Innocenti, a firm known mainly for assembling a variety of British Motor Company products in Italy, might be passed over for consideration as a bona fide etceterini maker, were it not for the 186 GT. The company was founded in the 1920s and by the early 1970s achieved the second highest sales figures in Italy with its locally-assembled variations on English favorites including the BMC Mini and, from 1961 through 1970, a Ghia-styled version of the Austin-Healey Sprite. Bodied by OSI, a Ghia affiliate, it featured roll-up windows before the Sprite acquired this feature, and was also available in coupe form, unlike the Sprite or MG Midget. The Spider shares the Sprite's 80 inch wheelbase, while the rarer coupe, introduced in 1966, has an 86 inch wheelbase and a roomier cabin…
Mechanical improvements paced the Sprite and Midget during the production run, so the 948cc engine in the original cars was replaced by a 1098 in 1968, and superseded by the 1275 in 1970. But while these cars achieved a bit of success by offering more comfort and style than the Sprite, their temperament was never quite Italian enough for some fans. That wouldn't have been a complaint if their sister car, the prototype 186 GT, had achieved production.
Like the ASA 1000 featured in our previous essay, the 186 GT was styled by Giorgetto Giugiaro at Bertone. Unlike that car, it has some affinity to the Iso Rivolta notchback coupe he designed around the same time, especially in the treatment of the grille, the horizontal character line running across the door and around the rear wheel arches, and the tidy curve of the tail. Apparently only two prototypes were built in 1963, and these differed in details like the rear wheel arch molding, side marker lights and wheels*.
But it was under the hood that the 186 revealed its true intent. To go with the enhanced rigidity of a new tubular chassis, the Innocenti crew specified a unique adaptation of the early 60 degree Dino Ferrari engine, here in 1,788 cc, 156 hp form and looking for all the world like half a Colombo V12, which it basically was. To my knowledge, this car is the only place where the 1.8 liter version of this early Dino V6 appeared, though Ferrari had raced a 196S in 1962. That engine was also a 60 degree, sohc design.
The 186 GT can be understood, like the ASA before it, as another attempt by Ferrari to generate revenue by getting one of their engine designs into larger scale production. Unlike the ASA, it had the backing of a larger industrial concern with much bigger production facilities. But it was doomed by a recession that blunted the demand for these kinds of cars. Ferrari would need to wait for the design of a new 65 degree V6, and for an agreement with Fiat, to get that car on the road.
*Footnotes added 5-7-19: The 186GT prototypes featured 4-wheel disc brakes and 4 speed transmissions with overdrive, and the first car shown above with Borrani wire wheels was built with a tubular frame. The 2nd car, a production prototype shown here with disc wheels, was engineered by Innocenti with unit body construction. The production prototype was destroyed, but the earlier car was discovered by historian Ermanno Cozza in an Innocenti building when the company was taken over by Fiat in 1994. It appeared in an exhibit at the Museo Ferrari in 2015, the year before this post originally appeared.
Photo credits:
Top: Innocenti 950 Spider / wikimedia
2nd: Innocenti Coupe 'C' / bringatrailer.com
Remainder: Innocenti 186 GT / modelfoxbrianza.it
More exotic Etceterini Bob. Keep them coming.
ReplyDeleteCheers,