In the days when the Italian automotive industry was still populated by a multitude of competing manufacturers, Fiat was considered the biggest, and the producer of more affordable cars, Alfa Romeo was known for its fast sports cars, Lancia was associated with elegant, well-crafted cars, while Isotta Fraschini was the nation’s equivalent of Rolls-Royce. In this scenario, the Milanese Bianchi brand soon established a clearly defined image for itself as a manufacturer of cars of substance that offered elegance without ostentation, dependable, intelligently designed mechanicals, and robust, well-built bodywork.
The history of Bianchi as an automotive constructor can be split into four distinct eras. During the first era, the company evolved from quadricycles to its first real motor cars towards 1908.
The second era, up until the end of the First World War, was a period of consolidation, with Bianchi introducing new bigger engined models and industrial vehicles. The third era, covering the 1920s, saw the adoption of overhead valves engines in all Bianchi models, starting with the Type 18 and 20, which were followed by the S4 and S5, while in 1928, the first large luxury Bianchi with a straight 8 engine was introduced, the V3-S7, which remained in production until 1937.
The fourth era, covering the entire 1930s, was the period of greatest success for Bianchi automobiles, with the introduction of the popular S9 with a 1452 cc 4 cylinder engine, which was offered in a wide choice of body styles up until 1939, when Bianchi stopped producing cars.
There were also numerous cars prepared especially for racing, such as the 120 HP built in 1907 by Giuseppe Merosi, and the single seat racer with a 2 litre double overhead camshaft engine with four valves per cylinder used in motor sports from 1922 to 1924.
Bianchi is also remembered as an important constructor of industrial vehicles, with the company developing its foothold in this sector in the 1930s in particular, with the Mediolanum and Miles models, and continuing production after the second world war at the Desio factory.
During this period, Bianchi’s engineering department readied a prototype for a new mid-sized model to spearhead its return to passenger car production. But this model never went into production, and in 1955 an accord was struck between Bianchi, Fiat and Pirelli to establish the Autobianchi brand, which was destined to produce Fiat engined cars and continue to build industrial vehicles.
