Let me introduce SuperTurismo A.S.A.

[07CobaltGirl]

Still a great story, and another great design! I agree, definitely a nice Italian 1950's feel, and it's nice to see someone using what would be considered "normal tech" for the era. 3-speeds were ever common in the 50's and 4-speeds didn't really make a mark until the mid-late 60's! Great job again!

[FrBosquet]

Im like superbusy right now but i will try to bring some more soperturismo next weekend with the 262

[Pleb]

Seriously, we could start a team of authors with the kind of writing skill showcased on the forums.

I agree with TheTom, I love the back of the 158. Keep it up!

[FrBosquet]

THIRD CHAPTER: FROM 1961 to 1963

The 158 worked well during its firsts year in the market, but Miguel didn’t wanted a car Company to make money but to build special cars. 158 was one of those but just one more between the luxury coupes of its era. To put that spine away (and to reinforce to rising Brand image of SuperTurismo), Miguel put its engineers to work in a “new” car to be over the 158 and make the Brand fly. The aim was to have not just pretty fancy coupe, but to have one aggressive sports car to put in trouble cars like the corvette or the 250 GTO. Four years after the launch of the 158, the 262 appeared. The 2 stands for being the second car and the 62 for the year.
Basically, it was the same car as the 158 with a new engine, revised chassis, aesthetic… everything. They tried to make a super car without losing all the work made in the 158.

The front face kept the look of the 158 but refines it with new double optics and chromed details. The Bonnet was bumped to make room for the new and bigger engine.
They choose and inverted triangle shaped which became another classic feature of the SuperTurismos.

The side view was improved with two chromed stripes over the wheel arches

The backside features new vertical backlights.

But SuperTurismo cheated… a lot! The new car needed a new engine with enough power to impress but the knowledge about engine design was a still a bit short in SuperTurismo. So Miguel asked Jean Daninos for help and with the aid of its Company (Facel Vega) they made some kind of reverse engineering on the 4.5 Chrysler V8 (180hp, which was mounted on the Facel II), designed a prototype V8 based on that and then touched here and there to hit the mark of 250hp, which where insane for 1962. The final design ended in a 4.2 V8 wich used a 2 barrel triple carburettor and a very aggressive cam profile to achieve massive 260hp@5500rpm, almost as powerful as the supercar of that era, the 265hp Jaguar E-Type. The name was ST4216N62. The three speed gearbox wasn’t enough anymore, so a new gearbox was develop with four gears. The chassis was modified to, changing the old Solid Axle Coil with a new modern Semi Trailing arm, and mounted new 185/195 tyres with 16 inch rims. With all these changes, the 300kg heavier 262 beat the old 158 in every aspect: It accelerates way much faster (7.50s for 14,7 in the 0-100), it was faster (223km/h for 170km/h), it was as luxurious and comfortable as the 158 and makes a turn in the Automation test track in just 2:46.61 (30 seconds faster than the 158).

But the car was like three times much expense tan its old brother, almost hitting the line of the E-Type, so the 262 needed to hit really hard to survive. Did it do it? We´ll see in the next chapter.

[FrBosquet]

FOURTH CHAPTER: FROM 1963 to 1972

Sadly, the 262 didnt achieved it. In 1963 the founder of the company Miguel Campo Viejo died leaving the company in hands of the young and unexperienced Jean Michelle. The lack of course in the direction of the company results in no new developments appearing during the decade. Finally in 1968 the sales of the expensive 262 and of the veteran 158 did not manage to compensate the high costs derived from the manufacture of the two coupes and in 1968 the company decides to stop the production immediately. With Miguel´s death six years before, the rest of the family enterprises could not support Superturismo anymore. So JM had to think about a solution to give continuity to the company.

Once again, a risky bet is done. Instead of proposing an economic car that supports the costs by means of volume, a luxury saloon appears with the eyes put in cars like the Iso Fidia S4 or the Jaguar XJ. The V8, in spite of having suffered certain problems of reliability in his beginnings, was the sufficiently refined to be a guarantee in the following ST and the plant of production was ready to make a chassis and an interior to be at the height.

In 1969 the new Supertourism 969 was presented in the Paris Auto Show, one giant saloon of 4,8 meters of length with an elegant line. This vehicle came to claim the values of the brand in a much more versatile format, offering exclusivity, luxury and power. According to Jean Michelle, the 9 of 969 was mean to indicate that it was a car 9 times better that the 1 • 78, nevertheless the rumors speak that adopted because of the aesthetic power of a palindrome and with the intention of expressing that it was not one more car in the series, since the following car must have begun with 3.



