Intermeccanica (formally Construzione Automobili Intermeccanica) is an automobile manufacturer, founded in Torino, Italy, in 1959 by Frank and Paula Reisner. It subsequently moved first to the United States, then to Canada, and is currently headed by Frank's son, Henry Reisner.
Frank, a Hungarian-born Canadian, and Paula Reisner, a Czech-born Canadian started out in 1959 building performance parts for European cars, By 1960 they had stepped up to creating Formula Junior cars – one of which had a win at the Nurburgring.
1966 saw the beginning of the project that Intermeccanica would become most famous for – the Griffith, a car that would later be known as the, Omega, then the Torino and then the Italia. Despite the name changes, all the cars were close to identical, with the major difference being the drivetrains used.
Built from 1967, the Italia mainly used Ford mechanicals. Base for the Italia was the Mustang. Its body was designed by Franco Staglione. The first years Intermeccanica built a convertible, later a few coupes were built. In North America the Italia was sold under the name Torino. The name was changed because Ford had the name 'Torino' registered. All in, Intermeccanica produced approximately 411 Italias (354 convertibles, 57 coupes) by the time production finished in 1974. Today collectors recognize the Intermeccanica Italia and its siblings as some of the finest examples of the Italian-American hybrid formula.
The Italia was powered by a 5.7-liter Ford Cleveland 351 cubic inch V8 that produced 231.2 kw / 310 bhp @ 4800 rpm. Acted to a 4-speed manual transmission, it was good for a 0-62 mph time of 6.2 seconds and a top speed of 155+ mph. Its styling is influenced by the large Italian marques of the era, with clear references to Ferrari and Maserati. (wikipedia, supercars.net & ultimatecarpage.com)
Built from 1967, the Italia mainly used Ford mechanicals. Base for the Italia was the Mustang. Its body was designed by Franco Staglione. The first years Intermeccanica built a convertible, later a few coupes were built. In North America the Italia was sold under the name Torino. The name was changed because Ford had the name 'Torino' registered. All in, Intermeccanica produced approximately 411 Italias (354 convertibles, 57 coupes) by the time production finished in 1974. Today collectors recognize the Intermeccanica Italia and its siblings as some of the finest examples of the Italian-American hybrid formula.
The Italia was powered by a 5.7-liter Ford Cleveland 351 cubic inch V8 that produced 231.2 kw / 310 bhp @ 4800 rpm. Acted to a 4-speed manual transmission, it was good for a 0-62 mph time of 6.2 seconds and a top speed of 155+ mph. Its styling is influenced by the large Italian marques of the era, with clear references to Ferrari and Maserati. (wikipedia, supercars.net & ultimatecarpage.com)
Intermeccanica Italia Convertible
354 made.
Intermeccanica Italia Coupe
57 made.
(Photos from silodrome.com, conceptcarz.com, commons.wikimedia.org.
hiveminer.com & ultimatecarpage.com)