Lingotto: The Last Surviving Factory Rooftop Circuit (Yes, There Were Others)

In 1923, the city of Turin unveiled a huge new car factory, with one very special feature: it had a high-speed circuit on the roof, complete with banked curves, and two 500m-long straights. But why would you put a racetrack on the roof of a factory? I travelled to northern Italy to see it for myself...
MORE INFO
Official page on the Pinacoteca Agnelli website - www.pinacoteca...
"Lingotto: Myths, Mechanisation and Automobiles" by John Cook - www.academia.e...
INSTA - / the.tim.traveller
TWIT - / thetimtraveller
FACE - / thetimtraveller
IMAGE CREDITS
Historic Lingotto images by Carlo Maggio used under license from Alamy
Except for this one, by Dgtmedia - Simone - commons.wikime...
Giacomo Matté-Trucco - commons.wikime...
Fiat's original factory on Corso Dante - fr.m.wikipedia...
1920s theatre by charmainezoe - www.flickr.com...
Aerial photo of Fiat Mirafiori factory - commons.wikime...

[@axocuddl]

They really should have some bicycles on the rooftop tho! That would be so fun

[@williamhall667]

just thinking that myself, it would make a brilliant velodrome.

[@R4baDader]

That would be a sick velodrome

[@CoenFierst]

folding bikes, scooters, segways, … anything with 1-2 wheels not needing a combustion engine, really. In line with the times and future.

[@juhonieminen4219]

It would make a great Stunt Jump location in GTA Turin.

[@DeFausti]

@@CoenFierst Make it like the Nordschleife, pay a fee to drive and only overtake from the left

[@douglasboyle6544]

Don't think we missed your cheeky low level shots of you walking by the "TIM Retail" signs. 😊

[@pras12100]

For anyone who did miss it you will find this at 07:52

[@ralphhowes]

@@pras12100 TY!

[@0causton0]

I came here to comment this but knew someone would have beaten me to it!

[@zork999]

@@pras12100 Ahh, you missed the one at 1:20

[@douglasboyle6544]

@@pras12100 Also at 1:19

[@SodaAnt]

The Jessica cover is just perfect for a racetrack video!

[@freddyspanish2697]

And the song at about 3:30 is Cars by Gary Numan, a very fun idea!

[@FindecanorNotGmail]

2:12 Fleetwood Mac: The Chain. Used as intro to BBC's _Formula_ _One_ TV show 1978-1996 and 2009-2015, and therefore much associated with racing in the UK. The video game "Formula One Grand Prix" (1992) copied it for its intro but changed the notes just enough to avoid licensing issues ...

[@Craftlngo]

@@FindecanorNotGmail and not to forget "Movin' all up" starting around 05:00

[@mhoop1]

I WONDER, IS THAT TIM'S ARRANGEMENT FOR JESSICA?

[@robburgess4556]

@@mhoop1 I believe he plays all, or at least most, of the music in his videos.

[@DaveDaveson]

The Tim Traveling Jukebox for this ep. 0:10 Jessica by the Allman Brothers Band (BBC Top Gear used the track as its theme tune) 1:46 Left Bank Two by The Noveltones (BBC Vision On Theme) 2:11 The Chain by Fleetwood Mac. (BBC used it at the theme tune for its F1 coverage) 3:32 Cars by Gary Numan 5:00 Movin On Up by M-People 5:45 You Raise Me Up by Secret Garden (also covered by Josh Groban and Westlife) 6:00 Dont Stand So Close to Me by The Police 6:20 Good Vibrations by The Beach Boys 7:14 It's Caper Time (Self Preservation Society) by Quincy Jones (main theme to the Italian Job which featured the building in its car chase) 8:04 Movin On Up by M-People (again) 8:22 The Carnival by Gordon Giltrap (ITV Wish You Were Here theme) I think thats everything

[@cpcallen]

What's the tune at 6:37? That's not still Good Vibrations AFAICT.

