"mr_gofast" (jake_berenshteyn)
08/27/2014 at 10:16 • Filed to: DISCUSSION, FIAT
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"mr_gofast" (jake_berenshteyn)
08/27/2014 at 10:16 • Filed to: DISCUSSION, FIAT | 3
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Sounds absolutely glorious doesn't it? open air, beautiful sky, racing around a track in a metal chariot of your choosing - Pity it doesn't exist, or does it?.
Allow me to introduce you to Lingotto.
The Building
Built in Turin Italy in 1923 by Fiat it was built under the patronage of Benito Mussolini and designed by architectural demigod Giacomo Trucco. At the time it was the biggest factory in all of Europe(some say the world) dedicated exclusively to cars. Approximately half a kilometer long and 5 stories high (16 million sq feet) it was visible in all directions and quite possibly from space. It was modeled on Ford's Highlands Park factory in Detroit. The contemporary concept of a assembly line was started by Ford in the 1900's and involved a long line of workers each doing a job on multiple frames, Fiat elected to change this and since the factory was designed to go up and not across the assembly was based on floors. Raw material came in the ground floor and assembly proceeded upwards floor by floor whereon completed vehicles came out on top on the fifth floor where there also happened to be a complete racing oval.
According to a Ford historian Steve Musso;
" On the top floor were two assembly lines for engines (one for four-cylinder motors, one for six-cylinder motors), as well as two corresponding final assembly lines. The floors below were devoted to producing a wide variety of parts and components, such as axles and transmissions. The massive building consisted of two 1,800-foot-long sections that were connected by five crosspieces so that material could flow between both halves of the factory. At Lingotto, the layout of machinery was designed according to process in production flow (linear layout), The plant was subdivided into units corresponding to sub assemblies of component parts. Each department was equipped with the necessary machine tools, benches, assembly lines and testing rooms so that it could furnish its component of the car (diversified for the various models) ready for further assembly. The pace of work flow at Lingotto was quite slow in comparison to American standards, not only because of smaller production volumes and more frequent set-up of machines, but also because the subdivision of work tasks continued to be less, The shortest cycle time (for the smallest models) on the moving, mixed assembly line was 3.5 minutes."
The Oval
The rooftop oval was quite handy and tests and hi speed runs were completed on it as were complete shakedowns of cars before delivery. The track was 3000 feet long and banked like a NASCAR oval. It was comprised of two straight tracts of over four hundred metres in length, which were connected by two parabolic curves that could be travelled at 90 km/h.
Ultimately the factory was too big to survive as it was putting out about 200 cars per month while its western contemporary Ford was putting out thousands in the same time frame. In the early 80's the factory was finally closed and shuttered. Today the factory remains and is a restaurant/tourist attraction and also Fiat's temporary corporate HQ.
To my knowledge there isnt a complete list of cars produced at Lingotto, though if you have a Fiat from 1923-1980 chances are it was built there and had its first miles acquired on that track in the clouds
*photo credits include Google images, Jalopnik,*
http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20…
http://jalopnik.com/5745797/chrysl…
http://www.assemblymag.com/articles/90061…
http://www.fondazionerenzopiano.org/project/92/lin…
http://jalopnik.com/5714628/fiats-…
RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht
> mr_gofast
08/27/2014 at 10:19 |
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Notably featured in the original Italian Job.
Alfalfa
> mr_gofast
08/27/2014 at 10:23 |
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I would be a little too scared to legitimately race on an oval like this. The thought of going over the railing doesn't sound fun.
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mr_gofast
> Alfalfa
08/27/2014 at 10:25 |
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its only 5 stories :)
Camshaft Chris: Skyline/McLaren/Porsche Fanboy
> mr_gofast
08/27/2014 at 11:11 |
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It'd be awesome to see this track revived. Obviously it's too dangerous for normal car racing. But I think it'd be awesome for some karting stuff. Maybe make scaled down classic Fiat 500 shells to go on a kart chasis and race them around that way? Or hell, just raise the side walls of the track a little higher, maybe add a catch fence, cage up a classic 500, and race those, hahaha!