Siata Amica (1955 – 1960) Review

The Societa Italiana Applicazione Transformazione Automobilistiche was a tuning company set up by amateur racing driver Giorgio Ambrosini in 1926 with a view to making Fiats go faster – and because of the focus on Fiats until now, it was no surprise that when the company branched into car production it would use mainly Fiat parts. Until the Amica arrived, Siata sold many cars. As it was a small independent company that made most of its money from tuning, this didn't matter much. It wasn’t trying to be a mass-producer, and its expertise lay in selling performance equipment.

Launched in 1950, the Amica was a two-seater available as either a coupé or a roadster, and was the company’s first serious effort at a standalone car. Suspension was courtesy of Fiat but Siata developed the tubular chassis. At the front was independent suspension with a transverse leaf spring and lower wishbones, while at the back, there was a live axle suspended by quarter-elliptic springs. Power was also provided by Fiat, its 500 engine being available in various states of tune including a 26bhp 750cc version. However sales were sluggish, and when the company branched into the USA with a Crossley engined model, but few buyers were interested.