The Effeffe Berlinetta: Back to the Fifties.

By Gijsbert-Paul Berk

The event Top Marques Monaco 2016, which took place from April 14-17 in the Mediterranean Principality, was the 13th edition of what has evolved from a glittering show of premium automobiles to become THE trade fair for the super-rich, with a wide variety of exclusive and expensive products from powerboats, fast motorbikes, design jewelry to grand-cru wines and alcoholic drinks. The exhibition in and around the modern ‘Grimaldi Forum’, attracted a great number of wealthy residents and tourists. However, the supercars proved to be still a powerful magnet.

Among them was the unique Effeffe Berlinetta, a sports car that even took the fancy of HRH Prince Albert of Monaco, left with glasses.

The Effeffe Berlinetta is the brainchild of brothers Leonardo and Vittorio Frigerio, two Italian car enthusiasts. As the prices of historic sports and racing cars have skyrocketed and even those of well-made copies have followed in their slipstream, the ‘fratelli’ Frigerio came up with an idea. Why not build a completely new Italian GT coupé, exactly the way it was done during the fifties? Their project became the challenge to create a hand-build machine incorporating the design and engineering technology of those glorious years.

The result is what they themselves describe as: ‘un sogna Italiano diventato realta’ (an Italian dream becoming reality).

Using the skills and experiences obtained when restoring their own classic cars, they started from scratch. The chassis, designed with a CAD program, consists of a space frame made with from welded steel tubes and sheet steel reinforcements. This combines great torsional rigidity with a low weight. The aluminum body is hand crafted over a light metal framework in the fashion of the once famous ‘superleggera’ designs.

Dry weight of the complete car is approximately 790 kg (1,742 lb). Steering is by rack and pinion and the independent front suspension uses adjustable wishbones and coil springs, has a stabilizer bar and double acting shock absorbers. However, as was common in the fifties, the Effeffe Berlinetta has a live axle at the rear, albeit with fixed lower trailing arms, adjustable upper trailing arms and a Watt’s linkage to prevent sideways motion between the axle and frame. Coil springs and double-acting shock absorbers ensure optimal tire -road contact. And there are disk brakes all round.

For their power plant the Frigerio brothers have chosen the reliable 1962 cc. four-cylinder Alfa Romeo ‘2000’ DOHC, fitted with 2 horizontal double choke Weber 45 DCOE carburetors. Indeed, no fuel injection. Each engine will be professionally overhauled and tuned to develop 180 HP DIN @ 6500 rpm. This gives the Effeffe coupé a power/ to weight ratio of: 4.38 kg/HP. The engine is centrally mounted in the front of the car and drives the rear wheels via a single dry-plate clutch and a 5-speed gearbox. The technical specification of the Effeffe Berlinetta is very straightforward and on paper looks rather promising. The clean lines and aerodynamic shape of the Effeffe body embody the attractive and sensual style of the Italian coachbuilders of the fifties.

At the 2014 Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este in Italy the ‘fratelli’ presented a prototype of their ‘dream’. But at the recent Top Marques Monaco they exhibited the version they intend to produce in a limited series, with a suggested price of €300,000 (approx. USD $340,000).

The main handicap will be that the name Effeffe does not evoke the same emotions as Ferrari, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, Lancia or even Fiat, Siata and Moretti. But that is what one has to expect when you want to become the owner of such an exclusive Berlinetta.

For further details contact: Officine Fratelli Frigerio, Via San Giuseppe 14, Verano Brianza, Italy.
Website: http://www.effeffecars.com/