1970 IKA Torino 380S

At the Goodwood Festival of Speed just a few months ago a Mercedes Benz W196, once driven by the legendary Argentinean racer Juan Manuel Fangio, sold at auction for a world record price of £17.6 million. Cars driven by Fangio are rare, and, as a result, demand a high premium.

While this 1970 IKA Torino 380S isn’t a car in which Fangio scored one of his many Grand Prix triumphs, it is a car that he used on a daily basis. This IKA Torino may not be one of Fangio’s World Championship-winning Alfa Romeo, Ferrari, Mercedes or Maserati thoroughbreds, but it does have a certain aura about it! This car was his, and it is currently in the process of being prepared for sale by Silverstone Auctions in England.

Fangio is regarded by many as the greatest racer of all time. Stirling Moss, his teammate at Mercedes-Benz, has time and time again stated that, in his opinion, Fangio was the master. Few would disagree, and so, to be handed the opportunity to climb aboard his own personal road car was a very special honor.

Manufactured by Industrias Kaiser Argentina (IKA) under an agreement with the American Motors Corporation (AMC), the IKA Torino became known as the national car of Argentina. Popular throughout the country, these cars are regarded somewhat like a Lotus Cortina is in the UK, and if driven through the city streets of downtown Buenos Aires the chances are the driver would be mobbed by cheering enthusiasts all keen to get a glimpse of the car. The car developed by IKA was really of American origin, although Fangio—an ambassador for the company—asked his friend, the famous Battista “Pinin” Farina, to give the concept a freshening. Production of the car was long, and after IKA was taken over by Renault in 1975, the car stayed in dealerships until early in 1981 when production finally ceased.

These cars did enjoy a competition life, as well. A team of three cars was shipped to the Nürburgring in Germany, to compete in the Marathon de la Route, an 84-hour race around the famed Grand Prix track. Eduardo Copello, Alberto Rodriguez Larreta and Oscar Mauricio Franco drove a Torino, and at the end of the race the car had completed a total of 334 laps. Despite having completed more tours of the track than any other competitor, the team was relegated to 4th in the event standings. However, with Fangio attending as Team Manager, the drivers were highly motivated to succeed!

While Europe didn’t take to the Torino, and export examples from Argentina did not take off, the Argentinean public pronounced its love for the car and its future place in history was secured. Indeed, examples are still raced in Argentina to this day, in all states of tune. Production models race alongside heavily modified versions, much to the delight of motor racing fans filling the grandstands of South America.

The Torino is quite a rare car, and very few examples of this early model were produced. Fewer than 1600 cars were built between 1968 and 1970, but those lucky enough to have driven one of these were pleased to feel the power of a 3.7-liter, straight-six engine that developed about 155-bhp. This engine was originally designed to power Jeeps, but was transferred to the car production line under license in Argentina.

Fangio was appointed president of Mercedes-Benz in Argentina in 1974, so thereafter was unable to drive his Torino in public, although the car’s impressive document collection shows that from 1975, he included his brother-in-law and a friend of the family on its insurance policy! Fangio died in 1995, and after that this car was re-registered so that his widow and other family members could use it. The family has owned the car all of this time and is responsible for placing it for sale.

This car is original in every way. The paint is in need of attention, the chrome is peeling, the gearlever gaiter is ripped, the seats are springy (a large sheepskin is thrown across the front passenger seat), the door trim is loose and the steering sloppy, but you can’t help but love it!

The interior is period retro. Entry to the car is easy, the doors open wide and you literally fall into the broad armchair-style vinyl seats. The car has a huge steering wheel and a radio. All the dials are in Spanish and the rev counter ahead of the driver is redlined at 5,000 rpm. Once mobile, you feel secure, surrounded by so much metal work, and the car’s size gives a feeling of presence on the roads – especially the small English country lanes where this particular test drive took place. Capable of a marked top speed of just over 100 mph, the Torino would certainly have been a handful around the twists and turns of the ’Ring, but during our more sedate drive in rural UK, the car’s handling was more in keeping with what one would expect from a touring sedan.

This IKA Torino is a fabulous piece of motoring history, and by the time you read this article it will be living with a new owner, as it will be going up for sale at Silverstone Auctions’ mid-November sale in at the NEC in Birmingham.

–James Beckett

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