The largest car factory in Europe at the time, Lingotto was the first built exclusively to produce cars.
Designed by architect Giacomo Mattè-Trucco, the Lingotto building in via Nizza was avant-garde for its time, influential and impressive.
Le Corbusier, the French pioneer of modern architecture, named it “one of the most impressive sights in the industry”.
Five-hundred metres long and five floors high, the structure followed the order of the construction of the cars.
Production began on the ground floor, with each of the following floors of the building specialising in the next stage of production.
The models ascended the building along one of the two spiral ramps, located at the two ends of the factory.
When completed, the models were driven to the top of the factory, ready to be tested on the rooftop racing track at high speeds.
For more than 50 years, some of the most iconic and beloved cars in the world were built and tested there, including the Fiat Spider, the Fiat 500 and the Fiat Topolino.
In the 1970s, the factory’s efficiency declined, and it subsequently closed in 1982.
Faced with the threat of an economic downturn in the area after its closure, Lingotto was given new life.
Famous architect Renzo Piano transformed the building into a hub, with a hotel, a conference room and a shopping centre.
The iconic roof has remained relatively original, apart from the “Bubble”, a transparent meeting room with a heliport attached, and the Giovanni and Marella Agnelli Art Gallery, named in honour of Fiat’s founding family.
The hotel offers exclusive access to the rooftop track for Fiat driving experiences.
Lingotto has appeared in many films and television shows, most notably its rooftop racing track in the escape scene of The Italian Job (1969).
Today, the Fiat Group headquarters are still at Lingotto.
It is not far from other architectural monuments in Turin, including the popular National Automobile Museum and the Palavela stadium.
