Lancias are featured in the new FCA Heritage Hub.
This week we are happy to present to our readers a sneak preview of Fiat’s fantastic new museum, thanks to the assistance of Fiat Public Relations agent Umberto Hardouin. For this special feature, VeloceToday has installed a slide show feature, so you can enjoy the 36 images at your own speed. If you wish to speed up the slide show viewing, simply click on the right arrow.
Story and photos by Jonathan Sharp
As we related last week, we visited the Fiat Centro Storico and then had lunch at the New Holland staff canteen. Our journey to the afternoon destination was a walk of just a few meters, as it was located in Workshop 81, situated next door. It is called the FCA Heritage Hub and it is not yet open to the public.
I had seen pictures of the Hub before my wife and I visited, and watched the video on the FCA Heritage web site, so I thought I was prepared. But when Signor Hardouin opened the front door, my first words upon seeing the display was an Anglo Saxon version of “Oh My;” I am sure you get the picture. When you look at the slides, check out the myriad of cars in the background. We photographed just a small portion of the 250 car collection.
Workshop 81 of Turin’s Mirafiori complex was built in the 1960s and originally used for the manufacture of transmission parts. Comprising an area of 15,000 square meters workshop 81 has been carefully conserved to respect its original industrial character. The result is that there is a LOT of room!
Displayed In the center of the Hub are 64 of the more important vehicles from the collection laid out in eight themed areas, each of which displays eight models. The luxury of having so much space available means each of the 64 vehicles can be spaced well apart, allowing each vehicle to viewed and photographed individually. Down each side of the hub, and displayed in a side-by-side format, are the remaining vehicles of the collection, Lancia to the right, Fiat, Abarth and a few new Jeeps to the left.
The Hub has not yet completed the placards for the cars, so we are providing only the make identification in the following image gallery.
The eight themes are as follows:
*Small and safe: houses a selection of models that combined maximum safety with minimum dimensions.
*Style marks: shows a series of “milestones” that left their visual mark on the history of motorcar design.
*Epic journeys: celebrates cars that made famous and unforgettable road journeys.
*The rally era: reserved for models which have written glorious pages in the annals of the world of rallies.
*Eco and sustainable: a group of the most innovative cars in terms of sensitivity to environmental issues.
*Archistars: eight technical masterpieces that introduced significant innovations in motorcar architecture, in terms of functionality and manufacture.
*Concepts and “fuoriserie”: special series and ultra-rare models, some unique one-offs, some utopian dreams.
*Records and races: the legendary racing cars with the most prestigious triumphs, record-breakers and heroes
FCA launched the Hub in early 2019 and originally stated that the Hub would soon be open to the public. Alas that has yet to happen and its opening to the public remains very much in the future. Drop a comment to the FCA Heritage website if you would like to find out more.
If the slide show does not appear to work correctly, reload, reboot, or refresh!
I can’t wait to go in person. Thanks very much for the report and photos!
Do not like slide feature, would rather click next photo myself. Could not freeze frame if I wanted to look longer at a car.
Still a great article. Put this on my bucket list.
Thanks for the comment! If you click on the left or right arrows you can move the slides at your own speed….
Editor