Siata (''Società Italiana Auto Trasformazioni Accessori'' in English ''Italian Car Transformation Accessories Company'') was an Italian car tuning shop and manufacturer founded in 1926 by amateur race car driver Giorgio Ambrosini. Siata initially sold performance parts to modify and tune cars manufactured by

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiar ...

. After World War II, the company began making its own sports cars under the Siata brand until its eventual bankruptcy following the first Arab oil embargo in the mid-1970s.

History

First production models: 1948-1952

1952 Siata 300BC Barchetta Sport Spider rear

Production of the Siata's first wholly original design the Siata Amica began in 1948 and continued through 1952. The Amica was powered by a Fiat 500 cc engine capable of producing 22 horsepower with an optional 750 cc unit producing 25 horsepower. The Amica was available in both two-seater convertible/spider and coupé configurations. A specially modified Amica known as the ''Fiat Siata 500 Pescara'' won the 1948 ''Italian Road Racing Championship'' fitted with a five-speed manual gearbox and a modified 500 cc engine producing 40 horsepower. Only two 500 Pescaras were ever built with only one surviving model. The surviving car also competed in the 1991 Historic Millie Miglia.

Daina and 300BC

The Daina was based on heavily modified Fiat 1400 mechanics; the frame was reinforced and shortened while the engine was tuned by Siata. The Daina could be had with a 1.4L (1,395 cc), 1.5L (1,500 cc) or 1.8L (1,817 cc)

overhead valve An overhead valve (OHV) engine, sometimes called a ''pushrod engine'', is a piston engine whose valves are located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier flathead engines, where the valves were located be ...

I4 engine A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the e ...

, all of which were sourced from

. From 1950 to 1958 there were approximately 50 Daina Series cars produced. However, only a few of the Series were produced after 1953. About 20 Daina Sport (coupes) are thought to have been built, only six are known to exist today. A cabriolet version called the Gran Sport comprised most of the Daina Series cars. The Gran Sport had a steel body with an aluminum hood designed by

Stabilimenti Farina Stabilimenti Industriali Farina (Turin, 1906–53) was an Italian automotive coachbuilder established by Giovanni Carlo Farina (1884–1957) in ''12 Corso Tortona''. Among famous employees was his brother Battista Farina, who was here from the ...

(3 all-aluminum-bodied Gran Sports were made as well) but when they closed in 1953, Bertone took over production with a coupe model of their own design called the "Sport". Following the Amica, Siata introduced the 300BC Barchetta Sport Spider in 1951. The Barchetta Sport Spider was designed by Mario Revelli de Beaumont and built by Nuccio Bertone and Rocco Motto. Around 50 production models were created and predominantly featured either a 750 cc

Crosley Crosley was a small, independent American manufacturer of subcompact cars, bordering on microcars. At first called the Crosley Corporation and later Crosley Motors Incorporated, the Cincinnati, Ohio, firm was active from 1939 to 1952, int ...

or 1100 cc

engine. During this time Siata also created the

Cucciolo Cucciolo is the title character of an Italian long-lasting comic book series. Background Cucciolo, together with the inseparable friend Beppe, are a couple of comic characters created in 1940 by Giuseppe Caregaro as writer and Rino Anzi as art ...

("puppy") motor sold in kit form by

Ducati Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. () is the motorcycle-manufacturing division of Italian company Ducati, headquartered in Bologna, Italy. The company is directly owned by Italian automotive manufacturer Lamborghini, whose German parent company is Au ...

and later used to power Ducati's first complete mopeds and motorcycles starting in 1952.

8V Fiat engine and the 208S: 1953-1955

Siata introduced the 208S in 1953 featuring Fiat's 2.0 liter 8V engine. 35 cars were produced between 1953 and 1955 priced at 5300 dollars and available in both convertible and hard top. The car rose to prominence after actor and race car driver

Steve McQueen Terrence Stephen McQueen (March 24, 1930November 7, 1980) was an American actor. His antihero persona, emphasized during the height of the counterculture of the 1960s, made him a top box-office draw for his films of the late 1950s, 1960s, and ...

purchased model BS523 from Los Angeles-based Siata importer Ernie McAfee in the mid-1950s. McQueen reportedly re badged the car with Ferrari emblems and dubbed the car his "Little Ferrari".

End of Siata: 1968-1975

1968 Siata 850 Spring, Dutch licence registration 95-14-GE

In 1968, after a detailed

market research Market research is an organized effort to gather information about target markets and customers: know about them, starting with who they are. It is an important component of business strategy and a major factor in maintaining competitiveness. Ma ...

among Italian youth, Siata launched the Siata Spring, a

sports car A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...

based on parts from

Fiat 850 The Fiat 850 (''Tipo 100G'') is a small rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive car manufactured and marketed by Italian car manufacturer Fiat from 1964 to 1973. History Overview Its technical design was an evolution of the successful Fiat 600. The interna ...

, with a front end styled by Enrico Fumia in 1966. The Siata Spring was produced until 1970, when Siata went bankrupt, but the assembly line was purchased by a newly formed company called ORSA (Officina Realizzazioni Sarde Automobili). They moved it to an assembly plant near

Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...

, where it resumed the production of the Spring, which was now based on the

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, a chair ...

850 Special. Because of this the engine displacement increased to 903cc with 47BHP, and it gained disc brakes on the front wheels and a higher top speed of 125 km/h (77.6 mph). Due to the

1973 oil crisis The 1973 oil crisis or first oil crisis began in October 1973 when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC), led by Saudi Arabia, proclaimed an oil embargo. The embargo was targeted at nations that had su ...

, sales of sports cars in Italy declined, forcing ORSA to end the production in spring 1975.

Models

* Siata 300BC Barchetta Sport Spider (1951–1954) * Siata Amica (1948–1952) * Siata Amica 600 (195?–1958) * Siata-Abarth 750 (1959–1961) * Siata Daina (1950–1958) *

Siata 208 CS The Siata 208 CS is an Italian sports car produced by Siata. Introduced in 1952, it is the coupé counterpart to the Siata 208S released that same year. History Introduced in 1952 at that year's Turin Auto Show, the 208 series was the succes ...

* Siata 208S (1953–1954, 56 produced) * Siata Spring (1967–1975)

Racing

Siata raced in 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 ...

and the Italian Road Racing Championship in 1948, 1949, 1950, 1951, 1952 and 1955. A 1500 cc Siata Daina driven by Dick Irish and Bob Fergus finished 1st in its class and third overall at the 1952

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 rou ...

References

External links

Ferrariexperts.com: Siata webpage
{{authority control Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Italy Turin motor companies Italian automotive pioneers Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1926 Vehicle manufacturing companies disestablished in 1970 Italian companies established in 1926 1970 disestablishments in Italy Sports car manufacturers Italian racecar constructors