Torino

Torino Automobili is an Italian automaker, known for their collaborations, and their ambitious acquisitions. Since 2019, it is part of the EuroNext Initiative.

History

Founded in 1899, Torino S.p.A started its life in the city of Turin, taking its name for the company. In 1900, the company made its first vehicle and by 1910, Torino had exported taxis all over Europe and had cars exported to the USA, as well as being the biggest automotive company in Italy.

The World Wars and its intermission period were turbulent to Torino, where they were forced to produce engines and planes for the war effort. The end of the Second World War was fairly good for Torino, as they would return to producing vehicles. In the 1950s the company went into a complete reorganization, to make decision-making easier. This had a well desired effect, as the company went on acquisitions such as Tipo, becoming for a while the biggest automaker in Europe, with sales topping over two million in 1968. The expansion continued with new factories in several places, like Soviet Russia and Yugoslavia, now Russia and Croatia.

Despite the oil crisis in 1973, Torino remained focused on expansion, and by 1979, the company was a large holding company. The market in America proved to be unprofitable as their vehicles were no longer being considered by buyers and the company left the country in 1984. In 1986, the company acquired Julietta, in 1988, they acquired 85% of Marcolini. The company proved to be very competitive in emerging countries, like Latin America and Africa, remaining there to this day.

In 2004, a new CEO took over and took it to be profitable again, and returned to multiple markets after several joint ventures. By 2007, Grupo Torino Automobili S.p.A was established, and an attempt to acquire Mahogany was done but eventually the American company resisted. Torino did, however, acquire a 30% stake in the company. In 2020, now as the EuroNext Initiative, tried once again and were eventually denied in the same year, although both renewed their partnership.

In 2015, the company decided to spin-off Marcolini, with the process creating a new holding company called Marcolini N.V. and the process was finished in 2016, with Torino keeping 90% of its ownership.

In 2019, Torino announced the purchase of all the shares from the group and the ones owned by a Chinese manufacturer to integrate Armand-Croisière Groupe into Grupo Torino Automobili, creating the EuroNext Initiative, becoming the world's fifth largest automaker.

Torino Performante

Torino Performante started its life as Scorpio Motores, building custom vehicles based on Torino vehicles. Torino acquired the company in 1971, and turned into a sub-brand specialized for Torino vehicles, offering higher trims of their common vehicles.

Featured Vehicles

Regular

Fiata Sport (2020)

The Fiata is perhaps the proof of one of the biggest strengths: classy rebadging. The car is essentially a rebadged Fuchu Himiko, sharing a lot of components minus the engine. It could be seen as a competitor to the Himiko as well but because the Himiko is sold in other regions outside of Japan, the effort was rather complex to explain. Torino eventually ended production of the Fiata but not before launching a final edition called Sport, with only 125 vehicles being made.

The Fiata Sport comes with a 1.4L turbocharged inline-4 engine in a FR configuration and a 6-speed manual transmission.

Centro Stile (1999)

Centro Stile was one of the biggest efforts from Torino Automobili to enter the sports car market. While it did make a splash with its design and sales, Torino found the car to be underperforming and eventually put a stop to a new generation. The final version of the car would come in 1999, with a new interior and turbocharged engine.

The Centro Stile comes with a 2.0L turbocharged inline-5 engine with a FF layout, and a 6-speed manual transmission.

Único 1.5R (1989)

The Único 1.5R is a more powerful variant of the original Único hatchback sold internationally. While it did sell well in many regions, it was sold particularly well in Brazil, being called the fastest hot hatch at the time. It came with a much more powerful engine and more aggressive profile to match.

The Único 1.5R came with a 1.5L inline-4 engine in a FF configuration and a 5-speed manual transmission.