Giovanni Moretti built the first Moretti motorcycles, light cars and vans in the late 1920s.

In 1945 Fabbrica Automobili Moretti SpA was established in Turin as a motor manufacturer, its first product being La Citta (The Town) a small two-seater 'city car' powered by a 500cc twin-cylinder engine.

(Moretti was unusual at this time in making its own power units rather than relying, like most of its Italian contemporaries, on FIAT engines).

A range of small-capacity 'fours' of 600cc and 750cc was developed; some with single overhead camshafts, others with twin-cam 'heads.

For a small manufacturer, Moretti offered a bewilderingly diverse range of models including coupés, estate cars, commercials and some electrically powered vehicles.

Being Italian, Moretti could not avoid involvement with motor sport, taking part in long-distance rallies and entering the Le Mans 24-Hour race with an attractive small sports prototype.

In addition the company built the occasional monoposto racer and l...