South American stalwarts
From the perspective of the northern hemisphere, it’s easy to miss how important a car producer Argentina is, and for how long this has been the case.
Motorsport enthusiasts will of course be aware that Juan Manuel Fangio won the Formula One world championship five times between 1951 and 1957 (a record not equalled until Michael Schumacher did so 45 years later), and might have won seven in a row if he hadn’t broken his neck in an accident at Monza in 1952.
His country’s reputation in the motor industry isn’t quite that strong, but it still deserves respect, and that’s what we’re going to show here.
What follows is just a short, alphabetical list of the many cars built in Argentina, with the restriction that they were all available for sale before 2000.
1. Anasagasti
Credit for the creation of the first Argentinian car sold to the public goes to Horacio Anasagasti, who made his new model available to the public in 1912.
Largely constructed using parts imported from Europe, it also attracted attention on that side of the Atlantic by competing in such events as the 1913 Coupe des Voiturettes in France (as pictured here, with Edouard d’Avaray at the wheel).
The supply of parts dried up during the First World War, and as a result the Anasagasti company folded in 1915.
The name has since been brought back for a modern, but classic-influenced, coupé with a mid-mounted V8 engine.
2. Auto Union 1000
Although the Anasagasti wasn’t one of them, many cars have been built in Argentina under licence from manufacturers based elsewhere.
One example is Industrias Automotriz Santa Fe’s version of the Auto Union 1000, derived from the DKW Sonderklasse and available with many body styles, at least one of them designed by Fissore.
Whatever the car looked like, it was always powered by a 981cc, three-cylinder, two-stroke engine (a larger version of the 896cc unit used in the DKW), and had front-wheel drive.
Produced during the 1960s, Argentinian Auto Unions have appeared more recently in several locally made films, including 2014’s The Games Maker.
3. Bambi
Throughout the 1950s and 1960s, a company based in the German city of Fulda produced microcars called Fuldamobils.
The last of these was the S7 (pictured), which was the only one with a glassfibre body but otherwise matched its predecessors in having a rear-mounted, single-cylinder, two-stroke engine.
Fuldamobils were built under licence, usually with different names, in several countries outside Germany, the S7 manufactured in Buenos Aires from 1960 being known as the Bambi.
According to one source, the Bambi’s success was limited by the same factor which brought Fuldamobil production in general to an end – by the 1960s, people just weren’t interested in microcars any more, no matter where they were built.
4. Borgward Isabella
Borgward’s last and perhaps most famous model was popular in Argentina, not least because of its success in motorsport.
It was imported from Germany in the 1950s, but towards the end of that decade a joint venture was created in Buenos Aires, allowing both Isabellas and light trucks to be built locally.
Despite optimistic predictions of how this would work out, the project came to a premature halt due to the demise of the Borgward empire.
Sources provide contradictory information about Argentinian Isabella production (such as whether it stopped in 1961 or 1963), but there is general agreement that around, and probably slightly more than, 1000 were built, along with approximately 1500 trucks.
5. Chevrolet 400
Along with Canada, Argentina was one of two non-US countries where General Motors manufactured the car known in its home country as the Chevrolet Chevy II.
While Canadian versions were marketed under the Acadian brand, the Argentinian cars were still known as Chevrolets, though with 400 as the model name.
The first production model (pictured) left the factory in March 1962, while the last was built in 1974, when the US Chevy II had been renamed Nova and was coming to the end of its fourth generation.
Regardless of the developments further north, the 400 did not go through any major changes during its 12-year run, though its straight-six engine was made available in several capacities.
6. Chrysler Valiant
At least in its early stages, the story of the Argentinian Chrysler Valiant is similar to that of the Australian model of the same name.
Both were locally built versions of the car introduced in the US in 1960 simply as the Valiant, which was given Plymouth branding the following year.
In Argentina, and indeed in Australia, the Plymouth name (created for North American markets back in 1928) meant little or nothing, so when production began in those countries in 1962 the car was sold as the Chrysler Valiant, a combination of marque and model names never used in the US.
Chrysler Australia continued to manufacture Valiants until 1981, but in Argentina the model was replaced by the Dodge Polara in 1968.
7. Cisitalia 850
Cisitalia refers to two marques, one in Italy and another formed slightly later in Argentina, both of them founded by the Italian businessman, racing driver and at one point professional footballer Piero Dusio.
The Argentinian cars were all based on Fiat mechanicals, including the 100 Series engine which made its debut in the 600 in 1955.
The Cisitalia-Abarth 850 Scorpione Coupé pictured here used that engine in 847cc form, and is understood to be one of around 50 ever built.
Cisitalia’s Argentinian operation lasted for only a very brief period in the early 1960s, reportedly because it could not meet the government-imposed minimum proportion of locally manufactured components.
