1970 Moretti Sportiva

The heavy body weighed 1,500 pounds, too much for its puny 47-hp motor

Giovanni Moretti founded his company in 1925, and started off designing and building motorcycles. The Cita, built in 1946, a tiny two-seater powered by an air-cooled 250-cc motor, was Moretti’s first conventional car.

In 1949, Moretti introduced the 600, a front-engine, rear-drive car powered by a bespoke 592 cc, water-cooled four-cylinder engine. Four years later, the 600’s chassis was lengthened and fitted with a 27-hp, SOHC, 748 cc motor, creating the Moretti 750.

A number of special versions of the 750 were produced in the 1950s, including a Zagato coupe, a sport Spider, and several barchettas. Some competition success was achieved in the 1950s with the 600 and 750 models.

By the late 1950s, Moretti began building cars using Fiat mechanicals and chassis. In 1957, a coupe based on the Fiat 500 appeared at the Turin Motor Show, followed the next year by a Fiat 600-based car. A number of other Fiat-based vehicles followed....