Solana is a cottage manufacturer of

sports Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...

racing In sport, racing is a competition of speed, in which competitors try to complete a given task in the shortest amount of time. Typically this involves traversing some distance, but it can be any other task involving speed to reach a specific go ...

, and kids' automobiles. The family run company has operated since 1936, with a total production of fewer than fifty cars; the majority of them one-offs. The family is heavily involved in

motor sports Motorsport, motorsports or motor sport is a global term used to encompass the group of competitive sporting events which primarily involve the use of motorized vehicles. The terminology can also be used to describe forms of competition of two ...

; the most prominent member was

Moisés Solana Moisés Solana Arciniega (December 26, 1935 – July 27, 1969) was a Mexican racing driver. He participated in eight Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on October 27, 1963, and scoring no championship points. He also participat ...

, who raced family-built cars and later in

Formula One Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship ...

History

Operating since 1936, the company had built a total of forty-two cars until 2003. Many of the early cars were actually meant for children, using small

single-cylinder engine A single-cylinder engine, sometimes called a thumper, is a piston engine with one cylinder. This engine is often used for motorcycles, motor scooters, go-karts, all-terrain vehicles, radio-controlled vehicles, portable tools and garden machinery ...

s. Others were single-seater racing specials. The Deportivo Series II has been available since 1998, after having first been shown at a concours in

Huixquilucan Huixquilucan Municipality is one of the municipalities in State of Mexico, Mexico. It lies adjacent to the west side of the Federal District (Distrito Federal) and is part of Greater Mexico City but independent of Mexico City itself. The nam ...

(Dos Ríos), in May 1996. This car, built on a tubular space frame, utilizes a 1.8 litre

Datsun Datsun (, ) was an automobile brand owned by Nissan. Datsun's original production run began in 1931. From 1958 to 1986, only vehicles exported by Nissan were identified as Datsun. Nissan phased out the Datsun brand in March 1986, but relaunch ...

engine. It was built by Joaquín and Javier Solana and inspired by a 1954 special built by Javier for the

Carrera Panamericana The Carrera Panamericana was a border-to-border sedan (stock and touring and sports car) rally racing event on open roads in Mexico similar to the Mille Miglia and Targa Florio in Italy. Running for five consecutive years from 1950 to 1954, it ...

. The carburetted engine only has , which is supposedly enough for a top speed.

Logo

Solana's logo is a circled "S" with a squared segment on top, containing the "Solana" name. It is colored black and gold. Some cars have a round logo with an "S" in it instead.

References

External links

Solana Sports Cars
manufacturer website {{Authority control Car manufacturers of Mexico Manufacturing companies based in Mexico City Sports car manufacturers Mexican brands Vehicle manufacturing companies established in 1936

History

Logo

See also

References

External links