That was more or less the history of intermeccanica, they would be doing. Paula reisner frank reisner, a hungarianborn, american educated chemical engineer, turned a youthful passion for cars into one of the most famous small production sports car building companies in the world. This combination was only fitted to the first 24 torinos and its suggested in the book by the founders of intermeccanica that this enginegearbox batch was made available to them following a cancelled order from the shelby cobra program. Intermeccanica italia for sale hemmings motor news. My first awareness of the existence of the intermeccanica italia came my freshman year in college automobile quarterly vol. Mar 15, 2018 the 1969 intermeccanica italia spyder featured here is finished in stunning rosso red with a gorgeous black leather interior.
Quotations in this section are courtesy of andrew mccredies book the story of the prancing bull which recounts the rich history of sports car manufacturer, intermeccanica mccredie, andrew. Italia apollo and intermeccanica replacement parts italia. The first car was a formula junior singleseater using a peugeot engine, in 1960, which was followed by 21 aluminiumbodied intermeccanica puch imp 500 ccengined cars, of which one won at the nurburgring larger american v8 engines were used in the apollo gt, of which 88 cars were made for international motor cars, from 1961 to 1965. May 16, 2018 the italia spyder was amongst intermeccanicas most successful models. The porsche 356a lookalikes frank reisners intermeccanica. An italianamerican hybrid, the car was styled by franco scaglioni, handbuilt entirely from steel in italy, and powered by a chevrolet corvette 327ci 5. By going back to original sources and principal players this book sets the record straight, which is rather important because the new evs are now drawing attention to the classic intermeccanica cars 1960 formula junior, 1960 imp, 196163 apollo gt, 1965 griffith, 1966 omega, 1966 vette ventura, 1966 vetro titiana, 196670 torinoitalia. Quotations in this section are courtesy of andrew mccredies book the story of. The the never ending story part 2 is now ready for your reading pleasure. The story of the prancing bull by andrew mccredie and paula reisner 2010, hardcover. Intermeccanica installed fords 289 cui hipo v8 into the torino, giving it both power and durability. Italia waxed and ready to go indras, indras, indras submissions are readily welcomed, email the iec webmaster the iec is not affiliated with intermeccanica international, inc. It comes equipped with a manual transmission and a 351 windsor sm. Construzione automobili intermeccanica was founded in 1959 by frank reisner and was based in torino, italy but was later moved to canada.
This is the same engine found in k code mustangs and is much sought after. Intermeccanica italia design critique and minihistory anybody. Under the hood is a reliable, highrevving, 271 hp ford 289 high performance v8 mated to a fourspeed manual transmission. Intermeccanica originally purchased this italia to become the basis for a design for a. Any of you who have visited intermeccanica in the last decade or more will know that we have had an original intermeccanica italia at the shop.
Intermeccanica originally purchased this italia to become the basis for a design for a new italia project for us to custom build. Whatever intermeccanica was, it was an extension of reisners imagination and drive. Be one of the first to get email notification when the vehicle you are looking for is. Prices 3 photos 3 model italia 3 year range 1960s 2 1970s 1 custom year range to. Early on, as an engineer he wanted to build sports cars in italy so he and his wife relocated to italy. Intermeccanica italia classics for sale classics on. The car comes complete and has a nice and straight body. Intermeccanica formally construzione automobili intermeccanica is an automobile. Home store company catalogue galleries stories marketplace links contact. I have sorted out many of the records and can help with some production numbers by the changes made during production. Italian convertible sports cars the intermeccanica italia.
The new intermeccanica was built and assembled entirely inhouse in italy and a deal was struck with ford to supply the mechanics. Quotations in this section are courtesy of andrew mccredies book the story of the prancing bull which recounts the rich history of sports car manufacturer, intermeccanica. There were far fewer built than the numbers circulated around for many years. Selling a 1967 intermeccanica italia frank reisner had founded construzione automobil intermeccanica eight years earlier when the 1967 intermeccanica italia was released. From modest beginnings based in the automotive mecca of turin, italy throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, intermeccanica conceived, designed and produced a dozen different models that shook the motoring world and went on to find homes in museums and collections from europe to the united states to japan.
Aug 21, 2012 intermeccanica installed fords 289 cui hipo v8 into the torino, giving it both power and durability. The story of the prancing bull is a fascinating life lead by the reisner family and its incredible journey of fleeing tyranny from naziism to its kissing cousin communism,and then ending up in a prosperous italy which was to later sadly become in the 70s like much of the rest of europe and sadly the world militant and prolabor radicalof couse we see how well the e. This engine was rated at a respectable 271 hp and gave this italian plenty of power. The story of the prancing bull andrew mccredie, paula reisner on. Intermeccanica enthusiasts club provides information on the italia, indra, squire, griffith, apollo and omega. The intermeccanica italia spyder shown here this italia spyder you see here was previously owned by jeopardy host alex trebek, it also has the distinction of having been ordered with air conditioning from new a relative rarity for an italia. A friend and i were viewing the cars displayed outdoors when a particular car caught my eye. Production began after a long series of events including name, ownership and engineering changes. I remember i was disappointed that he did not appear in the book to be that concerned early on to. The first cars they produced were formula junior races powered by. The man behind the company was frank reisner, an entrepreneur who would later move the company to.
Book intermeccanica story of the prancing bull history cars sports car builder. Upon the arrival of the italian sports car, chicago newspapers were plastered. Dec 18, 2017 the intermeccanica italia spyder shown here this italia spyder you see here was previously owned by jeopardy host alex trebek, it also has the distinction of having been ordered with air conditioning from new a relative rarity for an italia. From the imp to the apollo, to the griffith to the omega, italia and indra, he interviews many.
