The photo above popped up recently in a post on the Crosleys, Fun Little Cars page on Facebook. Hmod fan Richard Campbell posted the photo (which appears to be clipped from the March 24, 1950 issue of British car mag the Autocar), asking if anyone had any more details than were on the blurb:
"Latest 500 c.c. car, seen at the Swiss shows, is this attractive Este, made in Geneva. It has a linered down American Crosmobile engine at the front driving the rear wheels. Front and rear suspension and road wheels are based on Fiat components. Power output is reputed to be 45 b.h.p. and there is a 5 speed gearbox."
You better believe that caught my eye.
I immediately did a few online searches, but didn't turn anything up - and no one else chimed in on the thread with any more info. I couldn't even find anything about any car called an "Este." I have a nice library of vintage auto catalogs, but they are all packed up while I'm getting settled into the new house. I'm not sure Este is in there - that name isn't familiar at all.
While Switzerland isn't known for its auto industry, it is sandwiched right between two autobuilding meccas, Italy and Germany, so it would be surprising if there hadn't been some interesting coachbuilding history there. And, there was plenty of racing.
I do wonder where that "Crosmobile" motor came from... to my understanding, the Crosmobile was never successfully marketed in any great numbers - the cost of producing and shipping them made profitable export very difficult. That said, Crosley author and expert Michael Banks says in his blog that he's had "reports of Crosmobiles in Mexico, Cuba, Japan, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Argentina, Columbia, the Antilles (which may include the Bahamas and Jamaica), Belgium, and Italy," so the Este may have acquired its powerplant out of a passenger car that wound up in Geneva.
The proximity to Italy makes me wonder if the Este acquired one of the Crosley motors sent to Torino by an east coast sportscar importer who wanted to see how they might be reworked for the 'etcerini' being built in workshops across Italy. But, the timing doesn't seem right - I'd bet that the crate of motors went to Italy after the first Siatas showed up in the US, not before.
As much as I find it surprising that a near-new American Crosmobile import would have been cannibalized for its motor, that is probably the most likely explanation.
Wherever the motor came from, it went to the right place: 45 horsepower out of a motor that started with 26.5 before it was sleeved-down is impressive.
If the Autocar blurb is to be believed, the motor appears to be the only Crosley part on the car. Certainly the five speed (!) gearbox wasn't Crosley... in fact, I don't know what small car would have had a five speed that early.
I spent a bit more time searching for anything I could about any car called an Este, about Swiss coachbuilding and auto manufacturing and about 500cc European racing in the early fifties. I found nothing. I did turn up what appears to be the source of the original image - a site called Auto Puzzles which posts images of rare and unique cars... someone identified it as an Este F3 fairly quickly.
I'd love to know more about this beautiful little car, but I'm not sure we ever will. Some things will always be a mystery.
4 comments:
I knew I'd heard the name Este before. Did a little digging. It's mentioned on the CIBA page of the Crosley Engine Family Tree, which I think Jim Bollman put together...
http://crosleyautoclub.com/EngineTree/Crosley_Eng_Tree-2.html
Not much more information there, but it cites a book published in July 1950, so this is pretty early use of the engine. Apparently the car was displayed on the Crosley stand at the Geneva auto show, so you'd think there'd be some photos or articles that mentioned it in a European magazine or newspaper somewhere.
Regardless, that is one sweet looking little roadster.
- Park
Great catch-- I did see that in my initial search, but misremembered it being that same blurb from the Autocar. I'd forgotten that the cited source was different! And what the heck was "the Crosley stand at Geneva"? Did Crosley participate in an Auto Show in Geneva in 1950???
"Linered" I think what they meant is the engine was "inline" drive. Not that it was sleeved down. Just my thought!
Anonymous...It must have been "linered" to bring the stock 724cc Crosley engine down to the 500cc maximum for F3 cars. I can't imagine it would have been competitive -- between the weight of the engine, and the drive shaft taking the power back to the rear wheels. (Most successful F3 cars were rear-engine, rear-wheel-drive, using a Norton or a J.A.P. motorcycle engine, with chain drive.)
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