The Alfasud Wainer Bimotore was built by Gian Franco Mantavoni Wainer
who also produced an Alfasud
ti Turbowainer.Wainer took a
series I Alfasud ti and implanted a second
engine behind the front seats which gave its power to the rear wheels. This made the Wainer Bimotore a 4X4.
Some years before Citroën had done the same with its 2CV Sahara. According
to Sig. Mantavani the Bimotore was particularly proper to race in the Targa
Florio and in the Africa Rally Safari where it was a serious competitor
to the Rally cars made by Ford (Escort), Saab, Datsun and Peugeot. The
second engine allowed it to accelerate from 0 to 100 kph in 8,2 seconds.
According to some road tests the car gave the impression to lift up on
the front and rear when starting. The only thing the testers disliked was
the great noise the
rear engine caused in the interior. The Bimotore was also a protagonist
of a study of the University "Politecnico di Genova" which studied its
mechanic features. The picture shows the Wainer Bimotore at Cortina D'Ampezzo
when it opened a race. Compared to a usual Alfasud ti there were only very
few differences in the outer appearance. Two lateral black air intakes
fed and cooled the back engine. The position of the driver stayed the same.
There were additional gauges in the cockpit that had the characteristic
to be double, in order to control both engines seperately. Between the
front seats there were two ignition buttons which allowed to start the
engines seperately.
The Bimotore was equipped with two 1186 cm³ Boxer engines, each developped 79 bhp. The rear engine had its own four-speed gearbox and clutch which were controlled together with the front ones. The back engine was cooled by two radiators with electric fans that were near the air intakes and were controlled by a thermostat. It was possible to set one engine going, but, when the car was moving, they had to be both on. The car reached a top speed of about 215 kph.
(Many thanks to Fabio Dodi.)
Last Update: November, 18th 2003 Created: March, 21th 2001
© Layout and text by Tim Rauen. Photoy by Gian Franco Mantovani.