Francis Lombardi

Francis Lombardi Corso Casale 34, Vercelli Italia

Head office:
Via Trino
Vercelli
(1971–1976)

Plant:
Corso Casale 34
Vercelli
(until 1971, earlier address)

Francis Lombardi rebodied various cars, among them several on the Fiat 500 base.

History

Carrozzeria Francis Lombardi was an Italian coachbuilder and small-series manufacturer based in Vercelli, Piedmont.

It was founded in 1947 by Carlo Francesco Lombardi (1897–1983), known as Francis. A fighter pilot in the First World War, he flew 295 sorties, achieved eight aerial victories and was three times awarded the Silver Medal of Military Valour. In 1938 he founded the aircraft factory AVIA (Azionaria Vercellese Industrie Aeronautiche) in Vercelli, from which the AVIA FL.3 sports aeroplane came. After the Second World War he turned the business over to coachbuilding.

The company became known for special bodies on Fiat bases:

Fiat 500 “My Car” – the upmarket version of the 500 with a fixed or folding roof. The company’s most successful model: in the 1960s it reached an annual output of around 6,000 cars.
“Lucciola” – four-door conversions, from 1957 on the Fiat 600, later also on the Fiat 850 and Fiat 127.
Lombardi Grand Prix – a distinct rear-engined coupé on the Fiat 850 base, built in small numbers until 1972 and also sold under other names, among them OTAS and Abarth.

In 1963 Lombardi built a stretched Fiat 2300 with a glass roof for Pope Paul VI on behalf of the Vatican. It is regarded as the first true popemobile.

The business closed in 1973.

My Car

Lombardi’s My Car had, among other things, a restyled front, a fixed steel roof, its own dashboard and opening rear quarter windows. Later types were again fitted with a folding roof.