AutoCult FNM Alfa Romeo Furia GT (1971) (Brazil/Italy)

About the Original:

The Brazilian Italian

The type designation FNM Alfa Romeo Furia GT promised a mix of know-how in Brazilian high-volume production, an own design and Italian engineering. In 1968 Alfa Romeo bought the company Fábrica Nacional de Motores or short “FNM”, which was originally founded as a state-run truck manufacturer in 1942, for a price of 36 Million US-Dollar. The whole production took place at the plant based in Duque de Caxias near Rio de Janeiro. A few hundred kilometers away in the biggest city of Brazil, Sao Paulo, the Designer Ottorino Toni Biannco founded his company Comionauto in the early 1970s.

Designated with the name Fúria the race cars made by Comionauto competed in races. In 1970 and 1971 these race cars attracted a lot of attention in the Brazilian racing scene with respectable results at national competitions. These sport victories called attention of the FNM representative of Sao Paulo. He made an approach to Toni Bianca about creating an own passenger car for FNM. The sporting car body designed by Toni Bianca based on the modified chassis and the mechanics of the updated model FNM 2000. Designated as the FNM 2150 and fitted with a modified engine the car was offered to the South American market. But no more than a handful prototypes of the vehicle with the mechanics of an Alfa Romeo were set on its wheels before Toni Bianca lost interest in the project. The public got to see the 130-hp-strong car at the Brazilian Motor Show in 1972.

In the end it disappeared in the gloominess of history why the 2+2-seater sportscar fitted with the Alfa-Romeo badge on its radiator grill never went into series production.