[@CussCuss16]

@@cpcallen I recognize it but can't put my finger on it, I think its something that a BBC show, 5th gear or something uses in between segments.

[@Vtarngpb]

Tim missed an opportunity to rewrite the lyrics for The Flower Pot Men again though 😂😭

[@matthewbrotman2907]

Tim also used “The Chain” in his visit to the old F1 track at Reims.

[@KieronQuinn]

@@CussCuss16 It's the Location, Location, Location (Channel 4 property show) theme.

[@bensel1547]

okay, 'you raise me up' playing when you talk about the lifts is genius

[@Stevie-J]

3:17 - The whole clock spins! Awesome!

[@MrHack4never]

I checked the website, the bouys movements are realtime repetitions of another bouys movements, which might be interesting to other technical nerds

[@Stevie-J]

@@MrHack4never Ok that's really cool too. Kinetic art in the factory that made motors, gears, and mobile machines.. I love it so much

[@althejazzman]

Yeah weird, so that the time is always pointing up?

[@PianoKwanMan]

It would make a cool wall clock in my house

[@THESLlCK]

@@althejazzman lol no. So they can record laptimes. Each rotation is one minute. each tick is one second.

[@Guppster28]

I rarely comment on videos, but I went to Turin 2 years ago, partly to experience parts of The Italian Job, after my siblings and I watched it so many times with my Dad when we were young and I agree, it is a truly beautiful place, and so many other things to do! Thank you Italy 🇮🇹 ❤️

[@andrewschroeder9502]

I saw that "of course, we're not here to see any of that" coming, but it was still extremely satisfying! In my opinion, it's the most epic one you have ever done!

[@valleyscottblog2440]

“Of course, we’re not here to see any of that” are some of my favorite words on the internet! Always followed by something completely unexpected and immensely interesting.

[@billysgeo]

Is that like his "catchphrase" or something?

[@thomasb1521]

I have to say your music choices on this video have been great. Top gear and the chain, perfect for the topic.

[@gododoof]

Italian Job theme too

[@dogg0nit32]

Agreed! Who made the MIDI ones in the first couple minutes?

[@MrGreatplum]

@@dogg0nit32- Tim does all his own music!

[@zorktxandnand3774]

Also Cars, Gery Newman. , the "top gear music is " is Jesica by the Allman brothers band.

[@ralphhowes]

@@zorktxandnand3774 Gary Numan. Hate to correct but I saw Gary perform back in the late seventies, can't let it slide!

[@berttroubleyn3475]

"It's floors were it's flaws... well, you know what I mean", is a peak Tim Traveller line.

[@berttroubleyn3475]

(Autocorrect murdered me, of course that had to be "its" twice)

[@Acceleronics]

Your Easter egg songs are fun! Love the Top Gear intro.

[@MysteriousFigure]

And the chain as well, classic f1 intro!

[@TrippingtheBrightFantastic]

Cars - Gary Numan 3:30

[@bewilderbeestie]

Don't forget _Good Vibrations_ when talking about the structural issues.

[@TalesOfWar]

Aka Jessica by the Allman Brothers Band.

[@ralphhowes]

@@bewilderbeestie Nice catch

[@Teo95sero]

Torino is a beautiful city, the city centre is very nice and relatively well kept. It was the first capital of Italy after unification and was the capital of the Savoy dominions for centuries, so lots of art and history is there. And then food. Being the capital of my region (Piemonte) I can tell you can eat very well and with more reasonable prices than Milano (my adoptive city later on). Go on with exploring mate, enjoying your channel so much! Cheers!

[@evryhndlestakn]

Sounds very nice. You'd think they would hold a winter Olympics there sometime.🙄🤭😁✌️

[@Teo95sero]

@@evryhndlestakn the Olympics were instrumental in making the city the small jewel it is now. The hardware was there (art and history and architecture) but almost non existent promotion and maintenance (heritage of an industrial past and culture)

[@evryhndlestakn]

@@Teo95sero of course as soon as I saw you had written Torino I immediately flashed to when the city hosted the winter Olympics & was only being cheeky. What year was it they hosted & have they hosted it more than once?

