The Cisitalia Grand Prix is a single-seater car for the postwar 1.5-litre

supercharged In an internal combustion engine, a supercharger compresses the intake gas, forcing more air into the engine in order to produce more power for a given displacement. It is a form of forced induction that is mechanically powered (usually by ...

Grand Prix class, built by Italian sports car manufacturer Cisitalia and introduced in 1949. It was designed on behalf of Cisitalia by

Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in luxury, high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Th ...

between 1946–47, and is therefore also known by its Porsche project number, Type 360. An extremely advanced design, it proved too complex to build for the small Italian firm—leading to a lengthy development and eventually to the financial downfall of the company. Between Cisitalia's 1949

liquidation Liquidation is the process in accounting by which a Company (law), company is brought to an end. The assets and property of the business are redistributed. When a firm has been liquidated, it is sometimes referred to as :wikt:wind up#Noun, w ...

and the fact that supercharged engines were banned for the 1952 Formula One season, the car never raced. The ''Type 360'' is also noticeable for using an early form of

sequential manual transmission A sequential manual transmission, also known as a sequential gearbox or sequential transmission, is a type of Non-synchronous transmission, non-synchronous manual transmission used mostly in motorcycles and Auto racing, racing cars. It produces ...

, and was one of the first race cars to do so.

History

The car was commissioned by Piero Dusio in 1946. Dusio paid a large sum of money upfront, part of which was used to free

Ferdinand Porsche Ferdinand Porsche (3 September 1875 – 30 January 1951) was a German automotive engineering, automotive engineer and founder of the Porsche, Porsche AG. He is best known for creating the first Petrol engine, gasoline–Electric motor, el ...

from the French prison in which he was being held effectively for

ransom Ransom refers to the practice of holding a prisoner or item to extort money or property to secure their release. It also refers to the sum of money paid by the other party to secure a captive's freedom. When ransom means "payment", the word ...

. Dusio gave Porsche only 16 months to complete the car which proved too short a time to sort out the advanced design.

Design

The Porsche designed unraced 1939 1,482.56 cc (53.0 x 56.0 mm) 2-stage Roots supercharged flat-12 Auto-Union had been projected to deliver at 9,000 rpm. This provided the basis of the Cisitalia 360 car which was built in Italy by Cisitalia personnel with help from former Porsche employee Robert Eberan von Eberhorst around a mid mounted

1,492.58 cc (56.0 x 50.5 mm) flat 12 engine giving a conservative at 8,500 rpm and a top speed of . A fully enclosed streamlined body for fast circuits was planned giving over . Later bench tests showed about at 10,500 rpm. The chassis was of chromoly tubing and featured on/off four-wheel-drive with a sequential gear-shift and a rear-mounted

transaxle A transaxle is single mechanical device which combines the functions of an automobile's transmission (mechanics), transmission, axle, and differential (mechanics), differential into one integrated assembly. It can be produced in both manual tra ...

also sending power through a

driveshaft A drive shaft, driveshaft, driving shaft, tailshaft (Australian English), propeller shaft (prop shaft), or Cardan shaft (after Girolamo Cardano) is a component for transmitting mechanical power, torque, and rotation, usually used to connect ...

to a front differential. Suspension was independent with Porsche type

trailing arm A trailing-arm suspension, also referred to as trailing-link, is a form of vehicle suspension. In a motor vehicle it places one or more horizontal arms (or "links") perpendicular to and forward of the axle on the chassis or unibody, which are c ...

s in front and parallel acting arms in the rear. Porsche's experience with the pre-war

Auto Union Auto Union AG was an amalgamation of four German automobile manufacturers, founded in 1932 and established in 1936 in Chemnitz, Saxony. It is the immediate predecessor of Audi as it is known today. As well as acting as an umbrella firm for ...

Grand Prix cars showed through in the layout and design of the Cisitalia to the extent that it has been referred to as the "E-Type".

Legacy

By the time the only prototype was finished Dusio was out of cash. The car languished in development until 1951, at one point being shipped off to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

to try to persuade president

Juan Perón Juan Domingo Perón (, , ; 8 October 1895 – 1 July 1974) was an Argentine military officer and Statesman (politician), statesman who served as the History of Argentina (1946-1955), 29th president of Argentina from 1946 to Revolución Libertad ...

to invest in the company. By 1952

Formula One Formula One (F1) is the highest class of worldwide racing for open-wheel single-seater formula Auto racing, racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The FIA Formula One World Championship has been one ...

rules had changed and while Dusio attempted to source a 2-liter motor for the car a lack of funds relegated one of the most advanced Grand Prix cars of its day to a few

Formula Libre Formula Libre, also known as Formule Libre, is a form of automobile racing allowing a wide variety of types, ages and makes of purpose-built racing cars to compete "head to head". This can make for some interesting matchups, and provides the oppo ...

events and quick retirement. The car is currently on display in the Porsche Museum in

Stuttgart Stuttgart (; ; Swabian German, Swabian: ; Alemannic German, Alemannic: ; Italian language, Italian: ; ) is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Baden-Württemberg by population, largest city of the States of Germany, German state of ...

References

External links

8W The rear-engined revolution: Horses pushing the cartCisitalia Museum
{{Porsche vehicles, state=collapsed Cisitalia Porsche vehicles Grand Prix cars