Chiribiri

Antonio 'Papà' Chiribiri was born in Venice in 1865 but it was not a natural city for engineering so he moved to Florence to work in a small factory. He quickly moved on to Zust and then Isotta Fraschini as a technical specialist in automobiles. In 1909, he joined the aeronautical manufacturer Miller Aircraft in Turin and took charge of technical design.

In 1910, Antonio Chiribiri started his own company manufacturing spare parts and accessories for aeronautics, 'Fabrica Torinese Velivoli Chiribiri & C'. The company became known for the quality of its aircraft parts and grew to build at least one aircraft, the 'Chiribiri No. 5', 2 seater, tractor monoplane which flew in July 1912. It was 24 feet (7.3 m) long with a 31-foot (9.4 m)wingspan, weighed 770 lb (350 kg) and flew at 55 mph (90 km/h). But then Chiribiri was licensed to build 100 aeronautical motors for French engine manufacturer Gnome et Rhone, so aircraft production ceased. This success enabled Chiribiri to open a ‘flying school’ at the factory, training pilots who subsequently flew in World War I.

In 1918, a Fiat Chiribiri broke the world speed record for the timed kilometre from a flying start. The car had been built in 1913, and had a 8,000 cc inline-four Chiribiri aircraft engine producing 130 CV (96 kW) installed into a Fiat 50-60 HP chassis. It is usually considered the first monoposto made in Italy. At Monza it reached 160 km/h (99 mph) in the standing kilometer. It is currently displayed in the Mario Righini collection at the castle in Panzano, a frazione of Castelfranco Emilia, Italy.