[@Teo95sero]

@@evryhndlestakn it was 2006, never hosted any other huge event like that ever since.

[@evryhndlestakn]

@@Teo95sero I think nowadays big events like that risk bankrupting all but the largest cities. Nice to have such a historically significant & attractive city in your life. All the best😁✌️

[@PopeLando]

8:00 Impressed to learn that the roof garden was apparently designed *by* 40,000 plants! They should feel at home then.

[@TheTimTraveller]

Haha I thought the same thing 😀

[@dlevi67]

The rest of the English is no better. Then again, they couldn't even get the Italian right, where the 'Balilla' (a small Fiat from the 1930s) became 'Barilla'. Bah, humbug.

[@MrHack4never]

If it was a big wild garden, you could technically say that

[@gteixeira]

Aha! The KZbin Research Paradox in practice!

[@gteixeira]

@@TheTimTraveller It seems that your strategy of publishing a deliberately wrong information in order to get a comment with the truth has worked lol.

[@jamessteel9016]

Love these wacky places you go to Tim in Europe 👏 🇪🇺

[@stickynorth]

Even though it's not as high speed, I am glad that the new Hyundai Singapore factory that uses mostly robots to assemble Ioniq EV's in the city (35,000/car per year output using 110 workers) has a 6th floor test track keeping the tradition of these factories very much alive... There they allow users to watch their car being assembled and then you can take it for a test drive on the roof. Not a bad business model I hope more automakers revive... I'd love to see similar facilities in NYC, London, Los Angeles, etc. The re-regionalization of auto assembly using local labor and robots... Lots of robots!

[@TheTimTraveller]

Thanks for the update, I didn't know about that one, that's really cool! Just opened a few months ago apparently. I wonder how much a ticket to Singapore costs...

[@zeroyuki92]

​@@TheTimTravellersounds like a perfect material for a sequel video

[@andreasu.3546]

Nothing like getting the opportunity to crash your new car before it was even delivered.

[@LeonardTavast]

@@TheTimTraveller You should ask Noel Philips to do a collab with odd places to see in Singapore. He's currently doing it in Australia.

[@johnladuke6475]

@@andreasu.3546 "This one seems to have crashed, I don't want to buy it anymore." lol

[@Tracomaster]

If I had a penny for every time someone built a rooftop track on their car factory, I'd have three pennies which isn't a lot but it's still weird it happened three times

[@ColinHarvey78]

I’ve missed these brilliant films - we just wait for those features of “and of course we haven’t come to see any of that…”, the advice for disabled visitors and the piano covers. Superb editing, research, presentation and humour, all in all, fantastic! Keep up the great work.

[@abigailcooling6604]

This has got to be one of my favourite videos from you Tim. The piano cover of The Chain, hilarious puns, flying-crashing-cars animation, and ability with languages and pronunciation is just amazing. Another thing to add to my motorsport bucket list (along with the Reims-Goeux circuit).

[@SynchroScore]

There was actually a fourth rooftop test track that perhaps you missed, because it doesn't seem to have lasted very long. This one was at the main plant of the Studebaker Corporation in South Bend, Indiana, USA. Not much information on it, but it appeared to be made of wood planks and was wide enough for the small, slow cars made in the early 20th Century. Studebaker later constructed the first automotive proving ground in 1926, not far from South Bend. While Studebaker itself is gone, the proving ground was sold to Bendix Corporation, then Bosch Automotive, and finally to Navistar, which is the successor to International Harvester's truck business and still uses the test track. The most striking thing about the facility was built in 1938, when Studebaker planted some 8,000 pine trees to spell out the company's name. The tree sign and the Studebaker Clubhouse (originally an office building for test engineers) are on the National Register of Historic Places.

