Nardi
Italian
Enrico Nardi
ENRICO NARDI passed away in Turin, Italy on Aug. 23, 1966. He was 60 years old, and one of the best loved figures in the. long history of Italian automotive sport.
Nardi's fame in recent years derives from his line of fine Iight-aIloy-and-wood steering wheels and other weIl-designed and weIl-made custom equipment for cars. What is not generaIly known is that, almost to the last, Nardi remained active as one of the most gifted preparers of engines for racing that Italy has ever produced.
He was born with benzina nella sangue-gasoline in his blood and cars and racing were his very life. In 1930 his~taIents as an engine tuner were recognized by Vincenzo Lancia, who became his personal patron. In 1937 Nardi left Lancia to become one of the top engine specialists in Alfa Romeo's racing department, working directly under Enzo Ferrari. When war came, it Was Nardi who was directly responsible for putting Ferrari in the machine-tool manufacturing business.
Nardi remained with Ferrari for the duration and then, in 1945, returned to Turin, where he set up his own shop close to the Lancia factory. Here he began building ultra-light monoposto and sports cars, first around the BMW opposed-twin engine and then around the American Crosley, modifying the engines extensively. What was most remarkable about these prophetic machines was Nardi's pioneering use of tubular frame construction, which had a tremendous impact on race car design. In 1949 he created the extremely advanced Nardi Danese . In 1952 he built a Lancia-engined Formula 2 machine. These machines brought him international fame - but in Italy he remained most noted as a great racing-engine talent. He specialized in Lancias, from the Aurelia GT epoch up to the recent Fulvia and Flavia. He was a friend and profound admirer of Vittorio Jano.
Enrico Nardi was as generous as he was kind and friendly to all. The competition section of the Museo. dell'Automobile in Turin is indebted to him for the donation of a Type 35 Bugatti and the Nardi-Monaco race car which he built in 1932. He was a little man, physicaIly speaking, but in every positive sense he was a big broad person who enriched the world with his life.
Author: ArchitectPage
