Baldi
GAMC
Head office:
Sanremo (IM)
(1971–1976)
Carrozzeria Baldi – in full Baldi Team G.A.M.C. – was a small coachbuilder in Sanremo on the Ligurian coast. It was founded in late 1971 by Nino Baldi, a former racer on two and four wheels. The workshop hand-built small series on Fiat underpinnings, mostly with plastic bodywork: beach cars such as El Sabry and Ricky on the Fiat 850, and the dune buggies Betty and Tilly on the Fiat 500 chassis. The company lasted only a few years – production ended in 1976.
The brochures give the address as: G. A. M. C. s.a.s. – Baldi, Via Galileo Galilei 313–315, 18038 Sanremo.
The BB5 «Frog»
The most-built model was the BB5 «Frog»: a two-seater on a shortened Nuova 500 floorpan, just 2.15 metres long, with a polyester body and rear engine. It was presented at the 1973 Paris Motor Show. It was offered with several engines, from the 125 cm³ Lambretta single to the 595 cm³ Fiat twin, and in three trim levels. About 300 were built up to 1975; in France the car was sold as the «Willam Frog».
The brochure presents the Frog as an answer to the lack of parking space and to city traffic: a real motor car, reduced to the smallest possible dimensions, with exceptional visibility and comfort.
Tilly and Betty – data according to the brochure
In the brochure the maker describes Tilly and Betty as «Dune Buggie su telaio Fiat 500», that is, expressly built on the Fiat 500 chassis. The brochure gives the same data for both:
| Construction | self-supporting body with reinforcing tubular frame |
|---|---|
| Body | convertible (trasformabile) |
| Seats | 2 front, 2 rear |
| Length | 3020 mm |
| Width | 1400 mm |
| Height | 1310 mm |
| Front suspension | independent, swinging arms, transverse leaf spring |
| Rear suspension | independent, trailing arms, coil springs |
| Drive | rear-wheel drive, rear engine |
| Rear tyres | 145 x 12 radial |
| Roll bar | steel tubing |
| Headlamps | iodine fog lamps |
| Hood | with roll-up side doors |
| Interior | anatomical front seats, rear bench; velour interior |
| Steering wheel | three-spoke, leather |
| Other | towing hitch |
