S.P.A. (Società Piemontese Automobili), was an Italian

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded ...

, military vehicle and

aero-engine An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft propulsion system. Most aircraft engines are either piston engines or gas turbines, although a few have been rocket powered and in recent years many ...

manufacturer founded in Turin by

Matteo Ceirano Matteo Ceirano (1870 in Cuneo – 19 March 1941 in Torino) was an Italian businessman in the early automobile industry who co-founded the manufacturers Ceirano; Itala Fabbrica Automobili in 1904 and Società Piemontese Automobili (S.P. ...

and Michele Ansaldi. It was active between 1906 and 1926. In 1908, it merged with

Fabbrica Ligure Automobili Genova Fabbrica Ligure Automobili Genova, F.L.A.G., FLAG, was an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in 1905 by investors in La Spezia, Liguria, that produced large, prestigious, luxury vehicles. Shortly after founding it transferred to Genoa and th ...

(FLAG) and the new company, Società Ligure Piemontese Automobili, was headquartered in Genoa while manufacturing in Turin. In 1923 it moved to Turin and in 1925 was taken over by

Fiat Fiat Automobiles S.p.A. (, , ; originally FIAT, it, Fabbrica Italiana Automobili di Torino, lit=Italian Automobiles Factory of Turin) is an Italian automobile manufacturer, formerly part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and since 2021 a subsidiary ...

, whereby car manufacture ceased but commercial and military vehicle production continued. Although car production resumed after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, by 1947 the company was fully absorbed into Fiat.

Ceirano family background

The Ceirano brothers,

Giovanni Battista Giovanni Battista was a common Italian given name (see Battista for those with the surname) in the 16th-18th centuries. It refers to "John the Baptist" in English, the French equivalent is " Jean-Baptiste". Common nicknames include Giambattista, G ...

, Giovanni,

Ernesto Ernesto, form of the name Ernest in several Romance languages, may refer to: * ''Ernesto'' (novel) (1953), an unfinished autobiographical novel by Umberto Saba, published posthumously in 1975 ** ''Ernesto'' (film), a 1979 Italian drama loosely ba ...

and Matteo, were influential in the founding of the Italian auto industry, being variously responsible for : Ceirano; Welleyes (the technical basis of F.I.A.T.); Fratelli Ceirano; S.T.A.R./Rapid (

Società Torinese Automobili Rapid Società Torinese Automobili Rapid, also known as S.T.A.R. and Rapid, was an Italian car manufacturer founded by Giovanni Battista Ceirano in Turin in July 1904. ''Rapid'' was its trademark. In 1921 it was acquired by the S.P.A. (Società Piem ...

); SCAT (Società Ceirano Automobili Torino);

Itala Itala was a car manufacturer based in Turin, Italy, from 1904 to 1934, started by Matteo Ceirano and five partners in 1903. Ceirano family background The Ceirano brothers, Giovanni Battista, Giovanni, Ernesto and Matteo, were influential in ...

and S.P.A. (Società Piemontese Automobili). Giovanni's son Giovanni "Ernesto" was also influential, co-founding

Ceirano Fabbrica Automobili Ceirano Fabbrica Automobili, or Ceirano Giovanni Fabbrica Automobili or Giovanni Ceirano Fabbrica AutomobiliThe Complete Encyclopedia of the Motor Car, 1885 to the Present, by G.N. Georgano, Ebury Press, 1973. page 177. Ceirano ii Italy, 1919-193 ...

(aka Giovanni Ceirano Fabbrica Automobili) and Fabrica Anonima Torinese Automobili (FATA). In 1888, after eight years apprenticeship at his father's watch-making business, Giovanni Battista started building ''Welleyes'' bicycles, so named because English names had more sales appeal.Lancia, the essentials
/ref> In October 1898 Giovanni Battista and Matteo co-founded

Ceirano GB & C Ceirano GB & C was a historic automobile company, founded in October 1888 by Giovanni Battista Ceirano, Emanuele di Bricherasio, Attilio Calligaris, Pietro Fenoglio and Cesare Goria Gatti. The new company was based in Turin, where it began to b ...

