Autodromo

Carrozzeria Autodromo Modena—CAM or simply Autodromo—was founded as a cooperative in Modena's Crocetta district in 1949, taking its name from its proximity to the city racetrack. Postwar demand initially kept it repairing automobiles, agricultural machinery and industrial vehicles; it also created a very small number of competition-car bodies, including early-1950s Ferrari sports-racing work, but those cars retained Ferrari or their original chassis identities. CAM gradually abandoned general repairs for commercial bodies and bus assembly. By the 1960s buses dominated, and in the 1970s it specialized in urban and suburban line bodies on Fiat 418 and Siccar 176/177 chassis. Those are Fiat and Siccar models with Autodromo bodywork rather than independent CAM families. Autodromo then developed a named range. I80 was an interurban body/model on Fiat/Iveco 370 engineering, documented in 10- and 12-metre forms and power/chassis suffixes including 370.10, 370.12 and 370S.12.30; surviving 1992 examples exist, but a complete factory introduction/withdrawal ledger is unavailable, so the catalog uses a cautious 1980–92 evidence envelope. Bussola was a compact TH20 bus on Iveco A70.14 foundations, likewise preserved with a mid-1980s-to-early-1990s envelope rather than invented exact dates. The late-1980s Alice used Siccar 286 chassis and the rear-transverse 9.5-litre Fiat 8460.21 six rated 210 hp. Alice N (10.5 m) and L (12 m), with urban/suburban NU/NS/LU/LS forms and two or three doors, sold poorly but anticipated BusOtto styling. Pollicino, produced 1988–2002, was far more successful: an urban/interurban microbus using Fiat Ducato Maxi or Iveco Daily/TurboDaily mechanicals, 2.5-litre 104 hp or 2.8-litre 118–120 hp diesels, and 20P, 35P, TH11, TH13 and interurban bodies from about 5.3 to 7.2 metres. The 1994 Pollicino New restyle, petrol Alterego and unique 1994 battery-electric Eta Beta remain configurations of one family; Eta Beta was a 6.3-metre, 21-place, 26 hp experimental bus capable of roughly 49 km/h. CAM's defining step was its 1992 partnership with MAN. The 1994–2003 BusOtto became one of Italy's earliest modern low-floor buses and the country's first low-floor trolleybus family. MAN NL222/NL262-derived mechanicals included a rear-horizontal 6,871 cc D0826 diesel around 220 hp and usually Voith automatic transmission. Twelve-metre urban, suburban and interurban forms used diesel, CNG or LPG; 12- and 18-metre electric/trolley versions used Adtranz/Kiepe/Skoda equipment, with articulated vehicles carrying a 260 kW motor and auxiliary diesel generator. Bologna, Parma, Milan and Modena bought trolleybuses. The 2001 BusOtto New removed the rear-door step, revised the exterior and adopted Euro 3 without becoming a separate base model. By October 1999 CAM and MAN had sold about 600 low-floor buses/trolleybuses, around one fifth of the Italian market, though that figure is not a complete final BusOtto ledger. Rocar built only one diesel and one trolley prototype under licence in Romania; U812/812E remain Rocar products. Alè (1999–2003) filled the 7.8-metre class with a low floor and 4.58-litre MAN four rated 155 hp; Rampini revived and revised it from 2006, outside CAM production. Tango (2001–03) filled the 9–11 m gap on MAN NM223-derived engineering. The 2.35-m-wide TGM (9.7 m, up to 78 places) and TGL (10.4 m, up to 84) used a rear-offset 6.87-litre MAN six at 220 or 280 hp with Voith or ZF automatic. Exactly 50 production Tangos plus one prototype are reported. CAM also completed MAN NL263 and UL313 Regional/I2000 buses for Italy, but these retain MAN model identity. A planned Volvo sales agreement failed amid collapsing Italian demand and poor management. After final BusOtto deliveries, CAM entered failure in 2003; some accounts describe legal closure in early 2004, but vehicle production ended in 2003. Seven rows account for every defensible CAM-named family. Autodromo is distinct from the Modena circuit, Ferrari bodies it executed, Fiat/Siccar/MAN donor models, Rocar licence prototypes, Rampini's post-2006 Alè and unrelated companies using Autodromo.

Text adapted from “Autodromo” on Wikipedia ↗ · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