Isotta Fraschini () was an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, Italy, in 1900 by Cesare Isotta and the brothers Vincenzo, Antonio, and Oreste Fraschini, in 1955 it was merged with engine manufacturer Breda Motori and renamed F.A. Isotta Fraschini e Motori Breda.

History

The firm was named for its founders, Cesare Isotta and Vincenzo Fraschini, who had been importing Mors and

Renault Groupe Renault ( , , , also known as the Renault Group in English; legally Renault S.A.) is a French multinational automobile manufacturer established in 1899. The company produces a range of cars and vans, and in the past has manufactured ...

automobiles as well as Aster proprietary engines since 1899. The company they founded as Società Milanese Automobili Isotta, Fraschini & C. on 27 January 1900 had the stated purpose to "Import, sell, repair cars". Prior to establishing their own products in 1904, Isotta and Fraschini assembled cars very similar to Renaults, with Aster engines. They differed from the real Renaults in having a neater underslung front radiator arrangement. The first automobile bearing this marque featured a four-cylinder engine with an output of . The car, driven by Vincenzo Fraschini, appeared in several races. In 1905, Isotta Fraschini gained notoriety in the Coppa Florio, where they entered a ''Tipo D'' with a engine. For a short time in 1907, Isotta Fraschini merged with French automobile company

Lorraine-Dietrich Lorraine-Dietrich was a French automobile and aircraft engine manufacturer from 1896 until 1935, created when railway locomotive manufacturer ''Société Lorraine des Anciens Etablissements de Dietrich et Cie de Lunéville'' (known as ''De Dietr ...

. The firm started making race cars using this same engine, establishing the company's reputation and giving its name considerable cachet. It was also one of the first companies to successfully market cars with

four-wheel brakes A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...

, following their invention by Arrol-Johnston of Scotland in 1909. They were also among the early pioneers of

overhead cam 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 cha ...

(OHC), with an engine designed by Giustino Cattaneo. Isotta Fraschini introduced their Tipo 8, the first production automobile to be powered by a

straight-eight engine The straight-eight engine (also referred to as an inline-eight engine; abbreviated I8 or L8) is a piston engine with eight cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. The number of cylinders and perfect primary and secondary en ...

, at the Paris Salon in 1919 and began delivering them to customers in 1920. With the growth of the wealthy middle class in North America in the 1920s, Isotta Fraschini marketed deluxe limousines to the new American aristocracy. Early film stars

Clara Bow Clara Gordon Bow (; July 29, 1905 – September 27, 1965) was an American actress who rose to stardom during the silent film era of the 1920s and successfully made the transition to " talkies" in 1929. Her appearance as a plucky shopgirl in the ...

and

Rudolph Valentino Rodolfo Pietro Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi di Valentina d'Antonguolla (May 6, 1895 – August 23, 1926), known professionally as Rudolph Valentino and nicknamed The Latin Lover, was an Italian actor based in the United States who starred ...

drove Isotta Fraschinis. A 1929 Tipo 8A Castagna Transformable is featured in the 1950 film '' Sunset Boulevard'' and another appears in the 1934 film ''

Death Takes a Holiday ''Death Takes a Holiday'' is a 1934 American pre-Code romantic drama starring Fredric March, Evelyn Venable and Guy Standing. It is based on the 1924 Italian play ''La morte in vacanza'' by Alberto Casella (1891–1957), as adapted in English ...

'' with

Fredric March Fredric March (born Ernest Frederick McIntyre Bickel; August 31, 1897 – April 14, 1975) was an American actor, regarded as one of Hollywood's most celebrated, versatile stars of the 1930s and 1940s.Obituary '' Variety'', April 16, 1975, ...

. An Isotta Fraschini also makes a featured appearance in the 1946 film '' Without Reservations'' with

John Wayne Marion Robert Morrison (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), known professionally as John Wayne and nicknamed The Duke or Duke Wayne, was an American actor who became a popular icon through his starring roles in films made during Hollywood's Go ...

