Ceirano GB & C

The Ceirano GB & C was a historic automobile company, founded in October 1898 by Giovanni Battista Ceirano, Emanuele di Bricherasio, Attilio Calligaris, Pietro Fenoglio and Cesare Goria Gatti. The headquarters of the new company was set at Turin, where in 1899 it began to build a small car with two seats, the "Welleyes" designed by Aristide Faccioli. When Welleyes was on markets it was a great commercial success for Ceirano, but managers found themselves unable to cope with the orders of the vehicle. Then in July 1898, the owner of the company, Giovanni Battista Ceirano, decided to sell the plants and patents to Giovanni Agnelli. Therefore, Ceirano had to work for a period in Fiat, but in 1901 left the company for getting to work on their own, along with his brother Matteo Ceirano.

The car

The Welleyes was presented on 30 April 1899, and was designed by Aristide Faccioli, one of the most brilliant car engineers at the time. The car was equipped with two horizontal cylinders, transmission with leather belt and with two gears.Cite web|url=http://motorspeed.wordpress.com/category/history-of-cars/|title=1899 Ceirano Welleyes|accessdate=2008-02-26|work=motorspeed.wordpress.com] The first Fiat made car FIAT 3 ½ HP was direct derivative of this model.

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