[@cliffm6566]

Very cool to see Lingotto again, I stayed at the NH Hotel in 2016 and the first thing we did was visit the Angnelli museum and track, walked the entire circuit, and saw helicopters landing on the helipad used for Fiat execs. The enter factory is a fantastic architectural conversion by Renzo Piano and is worth a visit just to see this famous building.

[@KrulKrulSprietSpriet]

How daring of you to walk trough the red light! Loved to video. :)

[@paulfarthing2807]

My favourite Italian city, much underrated. I have been to the track several times ... and the gallery.

[@sirrliv]

My mother actually got to drive a car around this circuit while holidaying in Italy in the 1970's.

[@dlevi67]

Sorry, mate - your mum did no such thing; it was never open to the public, much less when it was still working as a factory.

[@12many4you]

-The 70s -Italian men working there. -@sirrliv's mom Oh, i bet his someone got a ride

[@eddjordan2399]

@@dlevi67how do you know that? you have no idea who his mum was why she was there she could have been a test driver for all you know.

[@dlevi67]

@@eddjordan2399 "while holidaying in Italy"

[@laurencefraser]

@@dlevi67 I mean, there's still theoretically a very narrow slice of posibilities where it's actually true (related to someone who was there for less holiday-related reasons that involved the factory, or the like)... but you're right that it certainly doesn't seem very likely.

[@uncipaws7643]

7:52 Certainly satisfying for Tim to see the sign for TIM Retail. Also let's appreciate the custom background music with various themes suiting the topic.

[@wis314]

Years ago i stayed in the hotel in the Lingotto building and then you could get to the roof circuit from the hotel. They advertised it as a running track. Of course we did a lap (walking, not running).

[@andycooke6231]

The hotel is still there, we stayed there in September 2023 as part of a Great Rail Journeys holiday.

[@moistie]

5:20 Edoardo Persico - was an Italian architecture and art critic, designer and essayist. In 1926 he moved to Turin, where he supported himself by working as a mechanic assembler for Fiat.

[@Desire4Sound]

I rememeber this was mentioned once in a simracing forum. Very funny and crazy as well!

[@Tibis42]

It's so nice to see that the quality of your videos remains as high as when I first discovered this channel years ago! The stories are fascinating, and the editing is the cherry on top 😄

[@TrevorMoses312]

If you're still in Turin, Tim, I can recommend going to the cinema museum there. A truly incredible place in a magnificent building 😊😊🐢

[@LRM12o8]

5:44 You Raise Me Up 6:08 Don't Stand So Close To Me Two of the best and most subtle musical puns I've ever heard abd they're from someone I didn't expect to make musical puns! 😂👍

[@Ramonatho]

That Gary Numan cover was so smooth I almost didn't even notice it.

[@carsten.a]

We once had to rebook a stay near Torino on short notice and the hotel inside Lingotto was quite a good offer. At that time, we did not know what it was before. And as my wife and I prefer to take stairs rather than elevators, we usually ask for lower levels in a hotel. We had no idea that “not higher than 2nd floor (for our US fellas 3rd)” really means in that building where you have a wall height of somewhere around 5 m/15 feet. It was quite an exercise! But it was really a unique experience we had.

[@thomasdieckmann5711]

Haha, Gary Numan Cars well chosen music track. Great work, Tim!

[@RickImus]

True! At 4:00.

[@gio1890]

Never thought that I would end up seeing one of your videos about my hometown, I’m so glad you liked it 🤩 love your work!

[@robfenwitch7403]

Thanks, Tim and thanks to Pinacoteca Agnelli.

[@Qspecialman]

My wife and I visited this site last year, it really is as good as in the video.

[@LieRoy86]

Mate i have been missing your videos! glad to see you are back!