and Claudette Colbert. Also, an Isotta Fraschini was gigolo Lindsay Marriott's car in Raymond Chandler's book '' Farewell, My Lovely'' (1940) that was made into the motion picture '' Murder, My Sweet'' (1944), starring Dick Powell and Claire Trevor. The grille of the Isotta Fraschini with the lightning bolt insignia is seen parked in a ravine, right before Lindsay Marriott gets zapped to death. An oversized Isotta Fraschini is also the vehicle of choice for Dick and Nicole Diver in F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1933 novel '' Tender is the Night''. Seriously affected by the economic crisis of the 1930s and by the disruptions of World War II, Isotta Fraschini stopped making cars after the war (1949). Only five of the last model, the Monterosa, were produced. The plants were converted to produce marine engines. The company was left on the company register and in 1955 it was merged with engine manufacturer Breda Motori and named F.A. Isotta Fraschini e Motori Breda. The company started to produce trolley buses again and in the 1960s built a new diesel engine factory in

Bari Bari ( , ; nap, label= Barese, Bare ; lat, Barium) is the capital city of the Metropolitan City of Bari and of the Apulia region, on the Adriatic Sea, southern Italy. It is the second most important economic centre of mainland Southern Ital ...

. In the 1980s, the company was renamed Isotta Fraschini Motori SpA and it became part of Fincantieri group, with administrative headquarters in the old factory in Bari. In the 1990s, attempts to revive the automotive industry of Isotta Fraschini were made. Concept-car coupe and roadster Isotta Fraschini T8 were built in 1996, and concept-car roadster Isotta Fraschini T12 was built in 1998. The company never went into production and closed for bankruptcy in 1999. The marque was revived in 2022, with the announcement of a new motorsport chassis designed from scratch to compete in

Sports car racing Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is ...

and complete in the centenary edition of the

24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active endurance racing event. Unlike fixed-distance races whose ...

, under Automobile Club de l'Ouest Le Mans Hypercar rules. Vincenzo Trucco Targa Florio.jpg , Vincenzo Trucco won the 1908 Targa Florio with Isotta Fraschini type I. Isotta-Fraschini AN 2030.jpg, AN 20/30 (1909) Isotta-Fraschini Tipo KM4.jpg, KM4 Tourer (1913) Isotta Fraschini D80 & D65.jpg, D80 (left) and D65 (right) Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8 Sala Phaeton.jpg, Tipo 8 Sala Phaeton Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8A S LeBaron Boattail Roadster.jpg, Tipo 8A S LeBaron Boattail Roadster (1928) Isotta-Fraschini Tipo 8A Castagna Landaulet.jpg, Tipo 8A Castagna Imperial Landaulet (1928) Isotta Fraschini Tipo 8C Monterosa Boneschi (cropped).jpg, Tipo 8C Monterosa Boneschi Cabriolet Prototype (1948)

Aero-engines

* Isotta Fraschini L.170 * Isotta Fraschini L.180 I.R.C.C.15/40 inverted W-18 * Isotta Fraschini L.180 I.R.C.C.45 inverted W-18 * Isotta Fraschini Asso 80 **Isotta Fraschini Asso 80 R.I. * Isotta Fraschini Asso 120 R.C.40 * Isotta Fraschini Asso 200 * Isotta Fraschini Asso 250 probably misidentification or variant of Asso 200 *

Isotta Fraschini Asso 500 Iseult (), alternatively Isolde () and other spellings, is the name of several characters in the legend of Tristan and Iseult. The most prominent is Iseult of Ireland, the wife of Mark of Cornwall and the lover of Tristan. Her mother, the queen ...

** Isotta Fraschini Asso 500 AQ *

Isotta Fraschini Asso 750 The Isotta Fraschini Asso 750 was an Italian W 18 water-cooled aircraft engine of the 1930s. Produced by Isotta Fraschini the engine displaced just under and produced up to . Together with the Asso 200 and the Asso 500 the Asso 750 was part o ...

(140x170=47105cc/2875cuin) **Isotta Fraschini Asso 750 R **Isotta Fraschini Asso 750 R.C. **Isotta Fraschini Asso 750 R.C.35 * Isotta Fraschini Asso IX ** Isotta Fraschini Asso IX R.C.45 * Isotta Fraschini Asso 1000 (150x180=57256cc/3494cuin) * Isotta Fraschini Asso Caccia *

Isotta Fraschini Asso XI The Asso XI was a family of water-cooled, supercharged V12 piston aeroengines produced in the 1930s by Italian manufacturer Isotta Fraschini, and fitted on a number of aircraft types built by CANT, Caproni and others. Design and development Iso ...

