Today marks the inauguration of the FCA Heritage HUB, in the old Officina 81 site in Via Plava, Torino. This site, suspended between the past and the future, is home to FCA’s Heritage Department and its mission for safeguarding the priceless heritage of the Group’s Italian brands. A workplace for services and sales, but also a thrilling display and info experience.
The Heritage HUB opens in an evocative but highly evolved
building, where interaction and connectivity add a new look to the glorious
history of Fiat, Lancia and Abarth – the brands most closely linked to the
Turin area – and also of Alfa Romeo. It is set in a part of the huge industrial
area of Mirafiori, a historic mechanical manufacturing complex, a sub-alpine
landmark of inventiveness and engineering today generating fresh energy. The
original building has been subjected to a careful conservative restoration
which respects its industrial nature.
If you look upwards, you can watch a suspended exhibition
on the history of Mirafiori: a journey through photos and text which intuitively
and immersively tells the fascinating story of this site’s most important
events... eighty years after its inauguration.
The HUB also contains all FCA Heritage’s services and
product activities, and the exclusive display space for the “Reloaded by
Creators” project, which certifies and restores all the original beauty of many
vintage models, and prepares them for sale.
The most thrilling surprise, however, comes from an
overwhelming display of cars: the 15,000 mq of the Heritage HUB has over 250 vehicles
on show! These are authentic jewels of the FCA Heritage collection – some never
before exhibited – which transform this place into an educational and emotional
temple: not so much a traditional museum space as a threedimensional archive in
constant growth, and an incubator of ideas to be enjoyed on guided tours.
The central area features eight thematic exhibitions, each of which
highlights eight cars from different eras and brands, from 1908 to 2008. That makes
sixty-four cars, apparently distant from one another in kind, age and brand,
but each physically embodying the theme of its area, following an innovative
exhibition criteria and philosophy. This display will soon be open to the
public.