Intermeccanica italia model intermeccanica italia introduced in 1968, manufactured up to 1971, the car belonging to sports car sizeclass and s sport cars market segment, available as notchback coupe, convertible. Mccredie hustles the book along chapter by chapter in car and chronological order. The sports cars built by the tiny construzione automobili intermeccanica company in turin looked fairly similar over the years. Intermeccanica news newspapers books scholar jstor. There are currently 3 intermeccanica italia cars as well as thousands of other iconic classic and collectors cars for sale on classic driver. The italia may be one of the most gorgeouslystyled cars ever made. The intermeccanica omega was among the most attractive and potent italianamerican hybrids of the 1960s and 1970s. Built from 1967 to 1972, the italia mainly used ford mechanicals. It comes equipped with a manual transmission and a. Intermeccanica italia design critique and minihistory. Frank reisner, a hungarianborn, american educated chemical engineer, turned a youthful passion for cars into one of the most famous small production sports car building companies in the world. Intermeccanica automobiles were made in turin italy by frank reisner and is now located in canada where they currently produce porsche 356 speedster replicas. Update 1915 this omega is back on ebay with a new seller and a higher starting bid.
More importantly, and the reason behind this revised 2018 edition of a book first. Make intermeccanica 3 seller type dealer 3 only show ads with. Such as italian journalist gianni rogliatti, who wrote the second foreword. This can probably explain why the italianamerican hybrid isnt more well known, but does little to hide the cars italian flair. From modest beginnings based in the automotive mecca of turin, italy throughout the 1960s and into the 1970s, intermeccanica conceived, designed and produced a dozen different models that shook the. I didnt recognize the maker and asked the friend about the car. Next came the torino, which was later renamed italia.
It subsequently moved first to the united states, then to canada, and is currently headed by franks son, henry reisner. First, we have begun the restoration of a 1967 intermeccanica italia for a long time intermeccanica customer and friend, gerry. The story of the prancing bull is an exciting, top pick for any collection strong in sports car history and culture. Find the italia, apollo, and intermeccanica restoration parts. The italia spyder was amongst intermeccanicas most successful models. Intermeccanica italia spyder history these exotics used a sporting italian chassis and handmade body penned by robert cumberford.
Produced between 1968 and 1971, this car remains a stalwart of classic drives. The first italias were shipped to the us for sale in 1968, and by march of the same year intermeccanica had sold more than 40 italias to the united states. Its body was designed by franco staglione, the first years intermeccanica built a convertible later on a couple of coupes were built. New second edition by andrew mccredie and paula reisner 2018, hardcover at the best online prices at ebay.
Jan 09, 2015 update 1915 this omega is back on ebay with a new seller and a higher starting bid. The italia et al, when assembled by intermeccanica, is an intermeccanica. Displaying 3 total results for classic intermeccanica italia vehicles for sale. Bring a trailer auctions is the best place to buy and sell vintage and classic vehicles porsche, bmw, land rover, and more. That was the models second production year and reisner had come a good distance from where he began in 1959. You should have a copy of the intermeccanica book by paula reisner. From 91215 it may not look like much in the photo, but this 1967 intermeccanica omega is a very special car and with only 33 ever built, it deserves to be saved. Goliath story that spans half a century and three continents and tells of frank reisner, who defied the odds to keep an amazing auto company in business. In north america the italia was sold under the name torino. The italia was the perfect name for the elegant, sexy sports car, and one north american consumers would immediately fall in love with page 80, mccredie. These numbers were genuinely fast at the time, in fact theyre still quick by much more modern standards. Its sleek styling is credited to franco scaglione and robert cumberford, while frank reisner designed the chassis, later including some changes suggested by formula 1 engineer john crosthwaite. Intermeccanica the story of the prancing bull, mccredie. This 1967 intermeccanica torino italia coupe is an excellent original example for straightforward restoration.
The intermeccanica italia spyder motorvision youtube. Most notable of these models are the apollo, the italia and the indra. We apologize, but no model history was found for this vehicle. Looking for the intermeccanica italia of your dreams. Intermeccanica italia model intermeccanica italia introduced in 1968, manufactured up to 1971, the car belonging to sports car sizeclass and s sport cars market segment, available as. The 1969 intermeccanica italia spyder featured here is finished in stunning rosso red with a gorgeous black leather interior. The story of the prancing bull is a fascinating life lead by the reisner family and its incredible journey of fleeing tyranny from naziism to its kissing cousin communism,and then ending up in a prosperous italy which was to later sadly become in the 70s like much of the rest of europe and sadly the world militant and pro. This engine proved so strong that it was used as the starting point for the shelby. The italia was eventually produced as both a coupe and a very. To purchase an exclusive, signed copy of the book please email info. It was so stunningly beautiful and yet practical with its american powertrain it became seared into my brain as the car i would have to someday own.
Intermeccanica is undertaking a couple of special projects at this time as a way of testing the market in related automotive ventures. Reisner used the same subcontractors that other companies did ive got a great shot of one of the body subcontractors working on the production apollo buck sitting on the chassis built by milt brown with alfa 2600 spyder body shells in the. The intermeccanica italia was fitted with a 300 hp, 351 cubic inch ford windsor v8 engine acted to a 4speed manual transmission, it was good for a 062 mph time of 6. The intermeccanica italia spyder combines a stylish italian chassis with some american muscle. Intermeccanica formally construzione automobili intermeccanica is an automobile manufacturer, founded in torino, italy, in 1959 by frank reisner.
170 1325 669 372 831 992 338 943 642 764 709 159 772 990 184 1494 793 1366 1418 446 444 84 1425 856 642 84 672 1275 1227 786 811 384 195 1157 1284 74 388 350