Vincenzo "Enzo" Osella (born 26 August 1939) is an Italian former racing driver and team owner. He is the founder and chairman of

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, a Romance ethnic group related to or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance languag ...

auto manufacturer

Osella Osella is an Italian racing car manufacturer and former Formula One team. They participated in 132 List of Formula One Grands Prix, Grands Prix between 1980 and 1990. They achieved two points finishes and scored five world championship points. ...

. The team competed in

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 ...

between 1980 and 1990.

Career

Enzo Osella was born in

Volpiano Volpiano is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Turin, in the Italian region Piedmont. The city is located about 15 km north-east of Turin. Economy It is an industrial (fuel, transportation, electronic, for example ) an ...

, near

Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, to Luigi and Maria Osella. His parents ran a grocery store and a transport company in

until the end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. After the war Luigi Osella took over a garage in the centre of Turin. Enzo Osella first job out of school was in a gravel plant. He then started helping his father at the garage by working on the customers' cars. One of his father's regular client was an amateur rally driver who enticed Enzo to assist him as navigator. From 1957 Osella competed as co-driver in several events, including the Sestriere Rally. Osella later switched to the driver seat and borrowed his sister's

Fiat 600 The Fiat 600 (, ) is a small, rear-engined city car and Economy car, economy family car made by Italian carmaker Fiat Automobiles, Fiat from 1955 to 1969 — offered in two-door fastback sedan and four-door Multipla mini MPV body styles. The 60 ...

to race. He then purchased a Lotus 11, which he modified according to his own wishes and equipped with an Osca engine and an

Alfa Romeo Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. () is an Italian carmaker known for its sports-oriented vehicles, strong auto racing heritage, and iconic design. Headquartered in Turin, Italy, it is a subsidiary of Stellantis Europe and one of 14 brands of mu ...

differential, and took part in hillclimb races. In 1963

Carlo Abarth Carlo Abarth (15 November 1908 – 24 October 1979), born Karl Albert Abarth, was an Italian automobile designer. Abarth was born in Austria, but later was naturalized as an Italian citizen; and at this time his first name Karl Albert was chang ...

invited Osella to replace Mario Poltronieri as test driver for Abarth's racing cars and

motorsport Motorsport or motor sport are sporting events, competitions and related activities that primarily involve the use of Car, automobiles, motorcycles, motorboats and Aircraft, powered aircraft. For each of these vehicle types, the more specific term ...

team in Turin. The experience gave Osella the opportunity to earn insight into chassis and engine production and tuning aspects. Osella also worked as a mechanic and driver supervisor. At the end of 1964 Enzo Osella went into business for himself and took over an

Abarth Abarth & C. S.p.A. () is an Italian racing- and road-car maker and performance division founded by Italo-Austrian Carlo Abarth in 1949. Abarth & C. S.p.A. is owned by Stellantis through its Italian subsidiary. Abarth's logo is a shield with a ...

factory agency in Turin. In 1971 Carlo Abarth sold the name rights and production facilities to

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A., commonly known as simply Fiat ( , ; ), is an Italian automobile manufacturer. It became a part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles in 2014 and, in 2021, became a subsidiary of Stellantis through its Italian division, Stellant ...

and retired to

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. Osella purchased the entire racing department, and started operating it under the name

Corse. After a few years spent competing mostly in

hillclimbing Hillclimbing, also known as hill climbing, speed hillclimbing, or speed hill climbing, is a branch of motorsport in which drivers compete against the clock to complete an uphill course. It is one of the oldest forms of motorsport, since the firs ...

Can Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an SCCA/ CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974, and again from 1977 to 1987. The Can-Am rules were deliberately simple and placed few limits on the entries. This led to a wide variet ...

Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

and

Formula Two Formula Two (F2) is a type of Open-wheel car, open-wheel formula racing category first codified in 1948. It was replaced in 1985 by Formula 3000, but revived by the FIA from 2009 FIA Formula Two Championship season, 2009 to 2012 FIA Formula Two C ...

, in 1980 Osella established a

team. The Osella team participated in 132 Grands Prix, achieving three top-six finishes and scoring five world championship points. In 1990 Osella retired from Formula One and relocated his team to Verolengo, in the Turin metropolitan area, to focus again on sports car and hillclimb races.

Personal life

Enzo Osella is married and has two children, a boy and a girl. His son died in 1991.

References

External links

* Short biography on the websit
www.grandprix.com
* Short biography on the websit
www.oldracingcars.com
1939 births Living people Italian motorsport people Italian rally drivers Italian rally co-drivers Formula One team owners Formula One team principals Osella Volpiano {{F1-bio-stub