**Isotta Fraschini A.120 R.C.40 – (inverted version of Asso XI) **Isotta Fraschini L.121 R.C.40 – (version of Asso XI) * Isotta Fraschini Asso (racing) *

Isotta Fraschini Beta The Isotta Fraschini Beta was an air cooled aircraft engine produced by the Italian engineering company Isotta Fraschini in the 1940s. Design and development The Isotta Fraschini derived the Beta inverted 6-cylinder in-line aircraft engine from ...

**Isotta Fraschini Beta R.C.10 * Isotta Fraschini Gamma **Isotta Fraschini Gamma R.C.15I **Isotta Fraschini Gamma R.C.35IS *

Isotta Fraschini Delta The Delta was a 12-cylinder inverted-V aircraft engine built by Isotta Fraschini prior to and during World War II.Gunston 1989, p.82. Design and development The Delta is a fairly rare example of a large air-cooled inline engine, which normally h ...

* Isotta Fraschini Zeta **Isotta Fraschini Zeta R.C.25/60 **Isotta Fraschini Zeta R.C.35 **Isotta Fraschini Zeta R.C.42 * Isotta Fraschini Astro 7 **Isotta Fraschini Astro 7 C.21 **Isotta Fraschini Astro 7 C.40 * Isotta Fraschini Astro 14 **Isotta Fraschini Astro 14 C.40 **Isotta Fraschini Astro 14 R.C.40 * Isotta Fraschini V.4 * Isotta Fraschini V.5 * Isotta Fraschini V.6 * Isotta Fraschini 245hp *Isotta Fraschini K.14 - licence built

Gnome-Rhône Mistral Major The Gnome-Rhône 14K ''Mistral Major'' was a 14-cylinder, two-row, air-cooled radial engine. It was Gnome-Rhône's major aircraft engine prior to World War II, and matured into a highly sought-after design that would see licensed production ...

* Isotta Fraschini 80 R * Isotta Fraschini 80 T

Vehicles

Passenger cars

* Runabout 1901–1902 * Tipo FENC 1908 * Tipo KM 1910-1914 * Tipo IM 1913 * Tipo 8 1919-1924 * Tipo 8A 1924-1931 * Tipo 8B 1931-1935 * Tipo 8C Monterosa 1948-1949 * T8 1996 * T12 1998

Racing cars

* Tipo D 1905 * Tipo FE 1908 * Tipo 6 LMH-C (see below)

Trucks

* D80 1934–1955 * D65 1940–1955

Trolleybuses

* TS 40F1 * F1

Today

Active economic entities

* Intrepida Fides, The Isotta Fraschini Foundation, acronym coined by Gabriele D'Annunzio, with registered office in Milan. * Isotta Fraschini Milano s.r.l., with registered office in Milan, active in the field of vehicles, as well as production and marketing of luxury goods. * Isotta Fraschini Motori S.p.A.: with registered office in Bari. An engineering firm specializing in diesel products, particularly marine engines, industrial engines, and rail traction engines, but also providing civil and military engineering products and services. The company is part of Fincantieri group. The company produces propulsion and generation systems, used in US Navy littoral fast attack surface ships and yachts. The L1306 T3, V 1312 T3, VL 1716 T2 T3 and GE COLZA V 1312 T3 generation systems produce between 200 kW and 3,000 kW. The largest of these generators are used in the ''Freedom'' class of Littoral Combat Ships.

2023 Hypercar details.

The new chassis is designed from scratch to compete in

including the centenary edition of the

, under Automobile Club de l'Ouest Le Mans Hypercar rules. The car has been designed by Michelotto Engineering (a long-standing Ferrari motorsport partner) with additional aerodynamic expertise from Williams Advanced Engineering. The LMH Hypercar rules allow for several configurations; Isotta have selected hybrid all-wheel drive with the hybrid energy delivered to the front axle. The internal combustion engine is a 3-litre V6.

References

External links

Isotta Fraschini Motori S.p.A.

Isotta Fraschini Milano s.r.l.

Isotta-Fraschini history (in Russian)

1914, multiple views
*http://dieselfueltech.com/test-reports/test-report2.html {{Authority control Milan motor companies Aircraft engine manufacturers of Italy Car manufacturers of Italy Marine engine manufacturers Engine manufacturers of Italy Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Italy Truck manufacturers of Italy Italian automotive pioneers Luxury brands Luxury motor vehicle manufacturers Sports car manufacturers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1900 Italian companies established in 1900 Caproni Fincantieri Car brands Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1999 1999 disestablishments in Italy