and started producing the ''Welleyes'' motor car in 1899. In July 1899 the plant and patents were sold to

Giovanni Agnelli Giovanni Agnelli (13 August 1866 – 16 December 1945) was an Italian businessman, who founded Fiat car manufacturing in 1899. Early life The son of Edoardo Agnelli and Aniceta Frisetti, he was born in 1866 in Villar Perosa, a small town nea ...

and produced as the first F.I.A.T.s - the

Fiat 4 HP The Fiat 4 HP (also known as the 3½ HP or 3½ CV) was the first model of car produced by FIAT, from 1899 to 1900 based on a third party design. Background The 4 HP is related to the Ceirano brothers—Giovanni, Ernesto and Matteo—who were a ...

. Giovanni Battista was employed by Fiat as the agent for Italy, but within a year he left to found Fratelli Ceirano & C. which in 1903 became

(S.T.A.R.) building cars badged as 'Rapid'. In 1904

left Ceirano GB & C to create his own brand -

. In 1906 Matteo left Itala to found S.P.A. (Società Piemontese Automobili) with chief designer, Alberto Ballacco. In 1906 Giovanni founded SCAT (Società Ceirano Automobili Torino) in Turin. In 1919 Giovanni and Giovanni "Ernesto" co-founded

(aka Giovanni Ceirano Fabbrica Automobili) and in 1922 they took control of Fabrica Anonima Torinese Automobili (FATA).

History

The company was established in 1906 by

and Michele Ansaldi (founder of

Ansaldi Ansaldi was an Italian automobile manufacturer founded in Milan in 1904 by Michele Ansaldi an engineer, designer, and industrialist. The only car they produced was sold as the F.I.A.T. Brevetti after the company was taken over in 1905. In 1904 t ...

automobiles) in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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. Th ...

under the name of Società Piemontese Automobili. The chief designer was Alberto Ballacco. In 1908, the company merged with

(FLAG) and the new company became Società Ligure Piemontese Automobili. The headquarters was in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Regions of Italy, Italian region of Liguria and the List of cities in Italy, sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of t ...

while production continued in Turin. During World War I the company produced aero engines such as the 6A. Shortly afterwards, in 1916, both Ceirano and Ansaldi left. In 1923 the company moved to Turin. Severe financial problems lead to a take-over by Fiat in 1925 and the discontinuation of car manufacture in favor of commercial and military vehicles. After

they resumed car production, but, in 1947, the company was fully absorbed into Fiat.

Cars

The first S.P.A.s designed by Alberto Ballacco and Ceirano were the ''28/40HP'' and ''60/70 HP'' which had four cylinder engines,

side valves A flathead engine, also known as a sidevalve engine''American Rodder'', 6/94, pp.45 & 93. or valve-in-block engine is an internal combustion engine with its poppet valves contained within the engine block, instead of in the cylinder head, as ...

and live rear axles. They were exhibited at the ''Esposizione di Torino''.''The Complete History of the Motor Car'' by G.N. Georgano.

Ebury Press Ebury Publishing is a division of Penguin Random House, and is a publisher of general non-fiction books in the UK. Ebury was founded in 1961 as a division of Nat Mags and was originally located on Ebury Street in London. It was sold to Ce ...

1973. pp 636 By 1907 they also produced two six-cylinder models, one of which had the

flywheel A flywheel is a mechanical device which uses the conservation of angular momentum to store rotational energy; a form of kinetic energy proportional to the product of its moment of inertia and the square of its rotational speed. In particular, assu ...

mounted at the front of the crankshaft. By 1911 they had introduced ''L-head''

monobloc engine A ''monobloc'' or ''en bloc'' engine is an internal-combustion piston engine some of whose major components (such as cylinder head, cylinder block, or crankcase) are formed, usually by casting, as a single integral unit, rather than being assembled ...

designs,

unitary gearbox Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation * Unitarity (physics) In quantum physics, unit ...

es, and High tension

magneto A magneto is an electrical generator that uses permanent magnets to produce periodic pulses of alternating current. Unlike a dynamo, a magneto does not contain a commutator to produce direct current. It is categorized as a form of alternator, ...

