Bandini Automobili

Did You Know?

• The Bandini Dora Concept, revealed in 2020, is a roofless, two-seater electric hypercar with two electric motors producing 536 bhp and 500 lb ft of torque.
• In 1992, Dino Bandini converted the original workshop into a museum after discovering inaccuracies about Bandini's history in a car magazine.

History

Bandini was established in 1946 in Forlì. The first model, the Prima, used a modified Fiat 1100 engine with an aluminium body and a chassis derived from a Fiat 1100 that Ilario Bandini had hidden from German forces during World War II. Subsequent models included the 1100 Sport and the 1100 Siluro, the latter achieving the company's first race victory at the Giro dell'Umbria. These cars featured tubular steel chassis. American importers Tony Pompeo and Perry Fina brought a Siluro to the United States, and Italian driver Giovanni Bracco promoted the cars there. At Pompeo's suggestion, Bandini fitted 724 cc Crosley engines into the Siluro for H modified racing, leading to SCCA class championships in 1955 and 1957. In 1957, the Sport International "Saponetta" debuted, a two-seat sports car with a tubular steel frame and a nickname meaning "little soap" due to its rounded shape. The 1954 Formula 3 car featured disc brakes on all four wheels, inspired by the 1951 C-type Jaguar. A Zagato-bodied Bandini GT competed at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, while a coupé by coachbuilder Corna had a front-mounted 1000 cc engine. In the 21st century, Michele Bandini, great-grandson of Ilario, revived the name in partnership with GFG Style, presenting the electric Bandini Dora concept in 2020.

Racing history

Ilario Bandini both designed and manufactured cars and drove them in over 60 races, including hillclimbs and track events. He entered the Mille Miglia from 1947 to 1965, achieving 19 first-place finishes and 18 podiums in the 750 cc and 1000 cc classes. In 1953, a 750 Siluro driven by Massimo Bondi won the Trofeo Franco Mazzotti on the Mille Miglia. In the United States, a Bandini 750 Siluro driven by Dolph Vilradi won the SCCA HM class championship in 1955, and in 1957 Melvin Sachs won the HM class with five Bandinis in the top ten. These successes earned Ilario the Gold Key of Daytona and, in 1981, the Laurea H.C. award in mechanical engineering from Pro Deo University of New York. A Formula Junior produced in 1959 achieved considerable competition success. Bandinis continued winning SCCA Class HMod races into the mid-1960s, and a Siluro won the SCCA Southwest Regional Championship from 1961 to 1963. The Saponetta took third place in the National HMod class in 1961. Bandini built one-off cars into the 1980s.

Models

"La prima" 1100/46 (1946) used a modified Fiat 1100 chassis with Gilera motorcycle suspension components, torsion bar independent front suspension, independent rear suspension, inboard brakes, and a two-seater aluminium body by Rocco Motto. The 1100 sport (1947–50) was designed for road use, and its chassis, like that of the Siluro, used aircraft-grade materials with assistance from Caproni. The 1100 siluro (1947–49) was a two-seater track car with cycle wings. A single Bandini-Maserati 1500 (1952) was built, later exported to the US with a 1500 cc Maserati engine for SCCA FM class. At least four Formula 3 cars (1954–58) used under-500 cc four-cylinder Crosley engines. The 750 GT Veloce - Zagato (1955) was reportedly built for cartoonist Alex Raymond and won Best of Show at the 1957 Rimini Concorso di Eleganza. The 750 sport internazionale "Saponetta" (1957–61) replaced the Siluro with a more streamlined shape; two were built for the 1957 Mille Miglia without success, but class wins followed in 1958. Later models included the 1000/62 P barchetta, 1000 GT coupé, 1000/66 sport, 1000 Sports Coupe - Saloncino (first shown at the 1968 Salone Internazionale dell'Automobile di Torino), and the 1000/70 V (1970).