[@marklima74]

I arrived in Torino the day of your upload to celebrate my 50th birthday and dragged my wife to Lingotto. Mind blowing coincidence; wish I’d checked KZbin on the day. I’m a Lancia & Fiat car fan and an architect so Lingotto is a must see for me. The wife is now a Lingotto fan and also now a Tim fan too 😊

[@TheTimTraveller]

Happy (belated) 50th!

[@brushfuse]

I'm pleased the lads from The Italian Job got a mention - If you're from the UK, this is likely the only reason you know of Turino at all.

[@derekheeps1244]

Hardly : it is very well known as an automotive design and manufacturing centre , not just for FIAT .

[@ZGryphon]

Also, the Olympic Winter Games were held there in 2006. Granted, they're not as big as the summer event, but I suspect a fair few people noticed that, all the same.

[@LuPoj]

I still cannot praise enough the musical choices Tim makes in his videos. I absolutely love "Cars"!

[@dcvariousvids8082]

A flawless presentation of too many floors. And I didn’t know that’s why FIAT got its name.

[@apveening]

That all capitals name is a pretty serious hint at an acronym, from there it is a pretty easy search.

[@derekheeps1244]

@@apveening it is pretty well known , not just among car enthusiasts

[@apveening]

@@derekheeps1244 We both know that.

[@davidjones332]

They did once have a competitor called FART. Can't imagine why that never caught on........?

[@simonmcowan6874]

I remember seeing pictures of this during architecture studies in the '70s. Brilliant idea.

[@TrevorSturman]

Secretly Tim went to the shopping center because of the Tim shop. The center just happened to have a race track on top

[@CenturyHomeProject]

To me, the factory building is a work of art. I love the fact that it’s coming up to 100 years old and still has a purpose and use to the community. Is the ultimate and recycling.

[@ABa-os6wm]

Now THAT is what is called "Vertical Integration"

[@Channel53official]

Man that’s an absurd amount of weight to suspend. That’s incredible it is still in great shape

[@wgf600]

Jessica, The Chain, absolute great music as always

[@didierg.bertrand6117]

In Belgium, we have a factory Rooftop racetrack too ! IMPERIA factory in Nessonvaux between Liège and Verviers. Now, totally destroyed.

[@gentlemanzer]

7:15 I was waiting for a tune that would sound like "Self Preservation Society"!

[@chrisward63]

Was looking for an Italian Job reference!

[@zork999]

@@chrisward63 There are two

[@leonerduk]

That terrible floor/flaw pun is just the sort of thing that keeps me coming back ;) Keep up the good work.

[@Runescope]

I was JUST thinking this morning that I've been missing Your videos!

[@PabloPalmeiro]

We have one of those in Buenos Aires. Now's an apartment building with some restaurants but back then used to be Crysler's building

[@mro4ts457]

0:33 They made some rooftop circuits ontop of some of the factories in Detroit too*

[@oddsandwindsocks5905]

Very impressive building, its massive even without the roof track .

[@HubNut]

You must have been there about the same time as me! I'm already missing the place. Fun fact. Even though there is a Fiat 500 cafe on the roof, the 500 was never made there...

[@rikreviewt9798]

In Belgium, there is still a similar track on the roof of the defunct Imperia car plant. That test track was built in 1928 and is 1km long. Currently the site is being reformed into housing but the track will be integrated into it.

[@crazy1230000]

Just a test track for fiat that was used in the Italian job (1969)

[@FindecanorNotGmail]

Italian job: Hence the music at 7:14

[@DaveTexas]

These types of places are why I love this channel so much! I doubt I would have ever found out this place exists were it not for seeing it here. It’s a place I’d absolutely love to visit - not a big tourist draw, but historically significant and utterly fascinating. Excellent video, as always!

[@Vtarngpb]

🎶”Let’s go, to Lingotto… where the cars go, up to driiiiiiive!”🎶

[@michaelkiesling8148]

As usual, excellent video. I visited in 2017. At that time, it was unclear how to get to the roof. The museum was much smaller, and the roof was still pretty vacant. I wandered the mall looking for (what I assumed would be) obvious signs to the roof and found none. Finally, after ordering "nachos" at the food court, I asked directions and was told it required a visit to the museum. It is one of those buildings which from whenever I first saw a photo of it, I said, I need to go there someday! Thanks again for all your excellent work.

