Isotta Fraschini

Isotta Fraschini is an Italian luxury car manufacturer, also producing trucks, as well as engines for marine and aviation use. Founded in Milan, 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 automobiles as well as Aster proprietary engines since 1899.[1] 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.[2]

The first automobile bearing this marque featured a four-cylinder engine with an output of 24 hp. The car, driven by Vincenzo Fraschini, appeared in several races.

Today

The marque was revived in 2022, and a new car was designed from scratch to compete in sports car racing, initially including the centenary edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, under ACO Hypercar rules.[9] The car, eventually named the Tipo 6 LMH-C, was designed by Michelotto Engineering (a long-standing Ferrari motorsport partner) with aerodynamic input from Williams Advanced Engineering.[10]

World Endurance Championship

Isotta Fraschini had initially planned for a 2023 debut of the Tipo 6 LMH-C in the FIA World Endurance Championship at the 6 Hours of Spa, partnering with the British team Vector Sport.[11] This debut was pushed back first to the 8 Hours of Bahrain due to the car's production running behind schedule,[12] eventually debuting at the 2024 Qatar 1812 km,[13] being run by Duqueine Team, as Vector Sport had dropped out due to alleged contract breaches by Isotta Fraschini, who in turn cited "economic factors" for the split.[14] The Tipo 6 LMH Pista was presented at Paul Ricard, and completed laps with the GT1 Sports Club session as part of the 1000 km of Paul Ricard weekend.[15] Both the Competizione and Pista variants took part in pre-race demos at the 2023 6 Hours of Monza weekend, wherein it was also announced that the car would not be racing at the Bahrain weekend.[16][17]

In its inaugural season in the World Endurance Championship, the car was driven by Carl Bennett, Antonio Serravalle, and 2013 24 Hours of Le Mans Pro-Am winner Jean-Karl Vernay.[18]

The brand competed in five races, and finished only three, before withdrawing from the 2024 World Endurance Championship season prior to the 2024 Lone Star Le Mans due to disputes with Duqueine Team. Its highest finish was at Le Mans, placing fourteenth, and scored no points during the season.[19] Michelotto stressed that the Hypercar programme had not ended and that they were optimistic that two cars would be entered in the 2025 season,[20] which ultimately did not materialize.[21]

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.

foundation	1900 in Milan, Italy
founder	Cesare Isotta Vincenzo Fraschini Oreste Fraschini Antonio Fraschini
location city	Bari
location country	Italy
products	Automobiles aircraft engines marine engines others
owner	Fincantieri
homepage	https://www.isottafraschini.it/
footnotes	Original firm ceased automobile production 1949

History

Today

World Endurance Championship

Active economic entities

World Endurance Championship

Active economic entities

Racing record

24 Hours of Le Mans results

Aero-engines

Vehicles

Passenger cars

Racing cars

Trucks/buses

Trolleybuses

See also

Further reading

External links

References