site of carmaker Porsche. History The original Porsche museum opened in 1976 in a side-road near the Porsche factory. It was a relatively ...

in Stuttgart.

References

External links

8W The rear-engined revolution: Horses pushing the cartCisitalia Museum
{{Porsche vehicles, state=collapsed Cisitalia Porsche vehicles Grand Prix cars