Click the image above to view the Image Gallery.
The Itala
The Itala company was formed in 1904 in Turin, Italy by Matteo Ceirano, formerly a car importer, and Guido Bigio, a talented engineer. They followed the advanced technical trends set by the contemporary Mercedes car, and produced the first Itala car with a 4 cylinder, 4.5 litre engine, 4 speed gearbox, shaft drive to the rear wheels and a water pump and fan to assist cooling.
In 1905 Alberto Balloco was hired as technical director, and Itala set about producing a range of extremely large and powerful racing cars. The first had a huge 4 cylinder, 100 horsepower engine of 14.7 litres - larger than many modern heavy truck engines. Racing success with this model led to the 35/45 racer in 1906 with a 7.4 litre, 4 cylinder engine.
In 1906 the Itala 35/45 won the first Targa Florio race in Sicily, and Italas also came in second, fourth and fifth. Once this model became available for general sale, it came to the attention of Count Scipione Borghese, an Italian aristocrat, military officer and adventurer. He selected the 7.4 litre Itala to compete in the most difficult long-distance automobile race so far devised, the Peking–Paris Raid.
The challenge, issued by Parisian newspaper Le Matin, was to drive the 14,000km from Peking (Beijing) to Paris in the summer of 1907, crossing the Gobi desert and Siberia, despite the lack of roads for a significant proportion of the distance. Count Borghese completed the drive in 60 days in his specially prepared 35/45 Itala, arriving 21 days ahead of the other competitors, two De Dion-Boutons and a Contal cyclecar from France, and a Spyker from Holland.
On May 15th 2005, Queenslanders Lang Kidby OAM and his wife Bev fulfilled an extraordinary dream to recreate the Peking-Paris Raid, setting off in their restored 35/45 Itala very similar to the one used by Count Borghese. Two De Dion-Boutons, an extremely rare Spyker and a reconstruction of a Contal accompanied them, arriving in Paris on July 12th 2005. Their journey has become the subject of a book and an ABC television series.
Success in the Peking-Paris Raid was excellent publicity and Itala was then in demand not only from European aristocrats, but also in countries where long distance travel over poor roads was an everyday problem – Australia being a prime example. Brisbane company McGhie Motor Co. became the Queensland agent for Itala and their publicity photographs for the magnificent 1912 roadsters are reproduced here in The Garage.
After 1912 Itala continued its technical development in different directions, becoming one of the few companies producing cars fitted with rotary valves, and building a tiny, supercharged 1,100cc V-12 racing car in 1926 – a dramatic contrast to the monster racing cars which had established Itala's reputation.
Financial problems brought on by the depression and losses from contracts during World War I brought the Itala company to a close in 1934.
Link to the ABC website for information about the Great Peking to Paris 2005 Expedition, [new window http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pekingtoparis/default.htm] including a biography of Lang Kidby OAM, a diary of the 2005 Expedition and images of the restored vehicles which made the journey.
Count Borghese's 35/45 Itala from the original Peking to Paris race in 1907 is preserved at the Museum of the Automobile "Carlo Biscaretti di Ruffia", [new window http://www.museoauto.it/]in Turin, Italy. You can find a picture of this car [new window http://www.museoauto.it/mambo/collezione/Itala_35_45_HP.htm] on the Museum website.
Last updated: 29th May 2008
Creatively linking Queenslanders to information, knowledge and each other
