Autobianchi Bianchina Quattroposti Berlina

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Eduardo Bianchi founded his company in 1855 to manufacture bicycles. As was so often the case, the lure of the motorcar was too great to resist, the company’s first four-wheeled product, the Bianchina, rolling along the streets of Abruzzi in central Italy in 1899.

Manufacturing high-quality slightly sporting cars in relatively low volumes, they survived through to World-War II when their factory was destroyed in a bombing raid. Eduardo was subsequently killed in a car crash in 1946, the business, such as it was, passing to his son Giuseppe. He instigated a move to Desio, a town located in the north of the country, building a new factory which concentrated on motorcycles, commercial vehicles and bicycles.

Giuseppe had always wanted to resume car manufacture, but realised that he couldn’t do it on his own. In 1955, a three-way deal between Bianchi, Pirelli and Fiat was signed to produce an up-market Fiat 500-based luxury mini-car, the first car rolling off the lines in 1957.

Called the Bianchina after the firm’s first car, it was aimed at the increasingly affluent middle classes, who craved something a bit more up-market than a standard Fiat 500. Beautifully styled by Luigi Rapi, the new car was the prettiest thing on four wheels and soon put severe pressure on the competition from Vignale and Moretti who also used Fiat underpinnings in their distinctive coachbuilt models.

Available in a number of configurations, the Quattroposti Berlina (four-seat saloon) was the most popular, the company continuing to supply up-market small cars until it was eventually bought out by Lancia.

This gorgeous 1962 Bianchina was imported from Naples and UK registered in October of last year. Its blue over cream paintwork looks most elegant, the deep blue interior remaining in excellent condition. It was displayed at the Bristol Italian Auto Moto Festival earlier in the year, winning a trophy for being one of the top four cars on display, confirming all there is to know about its condition.

Supplied with an MOT until September 2015, the file includes its original Italian registration documents, some recent invoices and a rare brochure. There is also a small box of useful spares.

Sharing the vast majority of its mechanical components with the 499cc twin-cylinder Fiat 500, these rare Autobianchi models benefit from the huge supply of spares readily available for its close cousin, making them extremely easy to own and cheap to keep on the road.

Taking up very little garage space and delightful to drive too, this unusual Autobianchi adds a touch of luxury and '50s Italian flair to the already iconic Fiat 500 on which it is based.