[@giovannirubino8274]

I also went there in 2017 and yes, get up there was quite a task. And when we finally managed to get there the building security was so surprised of seeing people that they started to run after us. What a memory!

[@mabs503]

Finally a place I've been to! :D Great hotel too.

[@michaelmccutchan7229]

Thanks Tim for bringing back "We're not here to see any of THAT!" This IS a great video. Informative and fun! Really enjoyed it.

[@angharadhafod]

You didn't answer the question we all wanted to ask: did any cars ever go over the edge?

[@kishascape]

If they were racing then you know they did. Crashes always happen eventually

[@markvwood2007]

@@kishascape Not good enough.

[@mauser98kar]

That's one of the most incredible mad-ladish pieces of engineering I've ever heard of.

[@dliessmgg]

i just love that it resembles the shape of the circus maximus :)

[@Rutgerman95]

Have there been any incidents of a car going off the side?

[@svenjansen2134]

Must have.

[@HenrysAdventures]

This is brilliant! I've seen pictures of Lingotto but never really thought my about why they put the test track on the roof.

[@thetrampit]

OMG you are in my hometown! Wish I could meet you!

[@edoardobordin9982]

Same for me, I'd have liked to tell him some stories about the damage left by fiat in this city and italy tho

[@CasualYoutuberEnjoyer]

6:11 I love what you did playing ‘Don’t Stand So Close To Me‘ by The Police while talking the tight spaces in the building creating bottlenecks

[@teecefamilykent]

Fantastic video sir, noticed a shop called "Tim" early in the video, did you buy anything from it?

[@dlevi67]

It's a mobile phone shop, so probably not.

[@teecefamilykent]

Ahhh ok.

[@stantonfuerton]

I studied abroad in Torino many years ago, and our school was essentially across the street. Got to see it every day on the bus ride in. Unfortunately, the roof wasn't open then, so I never got the chance to see it. Got a great dose of nostalgia from your video!

[@SanderEvers]

Would be fun to take a bike there and ride around the track.

[@danielknauss5019]

This is probably the highest value of any tourist attraction I’ve ever been to. €2 to go up and walk the circuit, with a great view of that area of the city is a steal! Theres a decent amount to do as a tourist in Torino, but I would put a trip to Lingotto as probably at the top of the list. I stayed in the hotel because I was in town for a business trip with no idea of the significance before I arrived. I was very glad I did.

[@All_Hail_Chael]

Self-preservation society!

[@Davidbirdman101]

Ah yes, this brings back memories. I was just a lad wearing my knickers and bolo helmet when I first took my laps around the rooftop tracks! Driving old number 83, a spastacky rollabout, fresh from the factory, with front and side rails for running my competition off the roof! I sent many a man, and one woman to the hospital. Bravo said my employer, Benito Mussolini!! Bravo! Our next race was in the Italian colony in north Africa, racing camels!! What fun!! Sadly the locals did not share our enthusiasm and chased us out of the country!!! Bully!! Your obedient servant, J H Chesterton IV

[@NoName-zn1sb]

Music bed's a little loud, eh?

[@midgetautopsy6101]

6:20 Good VIbrations playing in the bg while you narrate about structural issues caused by excessive vibrations *chef's kiss*

[@PopeLando]

Partway through. You've just played the Fleetwood Mac, waiting to see if you put "Self Preservation Society" on as well... EDIT: 7:20 And there it is! 😊

[@Facucamaro]

Hello, I live in Buenos Aires Argentina, I like it motor sport and the history of it, I am really surprised to know that Chrysler had those facilities here... incredible... Very good content, greetings...!🏁👌👋

[@theaverageteleporter7435]

Those existed?

