Chiribiri
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| Private | |
| Industry | AutomotiveAircraft |
| Fate | demised 1929 |
| Founded | 1910 |
| Headquarters | Turin, Italy |
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Key people
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Antonio Chiribiri |
Chiribiri was an aircraft and automobile manufacturer in Turin Italy from 1910-1929. Fabbrica Torinese Velivoli Chiribiri & C., (Chiribiri Aircraft of Turin), was founded by the Venetian Antonio 'Papa' Chiribiri, Maurizio Ramassotto and the engineer Gaudenzio Verga.
Antonio Chiribiri was born in Venice in 1865 but it was not a natural city for engineering so he moved to Florence to work in a small factory. He quickly moved on to Zust and then Isotta Fraschini as a technical specialist in automobiles. In 1909, he joined the aeronautical manufacturer Miller Aircraft in Turin and took charge of technical design.
In 1910, Antonio Chiribiri started his own company manufacturing spare parts and accessories for aeronautics, 'Fabrica Torinese Velivoli Chiribiri & C'. The company became known for the quality of its aircraft parts and grew to build at least one aircraft, the 'Chiribiri No. 5', 2 seater, tractor monoplane which flew in July 1912. It was 24 feet (7.3 m) long with a 31 foot (9.4 m)wingspan, weighed 770 lb (350 kg) and flew at 55 mph (90 km/h). But then Chiribiri was licensed to build 100 aeronautical motors for French engine manufacturer Gnome et Rhone, so aircraft production ceased. This success enabled Chiribiri to open a ‘flying school’ at the factory, training pilots who subsequently flew in World War I.
In 1912, a Fiat Chiribiri broke the world speed record for the timed kilometre from a flying start. This car, with a 7,000 cc engine producing 300 hp could reach 300 km/h (186 mph), is now displayed in the Mario Righini collection at the castle in Panzano, a frazione of Castelfranco Emilia, Italy.
Chiribiri started building production automobiles in 1914, when Gustavo Brunetta d'Usseaux, a rich land owner, commissioned the construction of 100 examples of the ‘Siva’, a 980 cc economy car, but the financial side failed so Chiribri carried on alone. In 1915 they started a second production series with a larger chassis and 1300 cc, 12 hp (9 kW) engine, and continued throughout the war.
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Wikipedia