8. Citroën 3CV
Although the 3CV name might appear to European eyes to be a typo, it was officially used for several years by Citroën’s Argentinian division.
This had built 2CVs with the 425cc, flat-twin engine for nine years when, in 1969, it began to incorporate the 602cc unit.
While 2CVs built in France and elsewhere with this engine retained their original name, the extra power it provided was reflected in Argentina by calling them 3CV instead.
In 1973, the 3CV’s bootlid was replaced by a tailgate which extended as far up as the roofline and incorporated the rear window, thereby transforming the car (as shown here) from a four-door saloon into a five-door hatchback without altering its profile.
9. Crespi Tulieta GT
The attractive body of the Tulieta GT is unique, but underneath the car relied heavily on components bought in from Renault.
According to creator Tulio Crespi himself, the chassis came from the Renault 4 (from which it could be entirely separated, because the 4 did not have unibody construction), while the engine was the Cléon-Fonte unit which would not be used in the 4 until it had been production for more than a decade and a half.
For a while, it appeared that the Tulieta GT might be taken on by Renault, but the project was abandoned before that happened due, Crespi has claimed, to Argentine Minister of Economy José Alfredo Martínez de Hoz’s policy of reducing restrictions on imports to the country.
10. De Carlo 700
One of motoring history’s more colourful characters, Salvador De Carlo was an Italian graphic designer who, after the Second World War, emigrated to Argentina with a licence to build BMWs.
He took advantage of this to manufacture, among other models, the 700, a small car with a rear-mounted, flat-twin engine which is not well remembered today but essentially saved BMW from financial ruin in the 1960s.
Like the BMW, the De Carlo version was available both as a saloon and an attractive little coupé (pictured here in its original, German-built form).
In 1965, the saloon was updated to become the SL, which bore an intriguing resemblance at both ends to the Simca 1000, but both this model and the De Carlo enterprise as a whole were things of the past by the end of 1966.
11. Dodge 1500
The British car known in its home market as the Hillman Avenger was manufactured by Chrysler Argentina from 1971 and sold as the Dodge 1500, a name it retained even after its engine capacity was raised from 1.5 to 1.8 litres.
Unlike the Plymouth Cricket, which was a UK-built Avenger briefly imported to the US without attracting much interest, the 1500 was very successful, and remained on the Argentinian market for nearly two decades.
In 1980, approximately halfway through the car’s production run, Chrysler Argentina was taken over by Volkswagen, which not only continued to build a model it had not designed in more or less the same form (other than styling changes), but in due course renamed it the Volkswagen 1500.
12. Fiat 600
Fiat’s first rear-engined car was built and sold not only in Italy but also in Spain as a Seat, in Germany as a Neckar and in the former Yugoslavia as a Zastava.
As if that wasn’t enough, the 600 was also manufactured in several South American countries, and the first Argentinian version (painted light grey, Stellantis informs us) left the factory on 8 April 1960.
This particular car and some later 600s were based on bodies imported from Italy, but the opening of a stamping facility in 1963 meant that from then on even these were made locally.
After many updates, the 294,197th and last of the Argentinian 600s (long since affectionately nicknamed Fitito, or ‘little Fiat’) was completed on 9 April 1962, 22 years and one day after its most distant predecessor and 13 years after Italian production had ended.
13. Ford Model T
Created in 1913, Ford Argentina was the company’s third non-US subsidiary, following those of Canada and the UK, and – as those with some geographical awareness will already have spotted – the first to be established in South America.
Contradictory accounts of its early history are presented by different sources, but Ford Argentina has itself said that, after a period of acting as an importer, it began assembling the Model T at its La Boca plant in 1917.
By the time the Model T was replaced by the Model A in 1927, Ford had 1500 Argentinian employees, along with 2400 exclusive workshops and nearly 300 dealerships in the country.
There is no particular reason to believe that the Model T pictured here was built at La Boca, but it does date from 1917, which makes it contemporary with the very first of the Argentinian cars.
14. Ford Sierra
The European Ford Sierra entered production in Argentina in 1984, a move made possible by the arrival of robotic technologies at the marque’s then 23-year-old Pacheco factory in Buenos Aires Province.
The Argentinian Sierra went on sale on 30 May, initially only as a five-door hatchback with a choice of 1.6- or 2.3-litre petrol engines, though the more sporty XR4, with a three-door body, was added to the range on 5 September.
According to Ford, the Sierra was the first of the company’s five-door models, and the first with independent suspension for all four wheels, to be sold in the country, as well as being the first of any make with a glass roof and sunshade.
In total, 73,024 Ford Sierras, including the hatchbacks mentioned above and the later five-door estates known as Rural, were built in Pacheco before production ended in 1993.
15. Hansa 1100
Originally marketed as a Goliath but renamed by the Borgward Group which owned both marques, the Hansa 1100 was a small German car with the unusual combination (for the late 1950s and early 1960s) of a flat-four engine and front-wheel drive.
