1946 Cisitalia D46

The Cisitalia D46 single seater (monoposto) made its racing debut in 1946 and was built through 1948 with approximately thirty-one examples created. Among the list of drivers who piloted the D46 include Tazio Nuvolari, Alberto Ascari, and Piero Taruffi. The Cisitalia D46 was a small, four-cylinder race car with a spaceframe chassis that would provide the basis for future, larger Grand Prix cars including the complex Cisitalia 360.

The Turin-based Cisitalia (derived from 'Compagnia Industriale Sportiva Italia') was formed near the end of World War II by Italian entrepreneur Piero Dusio, and it entered bankruptcy in 1963. Along with race cars, the company built several road-going vehicles, but most never reached large-scale production.

Dante Giacosa was commissioned to create the design for the D46, with many of the mechanical components sourced from the Fiat road-going and readily available vehicle. Giacosa was very familiar with Fiat components as he was the designer of the Fiat 500 Topolino, penned before the onset of World War II. Cisitalia modified many of the components to make them suitable for competition, including adding a dry sump lubrication system to the engine, along with a custom cylinder head, lightweight connecting rods, higher compression pistons, and a forged crankshaft.

The lightweight D46, weighing approximately 400 kg (880 lbs), equipped with the 60 horsepower, 1100cc engine (upwards of 70 bhp depending on tune and configuration), was very competitive in the voiturette series.

by Daniel Vaughan | Mar 2023