1949 MOTTO 1100 SPORT

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By Peter Zobian: Here is my circa 1949 Motto 1100 Sport. It is a one-off aluminum spider (barchetta) by Carrozzeria Motto with a large diameter oval and round tube chassis by Gilco, Cisitalia modified Fiat 1100 engine & gearbox, and 1100S Fiat and Cisitalia brakes & suspension components. The car was found at Motto's shop in 1954 by American designer Virgil Exner and his friend Paul Farago. They purchased it and shipped it to Detroit where it was sold to Max Goldman who displayed it at the Henry Ford Museum's "Sports Cars in Review", a 3-month show in early 1955. In 1956 Goldman sold the car to Dan Hosmer. Goldman kept the original motor and gearbox as a back-up for his 1955 Abarth Boano Spyder 1100 and Hosmer eventially installed a Mercedes 190SL motor & transmission, but never completed the installation. I bought the car in 1973 in that same condition. I sold the Mercedes junk and was able to find the original 1100 Cisitalia modified motor and gearbox, and over the years have been able to find all the correct parts and pieces lost by Hosmer. The car is now complete but still somewhat apart. Hopefully I will put it back together this year. Interesting fact: From 1954 until today, this car has been driven less than 75 miles!    

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