Bianchi ?

[Greg Myers]

[my80malibu]

Appears to be a modern Rickshaw.

[Deano]

Designed by George Barris' grandfather?

[vairnut]

Some information in the Obscure kits thread. Picked up this kit Saturday at an IPMS show in Bay City, MI for $35

[Ace-Garageguy]

And then there's the baby Bianchina microcar, built on a Fiat 500 platform by a later iteration of the Bianchi company, Autobianchi...

Edited February 9, 2015 by Ace-Garageguy

[chunkypeanutbutter]

Or the Autobianchi A112 Abarth. I love those things.

[sjordan2]

The Bianchi kit shown at the top in 1/32 has also been offered in a motorized 1/16 version, which is quite rare and expensive. While you can find images of the built kit, I have never been able over the years to find a single picture of the real car. In one inquiry, I was told it might be in a museum in Milan, but that research was a dead end. There have been a number of opera-style cars like that, including Ford (probably with tall roofs for top hats).

I think this is the Ford...

Edited February 10, 2015 by sjordan2

[High octane]

That Bianchi looks like a rolling "death trap" to me.

[GeeBee]

That's the 1906 Bianchi coupè de ville 15/20, Bianchi became Auto Bianchi in 1955

[unclescott58]

That Bianchi looks like a rolling "death trap" to me.

Most cars of that era were as you say, "a rolling "death trap," if you get right down to it. Bodies were framed with wood. Then covered with wood, metal, or even fabric. An expensive car like the 1906 Bianchi above would have had a custom built body. Many of which were one offs. Back in those days, one would buy a chassis. Which in most cases would include the manufacturers radiator, hood, cowl, and running boards. And then you'd have a coach builder build you custom body from the cowl on back. This was very common with early luxury cars. In some cases you may have had both a winter and summer body built for the same chassis. Which you switched as the seasons changed. Several custom cars were also be built without the manufacturers body parts listed above. With no safety or crash testing as we know it, these cars are quite unsafe by today's standards. But then again, speeds and traffic wasn't quite the same as it Is today either.

Scott