Prinoth
Snow vehicle construction, Ortisei (Val Gardena)
Ernst Prinoth (1923–1981) from Ortisei (St. Ulrich) in Val Gardena was a mechanic and racing driver. In 1951 he opened a garage in his home village, and from 1960 he developed snow vehicles there. After the P60 prototype of 1962, the P15 became the first series-built snow groomer in 1964. Since 2000 Prinoth has formed a group with Leitner; today the company is based in Vipiteno (Sterzing) and builds snow groomers, tracked vehicles and vegetation management machines.
The P15 with Fiat 500 engines
The P15 consists of two almost identical halves, each with its own track and its own engine: an air-cooled two-cylinder from the Fiat 500 Giardiniera estate. The halves run coupled – side by side or one behind the other – or separately. According to the 1970 brochure, the engines, enlarged to 650 cc, produce about 30 hp each; power reaches the tracks through a DAF Variomatic transmission and chains. The twin vehicle is 3.54 metres wide, weighs about 1050 kilograms and reaches 27 km/h, forwards and in reverse.
The Baby single-seater
Besides the snow vehicles, in 1963 Ernesto Prinoth built a single-seater racing car in Ortisei for the new Formula Baby. He started with the air-cooled flat-twin of the Steyr-Puch 500; the more powerful 650 came only later. For this first version a report from the 1963 Vienna Grand Prix gives 35 hp, 280 kilograms dry and 175 km/h. The two boxed light-alloy side members double as the fuel tank, and the bodywork is hand-made from aluminium sheet.
On the single-seater: Prinoth in Formula 875