Today we look at a short-lived and largely forgotten automotive artefact.
The Autobianchi A111 was produced for only three years and is notable for being the largest, most prestigious model the carmaker produced – in fact, the A111 was never directly replaced. From 1972, Fiat-owned Autobianchi’s sole offering would be the mini-sized A112.
The genesis of the A111 lay in the 1964 Autobianchi Primula, front-wheel-drive pathfinder to Dante Giacosa’s 1969 masterpiece – the Fiat 128. The A111 also debuted in 1969, and a feeler gauge was required to tell them apart. The 128 measured 385 cm in length with a wheelbase of 244.5 cm, while the A111 was longer overall at 402 cm, but shorter between the wheels at 236 cm.
Yet it appears neither car shared much engineering commonality; the Autobianchi retained the Primula’s lower wishbones with a transverse leaf as the upper link. Leaf springs also formed the A111’s rear suspension, whereas the more progressive Fiat employed MacPherson struts, with a transverse leaf at the rear. The Fiat also featured Aurelio Lampredi’s advanced belt-driven OHC 1100 engine while the A111 was powered by the larger-capacity 1438cc engine also fitted to the Fiat 124 Special.
The similarities continued outside. Appearance-wise, the A111 was a curious amalgam of 128, 124 and to some extent, 130 Berlina styling cues. While the A111 straddled both 128 and 124 dimensionally, real-world differences between all three were marginal. The 124 was a mere 22mm longer, 63mm longer in wheelbase, making the logic behind the model even more baffling. That the A111 sold a mere 57,000 units suggests a car conceived primarily to give Autobianchi dealers something to sell.
Yet the A111 was not a cynical design. It was plainly intended to be a more upmarket car than a 128, but maybe less so than a 124 Special. Was there a market for such a car? It appears not. Perhaps Fiat had other motives behind its development and ridiculously short lifespan. It’s not a terrifically interesting car, the A111, but its curiously short career, attractive styling and eccentric positioning elevate it to a level slightly above pointless, despite falling some way short of fascination.
Autobianchi eventually ended up being merged into Lancia and we all know what happened to them.
Driven To Write 
It wasn’t a cynical car at all. Autobianchi seem to have been used as a way of Fiat introducing front wheel drive cars without having to commit their own badge. In a way the A111 had a successor – the FWD Lancia Beta that appeared the year it ceased.
While the Autobianchi Primula was a FWD forerunner to the Fiat 128, did Fiat or specifically Dante Giacosa ever look at earlier 1000-1200cc replacements for the 1953-1969 Fiat 1100?
Know that Fiat worked on a similar-sized rear-engined RWD project that later became the Simca 1000, though was wondering whether Fiat considered a front-engined RWD model along the lines of a downsized Fiat 124 to directly replace the Fiat 1100?