Ford “T – Snow Machine”, 1923 The Model T the “World Car” that Henry Ford firmly wished, was introduced in the USA in October 1908. This model epitomized Ford’s philosophy: interchangeable body, pedal brake on the transmission and lever brake on the rear wheels, two-speed epicycle gearbox and pedal control reverse. There were three pedals...

S.G.V. “Model B Runabout“, 1911 The car in the Museo Nicolis is a 1911 S.G.V. Model B with Lancia mechanicals. The S.G.V. Company was an American company based in Reading, Pennsylvania (USA), founded as an evolution of the ACME Motor Car Company. The latter distinguished itself for the production of high-quality cars, recognized for their...

Mercedes-Benz “500 K”, 1934 In 1926 Daimler (which produced cars with the Mercedes brand) and Benz merged to establish Daimler-Benz. The adopted name and logo (the Mercedes-Benz writing on a round badge with the Mercedes three-pointed star framed by the Benz laurel crown) have always marked prestigious cars. The 500 K was first introduced in...

Mercedes Benz “450 SL”, 1976 The convertible from the Mercedes-Benz R107 series has a particular characteristic: it is, to date, the Mercedes that was produced for the longest time. The SL in the 107 series was, in fact, produced with a more or less unvaried aesthetic appearance from 1971 to 1989. Created to meet the...

Maserati “Quattroporte”, Italdesign, 1979 Designed by the Giorgetto Giugiaro’s Italdesign and known among the enthusiasts as Quattroporte 330 (the factory name for the project), the 1976 Quattroporte marked the coming back of Maserati on the luxury car market, which in the Sixties had already seen the Modenese firm as the almost exclusive protagonist. The front...

Maserati “Kyalami”, Frua, 1977 Introduced at the 1976 Geneva Motor Show after Italian-Argentinian Alejandro De Tomaso had taken over the company, the Kyalami, whose front was redesigned by Tom Tjaarda, derived its style from the Longchamp, the coupé designed by Pietro Frua and built by De Tomaso Automobili Company. Offered both with the 4.2-liter and...

Maserati “Ghibli 4700”, Ghia, 1972 Exploiting the success of the V8 engine, fitted both to the Quattroporte and Mexico, in 1966 Maserati presented at the Turin Motor Show the most sports version of their range, a sleek 2-seat coupè which in the name recalled its exciting performance: Ghibli, the desert wind. Designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro...

Rolls-Royce “20 hp”, Hooper & Co ltd, 1927 This splendid and rare 1927 Rolls-Royce 20HP was originally delivered as a bare chassis, purchased in January of that year by Captain Thorpe for £1,100 — a considerable sum at the time, especially considering it covered only the mechanical base. As per Rolls-Royce tradition, the car was...

The Peugeot Type 58, an upgrade of the Tipo 56 which, presented in 1903 is powered by a single cylinder square engine

OM “469 S”, Schieppati, 1929 The Società Anonima Officine Meccaniche (OM since 1928) company was founded in 1899 with the merger between two locomotive and railway carriage manufacturers. In 1917 the company took over a car factory in Brescia, Zust, and in 1918 they introduced the first OM car, the S 305 model. In the...

Volkswagen 1303 “Super Beetle” Cabrio, 1976, Germany The most famous car started its adventure in 1934 when Adolf Hitler asked Volkswagen to produce a car within everyone’s reach. Ferdinand Porsche was the first to propose a project to the “Fuhrer” who claimed to have found the “greatest designer of all times” to create the “Volkswagen”...

Fiat “501 Mail Truck”, 1926 The 501 chassis strength allowed its use with utility purposes thanks to the creation of a van version for several uses, from the mail delivery to the milk collection, both in the city and country. The car shown in the museum was probably built on one of the latest 501...

Lancia Flaminia “Super Sport Zagato”, 1965 The Lancia Flaminia Zagato Super Sport, the last of the models of the Flaminia lineage with bodywork by Zagato, unites two of the oldest and most esteemed names in the Italian motoring industry. The result is a fair tribute to both companies. On 4 November 1964, when the Turin Show had already begun,...

Lancia Astura “Berlina Gran Sport”, Farina,  1936 The Lancia Astura, a name inspired by a famous medieval castle in the Lazio region, was built at the same time as the Lancia Artena in 1931. These two models are the heirs of the Lambda and the Dilambda and were the production companies attempt at fitting out...

