Ilario Bandini

Bandini was born in Villa Rovere, today part of the administrative region of Forlì in Romagna. After finishing elementary school, he apprenticed as a mechanic and turner in Forli. At the age of 25, he moved to Eritrea, then an Italian colony, where he operated a transport business between Dekemhare and Asmara. He returned to Italy in 1939 and, with his savings, opened a garage and car rental/limousine service in downtown Forlì.

In the same year, Bandini started competing as a motorcycle racer, racing at Faenza, Lugo di Romagna, and Imola. In 1940, he took part in the Mille Miglia, driving a Fiat Balilla "Coppa d'oro". During World War II, faced with shortages of fuel for civilian use, Bandini adapted his automobile engines to operate with wood gas. In 1946, he reassembled a Fiat 1100 that he had cut apart and hidden to avoid its requisition by the German army. He modified the chassis and suspension while rebuilding the car. Fitted with an aluminium body, the work of Turin coachbuilder Rocco Motto, this car became the Bandini 1100, the first to carry the Bandini name.

In 1947, Bandini raced a Cisitalia D46 at the Asti circuit, and raced his 1100 Sport at the Predappio-Rocca delle Camminate race, coming second in his class.

After constructing a second example, Bandini entered the 1949 Mille Miglia with his new 1100 siluro, featuring torpedo-like bodywork and cycle fenders (separate mudguards). The car still used the same Fiat engine, modified with a twin overhead camshaft cylinder head based on an Alfa Romeo design. With this car, Bandini entered events at Senigallia, Ferrara, Modena, Bari, and Pescara. His first victory was a class win in the Tour of Umbria (Giro dell'Umbria).

At the start of the 1950s, Bandini became a dealer in Italy for Alfa Romeo and then for Lancia. Meanwhile, the first Bandini arrived in United States. Here, in the hands of drivers Dick Gent and Bob Said, the car gained early racing successes; its lightness and stability, using a patented elliptical-section steel tube space frame, were particularly appreciated.