Its introduction to the Argentinian market was to be in two stages: assembly of parts imported from Germany, followed by construction at a different factory using a proportion of components provided by local suppliers.
According to two Argentinian sources, the government lost patience when the second stage was delayed and withdrew permission for the project in 1961, but since Borgward was on the point of collapse it would probably have come to an end soon in any case.
Both sources agree that 1121 Hansa 1100s were produced in Argentina, 804 of them being saloons, 296 estates and 21 coupés.
16. IKA Estanciera
IKA, or Industrias Kaiser Argentina, was a joint venture involving the US-based Kaiser Motors, which would later become part of the American Motors Corporation (AMC).
In 1953, it merged with Willys-Overland, producer of the civilian Jeep, and this made it possible for IKA to manufacture first the regular Jeep and then, from 1957, its somewhat more family-friendly Station Wagon derivative.
Named Estanciera for the Argentinian market, the latter was produced until 1970, several years after the Station Wagon had been withdrawn from sale in the US.
IKA also built a pick-up version, which was known as the Baqueano.
17. IKA Torino
Developed with the assistance of Juan Manuel Fangio, the IKA Torino was based on AMC’s Rambler American and was restyled by Pininfarina.
Introduced in 1966, it was a powerful and attractive road car with obvious potential in motorsport.
Three race-prepared Torinos were entered (again with Fangio’s support) in the 84-hour Marathon de la Route held at the Nürburgring, and one of them completed more laps than any of its competitors, though it was demoted to fourth overall after various penalties had been applied.
During the Torino’s production life, Renault – initially a minor partner – assumed full control of IKA, and as a result of this the car was later marketed as the Renault Torino.
18. Mercedes-Benz 220D
The Mercedes-Benz W114/W115 series, also known as the Stroke Eight, was mostly sold as a saloon or a coupé, but it was also available as a chassis to which special bodies could be fitted.
The Binz coachbuilding company of Bremen, in Germany, used it as the basis for a pick-up truck, though this was not part of the regular range as sold in the marque’s home market.
In the early to mid 1970s, however, Mercedes-Benz Argentina assembled and sold its own equivalent, known locally as La Pickup.
As in the case of the vehicle pictured here, some even made their way back to Germany, the country where all their components had been manufactured.
19. Peugeot 403
Peugeot sales in Argentina are believed to have started as early as 1904, before the introduction of either the Anasagasti or the Ford Model T, so the marque was already well established in the country by the time the 403 was launched in 1955.
The 403 quickly became so popular in Argentina that assembling it there seemed like a good plan, and this began to happen in 1958.
Two years later, 403s went into full-scale production at Berazategui, with local content reportedly reaching 90% in 1964.
As in France, the car was discontinued in Argentina in 1966, but it was followed by the T4B pick-up truck which, though partly based on the newer 404, at least had more or less the same front-end appearance as the 403.
20. Renault Dauphine
In 1960, the Dauphine became the first of what would become several Renault models manufactured by Industrias Kaiser Argentina.
Enthusiasm for the car among Argentinian buyers can be seen from the fact that production continued until 1970, three years after Renault itself had moved on to other things.
IKA’s version was available both in standard form and as a Gordini, with a more powerful version of the 845cc engine.
There was also an Argentina-specific variant called the 850, which was simply a regular Dauphine made cheaper by the fact that it had less equipment, but only 7235 examples – well under a 10th of the total for the model as a whole – were built.
21. Siam Di Tella 1500
Renowned for producing a bewildering variety of machines from bread makers to Lambretta scooters, Siam Di Tella briefly built medium-sized BMC Farina models under licence.
That range included the Austin Cambridge and Morris Oxford and many others, but the 1500 most closely resembled the Riley 4/68 and its slightly updated successor, the Riley 4/72, because it used the same front grille.
Named approximately after the capacity of its 1489cc BMC B-series engine, the 1500 was a sturdy and capable, if not especially exciting, car, and found particular favour among Argentinian taxi drivers.
Related models wearing the Siam Di Tella badge included the more powerful Magnette 1622, the Traveller estate and the Argenta pick-up truck.
22. Toyota Hilux
Toyota began selling the Hilux in Argentina during the model’s third generation, which lasted from 1978 to 1983, but it wasn’t until the fifth that the truck started to be built there.
Mass production of the pick-up in both rear- and four-wheel-drive forms began in Zárate on 21 March 1997, the same day the plant was officially inaugurated, though Hiluxes had been manufactured there in smaller numbers since December 1996.
Zárate has remained the South American home of the Hilux ever since, and Toyota has reported that it manufactures the model, along with the SW4 SUV and the Hiace van, for customers in 23 countries throughout Latin America.
We hope you enjoyed reading. Please click the ‘Follow’ button for more super stories from Classic & Sports Car.