Fiat “2300 S Coupé”, Ghia, 1967 The Beatles, the economic boom and the protests. The 60s were also the years of the Fiat boom: the production increased from 425.000 to 1.751.400 cars. Moreover, from 1965 on the sports models of the Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino wore the round, red and laurels decorated badge of the Thirties. Introduced...

Zedel “C.I. 12 HP”, Moniardet, 1912 The Zedel (or ZL acronym from the initials of the partners Zurcher and Luthi) automobile industry was active in Switzerland from the late 1800s till the 1920s. Initially producing motorcycle engines, in the early 1900s they started with the production of luxury cars. The car shown in the museum is...

Zanussi “1100 Sport”, 1952, Italy Fioravante Zanussi (Pasiano di Pordenone 1894 – Treviso 1960) was an amateur racing driver, a tuner and a small manufacturer of racing cars. In his workshop in Treviso, active since 1919, he prepared hundreds of cars for local drivers but, to date, only seven cars are known to have been...

Velorex “16/250” In 1943 the Czechoslovak brothers Frantisek and Mojmir Stransky produced their first Velorex Oskar. The vehicle had a tubular chassis fitted with mechanical components of motorcycling origins and had a body built with a leatherette material. After the war, in Czechoslovakia there was a big demand of inexpensive means of transport, which would...

Rolls-Royce “Silver Spirit”, 1980 The legendary Spirit of Ecstasy, Rolls Royce’s little statue symbol, was designed by Charles Sykes, a good friend of Lord Montague of Beaulieu, who commissioned the statue to embellish his car. It is said that its creator was inspired by the shape of the Lord’s secretary, Mrs. Eleanor Velasco Thornton. The...

Rolls-Royce “Camargue”, Mulliner Park Ward, 1978 The Rolls-Royce Camargue is one of the British manufacturer’s most distinctive and controversial cars, launched in the 1970s. In the 1970s, Rolls-Royce sought to expand its range with an exclusive and innovative luxury model. It wanted to create a grand touring coupe that combined the brand’s traditional luxury with...

Rolls-Royce “Corniche”, Mulliner, Park Ward, 1971 The open version of the Silver Shadow, the first Rolls Royce body chassis with brake disks, was presented in September 1967, but it was only at the 1971 Geneva Motor Show that is was re-named Corniche, thus becoming a model in its own right. The Corniche, the name of...

Oldsmobile “Model R curved dash”, 1903 Founded by Ransom Eli Olds in 1897, the Oldsmobile is the oldest American automobile industry; in 1904 Olds left the company to found the REO, and in 1908 the Oldsmobile firm was purchased by William C. Durant and it became part of the newborn General Motors Company. The Model...

Mival “Mivalino 175”, 1956 In the early ‘50s the so-called micro cars had a large diffusion in Europe. These were curious little cars with three or four wheels and able to carry two people and their luggage. They usually were fitted with a motorcycle engine and therefore, to many people, they represented the first means...

MG “TD Midget”, 1951 Morris Garages Ltd was the Morris dealer in Oxford and, as well as the firm, was owned by William Morris. They were specialized in manufacturing special bodies for Morris cars, especially for Oxfords and Cowleys models. In 1922 Cecil Kimber became general manager of Morris Garages and greatly contributed to the...

Maserati  “Mexico 4700”, Vignale, 1971 Maserati introduced at the 1965 Turin Motor Show a new 2+2, named 5000 GT, whose elegant body had been designed and built by Carrozzeria Vignale in Turin. The new model offered four real seats to those who were looking for a sports car with comfort and habitability. In 1966 the...

Maserati  “Indy 4900”, Vignale, 1973 Driven by Wilbur Shaw, the Maserati 8 CTF won the 1939 Indianapolis 500 Miles race and Maserati was the first European (and Italian) car industry to win it after Peugeot in 1914. The little Bolognese firm succeeded in what Fiat, Mercedes, Alfa Romeo, and Bugatti failed. The same car, again...

Maserati “3500 GTi”, Touring, 1962 The first mass-produced Maserati Grand Touring car, the A6 1500, was introduced in 1947, after the firm had been moved to Modena following the acquisition by Cav. Adolfo Orsi in 1937. At the 1957 Geneva Motor Show, Maserati introduced the 3500 GT, an elegant and powerful coupé designed by Carrozzeria...