ignition systems. The next year they sold 500 cars and introduced a new four cylinder 14/16 hp engine as the basis of their modern, compact car. By 1914 the range included twin, four and six cylinder cars - the biggest had an 11,536cc displacement. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

production resumed with the pre-war models; the ''14/16 HP'' using a 2.700cc side-valve engine and the 25/30 HP'' using a 4,400cc six cylinder engine. In 1922 the highly sophisticated 30/40 Super Sports was launched, with a 4,400cc six cylinder engine, using twin overhead camshafts (

dohc An overhead camshaft (OHC) engine is a piston engine where the camshaft is located in the cylinder head above the combustion chamber. This contrasts with earlier overhead valve engines (OHV), where the camshaft is located below the combustion ch ...

) operating four valves per cylinder. The aluminium alloy cylinders had steel liners and aluminium pistons, plus dual carburettors and dual-ignition. The car was also equipped with front-wheel brakes and a V-shaped radiator. By the next year, the sporting range was marketed as ''Tipo 23'', ''Tipo 24'' and ''Tipo 25''.

Racing

In 1908 Ernesto Ceirano finished third in the

Targa Florio The Targa Florio was a public road endurance automobile race held in the mountains of Sicily near the island's capital of Palermo. Founded in 1906, it was the oldest sports car racing event, part of the World Sportscar Championship between 195 ...

driving a four-cylinder, 7,785cc, S.P.A. 28/40 HP. In

1909 Events January–February * January 4 – Explorer Aeneas Mackintosh of the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition escaped death by fleeing across ice floes. * January 7 – Colombia recognizes the independence of Panama. * J ...

an S.P.A. racer driven by

Francesco Ciuppa Francesco, the Italian (and original) version of the personal name "Francis", is the most common given name among males in Italy. Notable persons with that name include: People with the given name Francesco * Francesco I (disambiguation), seve ...

won the

race. Completing a single lap of the 148km ''Grande Circuit'' in 2 hours 43 minutes 19 seconds at an average speed of 54.67 km/h.History of Targa Florio
/ref>History of Targa Florio - 1909
/ref>

Range

* 28/40 HP * 50 HP * 60/70 HP * 25/30 HP * 14/16 HP * Tipo 23 * Tipo 23 S * Tipo 24 * Tipo 25

Aero engines

During

the company also produced aero engines. The S.P.A. 6A was a water-cooled inline six-cylinder engine that produced 220 horsepower (164 kW). The SPA 6A was used to power: * Ansaldo A.1 Balilla - Italy's only domestically-produced fighter aircraft; * Ansaldo SVA -

reconnaissance In military operations, reconnaissance or scouting is the exploration of an area by military forces to obtain information about enemy forces, terrain, and other activities. Examples of reconnaissance include patrolling by troops ( skirmishe ...

biplane; * Breda A.2 - a 1921 Italian sport and touring aircraft ; * Breda A.3; * Breda A.9 and A.9bis - a 1928 Italian

biplane A biplane is a fixed-wing aircraft with two main wings stacked one above the other. The first powered, controlled aeroplane to fly, the Wright Flyer, used a biplane wing arrangement, as did many aircraft in the early years of aviation. While ...

trainer for the ''Regia Aeronautica''; * CANT 7 - a 1920 Italian Flying boat; * Marchetti MVT/ SIAI S.50 - a 1919-1920s Italian fighter aircraft.

Military vehicles

* SPA 9000 da 102/35 * Dovunque 35 * Dovunque 35 protetto * Dovunque 41 * 25C/10 (''see Ursus A'') * 36R * 38R * S37 * AS37 * AS42 * AS43 * CL39 * TL37 * TM40 * A-10000

References

External links

Società Piemontese Automobili unofficial site
* ttp://www.spa-militare.com/ SPA Militare {{Authority control Ceirano family Defunct motor vehicle manufacturers of Italy Defunct aircraft engine manufacturers of Italy Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1906 Italian companies established in 1906 Turin motor companies Fiat Brass Era vehicles 1900s cars