[@paddybm3245]

This is just such great feel good content. Did I know Lingotto before? Yes. But listening to Tim muse about it is always worth it.

[@spychopath]

7:54 You just wanted the footage of the "TIMRetail" sign, didn't you?

[@theoldpcguy]

Great video, I attended the Turin Auto Show in the Lingotto building almost exactly 30 years ago in April 1994.

[@Ezullof]

Keep in mind that these tracks were built at a time when "the future" would have big highspeed roads everywhere. At the time, cars were central and were only taking more and more space in our cities.

[@njdevilku1340]

Is the United States?

[@AnsonBeeker]

I'm 110 years old. I have fond memories of this insane structure.

[@christoffersvensson9431]

At 1:21 is that your own store?

[@JohnADoe-pg1qk]

👍😂

[@TDOBrandano]

The TIM group is the largest Italian Telecom company, founded in 1994 by the merger of several state owned companies. It's publicly traded, but the state still keeps a majority share in the company in order to defend the strategic interests of the country, and it manages the physical Telecom infrastructure in the country, that is however shared with the other operators. That specific shop is probably for Mobile products only.

[@cyberfrank-bx2nv]

I admit it s dangerous, but wow how it looks fab though! outrageous and passionate, visionary. I d totally see this as an rc racetrack though, surely something can be managed. and I don t think I can ever forget that concept for a hotwheels project. good show bro

[@timmannchicken]

Why have I never heard of this? I love it. I mean totally not safe for today, but I love the idea of it!

[@Backtothebasic]

Thank youTtim, you just rememberd me how youtube was when i liked it. Interesting, informative, lovely made Videos. Keep on going,

[@thatonenigeriansformula]

love how when he was introducing the racetrack he used the old f1 intro, great and amazing detail

[@guyroebuck8510]

OMG. I thought this had gone too. Super. Sent a link to a car nerd friend of mine. I talk too much about trains( infrastructure) for his liking. You are a super presenter Tim❤

[@Matty-B-on-an-MTB]

Great video! I'm an ex Fiat / Alfa Romeo employee and was taken to the roof of lingotto by them on a "busman's holiday" back in 2005, when I was lead to believe it wasn't open to the general public then. It certainly wasn't an art gallery or as pretty as it is now. The shopping centre was open then though, which in itself was a pretty cool place! On a side note, Fiat also have , or at least had, a secret test track in the suburbs of Turin for development testing. I won't say where. It's not pretty, or even state of the art, at least not back in 2005! But it did have all the fundamentals of a car breaking test track and was very interesting to visit during the same trip.👍🏼

[@shodan2958]

Even as a not so much a fan of cars person these days, even I have to be impressed with it. I love that its still in place.

[@bastarddoggy]

What great memories. I lived just across Via Nizza from Lingotto while working for a broadcaster during the 2006 Winter Olympics. The International Broadcast Center for the games was in the huge conference center there. I spent quite a few hours in the mall, but never made it up to the track, other than walking to the top of the ramp and looking out at it. I also spent a lot of time at the Mira Fiori factory getting new vehicles (Fiats, Lancias, and Alfa Romeos) for our company fleet from EuropCar, the official car rental agency for the games. I was working my butt off pretty much the whole time I was in Torino, but it was a blast!

[@Kivikesku]

Ah, so the 1970s-80s FIAT Mirafiori would have been named after the plant they built in the late 30s!

[@Horstialtersack]

Fine video with interesting and needful informations. Thank you!

[@julienthomas1433]

In Clermont-Ferrand (hometown of Michelin), you've got some test ramps on factory roofs, used in the mid XXth century to test tires' grip. They are historical testimonies

[@davejones9261]

nothing makes my day more than when i see a new Tim Traveller video has dropped.

[@siebebijnens9285]

The track features in the car chase in The Italian Job! It's a great scene

[@peterchains]

Loved the version of the Fleetwood Mac's - The chain!