In the front, the 969 appears with a very subtle offer. Round lights embedded in rectangular optics with the touch of the integrated indicators gives a very modern look. In the skirt only the four teeth, in an exercise of conceptual purity. The bonnet featured the inverted triangle already dress in the 262.



The side view shows a saloon with a great fall in C-pillar to preserve the sporty character of the previous cars. The elongated image translated in a great interior space that was one of the commercial claims of the vehicle. Wheelarches where solved with prominent forms and a round indicator appears in the side.



The back view was solved in an even more subtlely and elegant form, with a grid that hides the indicators. The rest turns out to be clean.

Mechanically, the ST4216N62 was recovers without changes, to take maximun advantage of the resources of the company and to keep costs as low as possible. Nevertheless, the former steel chassis was relected for a new monocoque of corrossion ressistant Steel and dressed in panels of aluminium. The suspension changes for one of double wishbone to keep the 1480kg cars agile. These two changes increased significantly the price of production. The 4-speed gearbox of the 262 was revisited to adapt it to the new type of car and an acceleration of 8,9s to 100 was achieved with it. The car got a time in the circuit of 2:55.13. The handcrafted interior changed for a more reasonable luxury one, facilitating the mechanization of the car. In addition, the entertainmente and safety equipment was added for the first time.



969 turns into the second life or death bet of Supertourism, a supersaloon that was coming to beat the best ones and to demonstrate the capacity of the company.

[TheTom]

Nice cars! I especially like the SuperTurismo 262, but the 969 looks very good as well!

[RoReAn]

The car looks AMAZING, and the story is cool too. Nice job!

[FrBosquet]

FIFHT CHAPTER: From 1973 to 1977, Stability and the first concept

969 turns out to be a success for the brand: It manages to sell in good pace with relatively moderate costs for a high market price. The brand suffers a new push, promoting the sales of the last units on 262, which turns into a worship vehicle, even staying some orders unsatisfied doe to a high demand. With the numbers in green again, in 1971 ST decided to guarantee the position of the brand by building new models with greater market volume. They present several projects to some Campoviejo´s family former industrial partner, who decide to finance the factory extension to make a new sedan, while other Project being rejected.

In 1973 the 373 is presented, with the classic numeration recovered and establishing 3 as number of the sedans with inline-6. 373 it is an every-day sedan with a sporty silhouette (969 inspired) and contained size which wanted to be the luxury alternative to the daily-use vehicles of its era. A new more rational than the old ST4216 engine was develop, returning to six cylinders config. The car turns out to be a success in his presentation in the Paris auto show thanks to his modern aesthetics and begins to be sold by the end of 1973.

373 present’s cleaner lines than 969, with a very clean front which contains a grid with four teeth and a double headlamp. In the skirt a lip is included to give the sporty touch.

The side view is characterized by the muscled wheel arches and window line similar to the 969 one.

The back side of the car takes a minimalistic yet innovative configuration, based on a futuristic interpretation of the 158 back end.

Mechanically, a new and modern 2.4 litter, 24 valve inline-six offers 156 hp at 5700rpm. This engine was develop to run on 98 RON fuel, so it become a problem in some markets, where ST recurred to a rectified version of the engine with less power. None of those units where available today to test. A four speeds gearbox , based on the one mounted in the 969, takes the power from the engine to the rear wheels. 185/45R15 where mounted in both axis. 373 reach the 100km/h mark in just 7,6s, as fast as the old 262 with 100 hp less. The top speed reached 190km/h and it makes a turn in the test track in just 2:46.58 thanks to a new cheaper steel monocoque with rear semitrailing and front mcpherson.

The premium inside of the car has no entertainment to keep low production cost but high feeling to the car.

The 373 turns to be the success ST needed to take off, steeling sells to Alfetta, Citroen DS or BMW 5 and putting ST in a comfortable situation during the seventies. By the same time, a research department was created inside ST to develop new models and experimental variations of the production ones, rarely involving market release of the models. This department was named after STX (Superturismo experimental) and was mean to be an internal dep, without publity of its work, but someone leaked some info and the press noticed the develop of a prototype for a new kind of car for ST which was mean to evolve into a production car to be presented in 1974, the 474, but that thing never happened and this ST X474 remained as just a rumour. Years later some photos of the car appeared, revealing a Porsche rear-engined cars rival in a ST formfactor.

[Pleb]

Loving the 2 different types of door handles .

[FrBosquet]

Haha! Yeah!

I like to try to include original things in my cars, althoug thats not an easy task in Automation. Nowadays a lot brands try to hide the back handle to make their sedans looks like coupes, so here i tried to make just the opposite. Its not lovely but i think its an original touch.