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 was also marketed under a variety of other names such as O.T.A.S. and Abarth. 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-based limousine with a glass roof for Pope Paul VI in 1963 - this was the first "true" Popemobile.

1960s

Francis Lombardi also developed four-door versions of the Fiat 600, 850, and

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. 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 Lombardi Grand Prix 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 Francis Lombardi Auto tuning companies Car manufacturers of Italy